Badgers having tough time gaining footing with AP voters

Usually when you make the top 10 of the Associated Press top-25 poll, a team has pretty solid footing. Win and a team(s) above you loses, then move up a spot on the ballot.



This, however, has not been the case for the Wisconsin Badgers.

Yes, the Badgers did jump up from No. 10 to No. 9 last week as then-No. 5 USC fell from the ranks of the unbeaten. But Wisconsin gained just five votes overall from Week 4 to Week 5. Compare that to the two teams ahead of UW in the poll: No. 8 TCU gained 51 votes and No. 7 Michigan added 27.

After last week's win over Northwestern, 14 AP voters moved Wisconsin down on their ballot. Lauren Brownlow of WRAL-Baltimore slid the Badgers down four spots, from 9 to 13, while SEC Country's Lauren Shute pushed UW from 6 to 9.

Wisconsin is listed as low as No. 14, but Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News, continuing a trend of the Badgers falling in Wilner's eyes (he had them at No. 3 back in Week 2).

Seven voters do have Wisconsin ranked at No. 6 -- up from the four last week.

The Badgers' lack of a win over a big-time opponent, or a convincing win over the Wildcats, obviously isn't helping. Would a big victory at Nebraska help? And how much would a loss hurt? Stay tuned next week, same bat time, same bat channel.

Here's the complete look at the Week 5 ballots along with the previous two weeks for comparison: