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Wisconsin Badgers land just ahead of Penn State in ranking of top college football programs of 2000s

The Athletic ranked the Top 25 college football programs of the 200s, and the Wisconsin Badgers came in just outside of the Top 15 and just ahead of rival Penn State in the Big Ten.
Lorin Cox|
Nov 11, 2017; Madison, WI, USA; Wisconsin Badgers head coach Paul Chryst (left) talks with Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez during warmups prior to a game against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Camp Randall Stadium.
Nov 11, 2017; Madison, WI, USA; Wisconsin Badgers head coach Paul Chryst (left) talks with Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez during warmups prior to a game against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Camp Randall Stadium. | Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

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Wisconsin Badgers

Until recently, the Wisconsin Badgers were a model of consistency in college football.

Their run in the 2000s didn't get as much attention as some of the dynasties they were competing against, but the program always carried a high level of respect.

It was enough to earn them the 16th spot in The Athletic's rankings of the Top 25 college football programs of the 2000s.

Wisconsin | 16th

Wisconsin was a picture of consistency until recently, winning at least 10 games all but five times from 2005-19 under coaches Barry Alvarez, Bret Bielema, Gary Andersen and Paul Chryst. It went to three straight Rose Bowls from 2010-12. But the Badgers have also never reached the CFP and have just 10 top-10 wins (tied for 28th).
Stewart Mandel, The Athletic

The Badgers were the fifth-highest ranked Big Ten team on the list, although two of those programs (USC and Oregon) weren't part of the conference for most of this century.

Wisconsin is one spot ahead of Penn State and nine spots ahead of Michigan State. Ohio State was No. 1 overall.

UW's 68.1 win percentage since 2000 is the 13th best mark, but their limited number of big time wins and Big Ten titles brought their ranking down.

Their recent struggles aren't helping either, and Luke Fickell is under a lot of pressure to bring the program back to the consistency and respectability they developed over the last 25 years.

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Lorin Cox
LORIN COX

Lorin Cox is the managing editor of Wisconsin Badgers on SI. He has been covering Badgers sports since 2014, when he was an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin. He previously wrote for the Wisconsin State Journal, NBC Sports Chicago and USA Today Sports Media Group, and he is a former analyst for Pro Football Focus.

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