MADISON, Wis. – Staring at a schedule that was often characterized as daunting, Wisconsin began the season unranked. Eleven wins later, the Badgers have finished 2016 as a top-10 team.
Wisconsin was ranked ninth in the final edition of the Associated Press Top 25 released Monday, its highest rating to end a season since finishing the 2010 campaign at No. 7. It marks the 13th time UW has finished a season among the top 10 of the AP poll.
The Badgers capped an 11-3 effort – their third-consecutive season with double-digit wins – with a win in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic on Jan. 2. UW also won its second Big Ten West Division title in three seasons, swept rivals Iowa, Minnesota and Nebraska in its three trophy games and claimed four victories over teams ranked in the top 12 of the AP rankings at the time of the game.
The Badgers' last top-10 finish in the AP poll came in 2011, when UW finished 11-3 and won its second-consecutive Big Ten championship on the way to a No. 10 final ranking.
Despite entering the season unranked, Wisconsin was listed among the top 10 in the AP poll a school-record 12 times this season, topping its previous high of 10 weeks in 1999.
The Badgers' move to No. 10 following their season-opening win over then-No. 5 LSU in the Lambeau Field College Classic on Sept. 3 matched the largest jump by an unranked team since the AP poll expanded to include 25 teams in 1988.
Wisconsin also came in at No. 9 in the final Amway Coaches Poll, its best finish in those rankings since finishing in a tie at No. 8 to conclude the 2010 season.
So, what's next? A number of (very) early Top 25 polls already have been assembled for 2017, and here's how the Badgers stack up:
Wisconsin's Top-10 Rankings in Final AP Poll
1942 3rd (8-1-1)
1951 8th (7-1-1)
1954 9th (7-2)
1958 7th (7-1-1)
1959 6th (7-3)
1962 2nd (8-2)
1993 6th (10-1-1)
1998 6th (11-1)
1999 4th (10-2)
2006 7th (12-1)
2010 7th (11-2)
2011 10th (11-3)
2016 9th (11-3)
