Badgers open at No. 19 overall in initial AP top-25 poll

Jonathan Taylor and company have found their way back into the AP top-25 poll.

Wisconsin finished its disappointing 2018 season with an 8-5 record and was left off the final poll despite a dominant 35-3 win over Miami in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl, but the Badgers climbed up the rankings to No. 19 overall in the initial 2019 AP top-25 poll released Monday.

The Badgers are one of seven Big Ten teams to be included in the opening poll. Rivals Ohio State (No. 5 overall) and Michigan (No. 7) lead the charge, while Penn State (No. 15) and Michigan State (No. 18)  rank just above Wisconsin. Fellow Big Ten West teams Iowa (No. 21) and Nebraska (No. 24) — the latter picked to be a dark-horse favorite in the division — round out the conference’s solid showing in the rankings.

Wisconsin has six of those seven teams on its schedule in 2019 with the exclusion being Penn State. The Badgers open their 2019 campaign Aug. 31 for a Friday night clash against Western Kentucky at Camp Randall Stadium.

AP TOP 25 POLL, WEEK 1 (released Aug. 19)