MADISON, Wis. – A bye week caused by its own coronavirus outbreak dropped the University of Wisconsin one spot in this week’s Associated Press poll to No.10.
The top five spots in the poll remain the same, while Florida (3-1) and BYU (7-0) jumped the Badgers in the rankings released Sunday.
The Badgers are scheduled to take on first-place Purdue (2-0) Saturday afternoon at Camp Randall Stadium, but the status of the game remains in doubt. Wisconsin is currently on a seven-day pause through Tuesday with its program due to a total of 22 active COVID-19 cases, all coming since Saturday, Oct.12. Those active cases include 12 players and 10 staff members, including head coach Paul Chryst.
While student athlete who have a confirmed positive PCR test must remain out for 21 days, Chryst can return to work, should he remain symptom-free, on November 5.
Purdue is in a first-place tie with Northwestern after the Boilermakers defeated Illinois, 31-24, in Champaign Saturday. Racking up 456 total yards while giving up 472 yards, the Boilermakers built a 31-14 lead entering the fourth quarter and turned four Illinois turnovers into 14 points.
Kickoff is slated for 2:30 p.m. CT and will be televised by ABC.