Coaches Poll: Coaches rank Wisconsin ahead of Michigan (who beat the Badgers)

The Amway Coaches Poll may be the most useless polling metric we still pay an ounce of attention to, and this week’s latest poll proves once again that may be the case. The No. 5 Wisconsin Badgers moved up one spot in this week’s poll, as did No. 4 Washington. Both teams took advantage of the one loss suffered within the top 10 this week as No. 6 Michigan dropped two spots in the coaches poll following a double-overtime loss on the road against No. 2 Ohio State.

This is mind-numbing because Michigan defeated Wisconsin this season, in which case those voting in the coaches poll have little regard for the head-to-head matchup between the Wolverines and Badgers. Both teams have identical 10-2 records, but Penn State is also sitting at 10-2 and they are back at No. 8 in the coaches poll. Michigan has head-to-head wins against the Badgers and Nittany Lions, but Michigan has lost two game sin November. Is Michigan simply being punished for limping down the stretch? Perhaps.

There is no disputing the top spot of course. Alabama remains No. 1 with all 64 first-place votes in the coaches poll, followed by Ohio State and No. 3 Clemson. No. 7 Oklahoma remained where they were during their bye week, as did No. 9 Colorado and No. 10 Oklahoma State.

Continuing to creep up the coaches poll is No. 11 USC, followed by Florida State, West Virginia and Western Michigan. No. 15 Louisville fell four spots this week after a loss to Kentucky, and No. 16 Florida fell three spots after losing to Florida State. No. 17 Stanford made a huge jump, up 10 spots after a win against Rice. No. 18 Virginia Tech also had a nice jump, up eight spots. No. 20 Navy was also bumped up nine spots this week. No. 23 South Florida also cracks the top 25 of the coaches poll, while Temple is not despite a head-to-head win over the Bulls and having clinched the division title this weekend to keep the Bulls out of the AAC Championship Game.

Here is this week’s coaches poll heading into the final weekend of the season (aside from the Army-Navy Game).

1. Alabama (64 first-place votes)
2. Ohio State
3. Clemson
4. Washington
5. Wisconsin
6. Michigan
7. Oklahoma
8. Penn State
9. Colorado
10. Oklahoma State
11. USC
12. Florida State
13. West Virginia
14. Western Michigan
15. Louisville
16. Florida
17. Stanford
18. Virginia Tech
19. Auburn
20. Navy
21. LSU
22. Nebraska
23. South Florida
24. Utah
25. Iowa

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