This weekend, the country’s No. 12 team faces off against No. 15, which might be a marginally bigger deal if the names weren’t attached. Once you see it’s Michigan vs. Wisconsin, you remember Notre Dame and BYU, the teams who dealt the Wolverines and Badgers early-season losses that felt catastrophic at the time. For most of the past month it was safe to say this matchup had lost some luster from its preseason hype levels, but consider Saturday night’s game in a more immediate context: two top-15 teams still quietly have a shot at division and conference titles. Both have rebounded admirably from their early non-conference stumbles, meaning that Saturday’s game may ultimately have equally significant consequences as Ohio State–Penn State did two weeks ago.
Michigan-Wisconsin Is a Sneaky Playoff Eliminator
