My AP top 25: Why undefeated Wisconsin remains outside playoff four

It was a relatively boring weekend of college football, so there aren’t many major changes on my AP top 25 ballot today.

Wisconsin and Michigan was Saturday’s only game involving two ranked teams.

Check out some of the dull matchups we saw elsewhere. Alabama played Mercer. Clemson played Citadel. Oklahoma played Kansas. Auburn played Louisiana-Monroe.

Snore.

With all those games going according to script, the top of my rankings look exactly the same as they did last week.

My playoff four: Alabama, Oklahoma, Clemson and Miami.

My next four: Wisconsin, Auburn, Georgia and Notre Dame.

Why not move up the undefeated Badgers after their win over the Wolverines? Well, I’ve never been sold on Michigan as a great team. Its 8-3 record is fine, but it hasn’t beaten anyone of note. With losses to Michigan State, Penn State and now Wisconsin, Michigan is the team that makes the top of the Big Ten look good. I didn’t rank the Wolverines this week, which leaves the Badgers without a single quality victory.

Wisconsin should make the playoff if it wins the Big Ten championship, as Clemson and Miami can’t both win out, but its pillow-soft schedule could be an obstacle.

Elsewhere on my ballot, a number of teams took tumbles.

Oklahoma State dropped to No. 21 following a loss to Kansas State, while Michigan, North Carolina State and West Virginia all dropped out.

That left room for three new teams in my top 25. Say hello to Northwestern, South Florida and San Diego State.

You can check out my entire top 25 ballot below:

1. Alabama.

2. Oklahoma.

3. Clemson.

4. Miami.

5. Wisconsin.

6. Auburn.

7. Georgia.

8. Notre Dame.

9. TCU.

10. Ohio State.

11. USC.

12. UCF.

13. Washington State.

14. Mississippi State.

15. Michigan State.

16. Penn State.

17. Memphis.

18. Stanford.

19. Washington.

20. LSU.

21. Oklahoma State.

22. Virginia Tech.

23. Northwestern.

24. South Florida.

25. San Diego State.

This story was originally published November 19, 2017 at 7:47 AM with the headline "My AP top 25: Why undefeated Wisconsin remains outside playoff four."