The Wisconsin Badgers are ranked No. 9 in the first Associated Press Top 25 college football poll of the 2017 season which was released on Monday.
For the second year in a row, Alabama will open the season ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press’ preseason top 25 poll. Four Big Ten teams start the year off ranked in the AP poll, including three in the top 10 with Ohio State (No. 2, with three first-place votes), Penn State (No. 6 after an 11–3 record and Rose Bowl berth), and the Badgers. Michigan starts out ranked no. 11 in the AP poll.
Wisconsin has won at least 10 games in eight of the past 12 seasons. However, this is Wisconsin’s first preseason top-10 ranking since 2007, Bret Bielema’s second season as a coach. That year, they debuted at No. 7 in both polls and won their first five games to move up to No. 5, before stumbling to a 9-4 overall record and a 21-17 loss to Tennessee in the Outback Bowl, finishing just inside the polls’ top-25.
Wisconsin closed 2016 with an 11-3 record and a 24-16 win over Western Michigan in the Cotton Bowl, ending the season ninth in the AP Poll.
The Badgers opened at No. 10 in the preseason Amway Coaches poll earlier this month.
