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The Bernstein Brief: Big Ten All But Out Of College Football Playoff

By Dan Bernstein --
CBSChicago.com senior columnist

(CBS) One would think that an undefeated Wisconsin team would have the cheesers celebrating and the Big Ten readying for a place at the College Football Playoff table, but it's not working out that way.

The Badgers may be 9-0, but nobody really thinks they're any good. Even if they finish with a perfect record, the current pecking order suggests that they could still miss the material postseason party, an unfortunate fate for a proud conference that entered the season expecting more.

But then Penn State stumbled and Ohio State crumbled, and suddenly Wisconsin was the only possibility remaining. Wisconsin has no signature victories to speak of and none to be had in its remaining matchups with the likes of Iowa, Michigan and Minnesota, so its best hope is chaos elsewhere and a resounding victory in the Big Ten title game, forcing the hand of the committee. The picture will gain some clarity with updated rankings Tuesday night.

Tough times north of the border, otherwise, with the Packers in free-fall without their quarterback around to cover up all the deficiencies he apparently was keeping us from seeing. At least Bears fans are used to their team being bad.

Dan Bernstein is a co-host of 670 The Score's "Bernstein and Goff Show" in afternoon drive. You can follow him on Twitter: @dan_bernstein and read more of his columns here.

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