College Football Playoff rankings, Week 12: Wisconsin remains at No. 7

As chaos sends giants tumbling, Wisconsin continues to hold steady.

The Badgers (8-2, 5-2 Big Ten) remained at No. 7 in the College Football Playoff Top 25 rankings, which were unveiled Tuesday evening by ESPN.

Wisconsin was No. 7 in the CFP rankings last week, up from No. 8 the week earlier. The Badgers routed Illinois 48-3 last weekend for their fourth win in a row. That came the same day that CFP peers such as Clemson (last week’s No. 2), Michigan (last week’s No. 3), Washington (last week’s No. 4) and Texas A&M (last week’s No. 8) all lost.

Coach Paul Chryst’s team opened this week with the highest Sagarin ranking (No. 8) of any Power 5 program with just two losses — just behind, ironically, three-loss LSU, which checked in at No. 7. Wisconsin beat the Tigers 16-14 at Lambeau Field in the season opener.

The Badgers, ranked sixth in the most recent Associated Press Poll, continue to boast one of the strongest strengths of schedule in the Football Bowl Subdivision at No. 11 in the Sagarins. Among the teams in the AP top 10, only No. 1 Alabama (SOS: 6) has navigated a higher-rated slate.

Wisconsin’s only defeats are at the hands of Michigan (14-7 in Ann Arbor on Oct. 1) and Ohio State (30-23 in overtime at Camp Randall Stadium on Oct. 15).

The Buckeyes and Wolverines are both 9-1 and sit 2 and 3 in the CFP, respectively.

ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit listed the Badgers as one of his “first two out” of college football’s final four — along with Michigan — in a segment that aired at halftime of Tuesday’s Kentucky-Michigan State men’s basketball game at Madison Square Garden.

Herbstreit tapped Alabama (1) against Clemson (4) in one of his semis and Ohio State (2) against Louisville (3) in the other. ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Williams also listed the Badgers, along with Clemson, as his “first two out.”

The top four teams in the final CFP rankings will meet in one of two semifinals played on New Year’s Eve in Atlanta or Glendale, Ariz. The semifinal winners would then advance to the national championship game on Jan. 9 in Tampa, Fla.

Complete College Football Playoff Rankings, Week 12:

1. Alabama (10-0)

2. Ohio State (9-1)

3. Michigan (9-1)

4. Clemson (9-1)

5. Louisville (9-1)

6. Washington (9-1)

7. Wisconsin (8-2)

8. Penn State (8-2)

9. Oklahoma (8-2)

10. Colorado (8-2)

11. Oklahoma State (8-2)

12. Utah (8-2)

13. USC (7-3)

14. West Virginia (8-1)

15. Auburn (7-3)

16. LSU (6-3)

17. Florida State (7-3)

18. Nebraska (8-2)

19. Tennessee (7-3)

20. Boise State (9-1)

21. Western Michigan (10-0)

22. Washington State (8-2)

23. Florida (7-2)

24. Stanford (7-3)

25. Texas A&M (7-3)