Votes for Badgers range from 7 to 17 in latest AP top-25 poll

Wisconsin’s win on the road over then-No. 9 Minnesota was certain to move the Badgers up in the latest Associated Press top-25 poll.

And indeed it did, with UW rising from No. 13 to No. 10.

Of course, this being a poll, some voters viewed the Badgers a lot differently than their cohorts.

Twenty-four voters listed Wisconsin as a top-nine team, with the high being No. 7 by three voters — Jerry DiPaola of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (who had UW at No. 12 last week), Josh Furlong of KSL.com (No. 11) and Michael Lev of the Arizona Daily Star (No. 9).

Of course, not everyone is a believer. The Boston Globe’s Michael Vega has UW at No. 17, moving the Badgers up just one spot from the previous week. It should be noted also that Vega has Minnesota at No. 14.

Wisconsin is also ranked No. 14 by Bryce Miller of the San Diego Union-Tribune (up one spot from last week) and No. 15 by the Spokesman-Review’s Theo Lawson (up three spots, and he does have Minnesota lower, at No. 16).

While no one moved Wisconsin down on their ballots this week, two did keep the Badgers in the same spot they had them in Week 14. Dave Reardon of Honolulu Star-Advertiser still has Wisconsin at No. 9 while Gene Henley of Chattanooga Times/Free Press and Mark Whicker of the L.A. Daily News kept the Badgers at No. 11. Henley has both Penn State (No. 8) and 9-3 Auburn (10) ranked ahead of UW while Whicker has 9-3 at No. 7.

Several voters did give Wisconsin a big bump, though. Steve Wiseman of the Durham Herald-Sun moved the Badgers from 19 to 11 and Conor O’Neill of the Winston-Salem Journal lifted UW seven spots, from 16 to 9.

Here’s how all the AP voters cast their ballots for Wisconsin in Week 15 compared to last week:

Dave Heller is the author of Ken Williams: A Slugger in Ruth’s Shadow (a Larry Ritter Book Award nominee), Facing Ted Williams – Players From the Golden Age of Baseball Recall the Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived and As Good As It Got: The 1944 St. Louis Browns