Take Two: Could an undefeated Wisconsin team miss the Playoff?

MORE TAKE TWO: Would Scott Frost say no to Nebraska? | Florida should turn to ...

Take Two returns with a daily offering tackling a handful of issues in the college football landscape. Rivals.com National Recruiting Analyst Adam Gorney lays out the situation and then receives takes from Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell and a local expert from the Rivals.com network of team sites.

There is so much football to be played and it’s almost a given the last month of the regular season is rife with upsets and all kinds of craziness.

So this might be premature and inconsequential in mere days, but as things shape up in the final weeks of the regular season, an important question needs to be asked: Can an undefeated Big Ten champion - and that would be Wisconsin - possibly be left out of the College Football Playoff?

As things stand now, it’s not looking good for the Badgers.

Here’s the rundown of the College Football Playoff rankings: Georgia, Alabama, Notre Dame, Clemson, Oklahoma, TCU, Miami and then Wisconsin. The Sooners play the Horned Frogs and Notre Dame visits Miami this weekend, so there will be some cannibalization in the coming weeks.

It’s expected Georgia will face Alabama in the SEC championship game, but there’s no guarantee both teams still won’t make the top four. Conference championship games are coming up, which could eliminate other teams from contention and thus move Wisconsin up in the rankings.

Wisconsin’s schedule has been void of tough competition all season - non-conference wins over Utah State, FAU and BYU thrill no one - although the final weeks do provide some serious players in Iowa and Michigan. But a Big Ten championship win would come over at least a two-loss team. That might not help the Badgers’ cause much.

Much can - and will - still happen. But there seems to be a real chance that an undefeated Big Ten champ could be on the outside looking in.

“I still have a hard time thinking that a hypothetical 13-0 Wisconsin team gets left out of the playoff, but the problem for the Badgers as of right now is they seem to need help to make sure they secure a bid - even if they run the table.

“Before Ohio State and Penn State lost last weekend, you could look at the rest of UW’s schedule and think that a win over a top seven team like OSU or PSU would put the Badgers over the top at the end of the season. But now that both the Buckeyes and Nittany Lions seem to be out of playoff contention, a win over either team (or Michigan State, for that matter) won’t carry the same weight that it would have otherwise. The best thing the Badgers can do from here on out is to continue to take care of their business and hope that wins over Northwestern, Iowa, Michigan and the eventual Big Ten East champ would give them enough of a boost to make it across the finish line. Other than that, Wisconsin fans need to root for chaos across college football and hope the Badgers continue to chug along and weather the storm during their next few weeks.”

“The Big Ten is done. It’s unfortunate, too, for Wisconsin because this is a team in the past has scheduled really difficult opponents. They played LSU a year ago, they played Alabama in 2015. It’s not like Wisconsin is afraid to schedule tough out-of-conference schools.

“It just so happens this year when it looks like they’re going to run the table, they get Utah State, FAU and BYU, and it’s going to hurt them. Unless there is an implosion in the Big 12 or if Notre Dame loses, the Big Ten is done.”