Wisconsin was the Big Ten's cheese-headed stepchild as early as Saturday morning. Sure, it was 8-0, but the Big Ten preferred you direct your vision East to its more handsome children Ohio State and Penn State. Yes, they both had blemishes on their records, but only because they were willing to take risks. These were the conference's College Football Playoff contenders, and contenders come with scars.

By the end of the night, Wisconsin went from being the Big Ten's third-most desirable team to perhaps its only playoff hope.

Now, to ensure the conference receives an invite to the party it helped plan, the Big Ten needs Wisconsin to win out. That means Wisconsin not only needs to win its final three regular-season games but that it must beat either Ohio State, Penn State or Michigan State in the Big Ten title game. It's a precarious position the conference finds itself in and one you have to consider it did to itself.

When the Big Ten first expanded and came out with its Legends and Leaders Divisions, I thought the idea was silly. Just align based on geography and play some football. After a few years -- seasons in which both Ohio State and Michigan were down, mind you -- the Big Ten did just that, and maybe the conference's silly idea wasn't so ridiculous after all.

We're only in the fourth year of the College Football Playoff, but the Big Ten's divisional structure is causing problems for the second time. Last year, Ohio State was chosen for the playoff despite not winning its division. Penn State, which beat Ohio State, won it and the Big Ten title only to be rewarded with the Rose Bowl. This season, four of the five best teams in the conference all play in the East, and they're all knocking each other out of contention. Meanwhile, Wisconsin sits in the West where it's a win over Iowa away from clinching the division in mid-November.

I don't know where the CFP Selection Committee will have Wisconsin when the new rankings come out on Tuesday night, but considering the Badgers were No. 9 last week, I don't know how far Wisconsin's latest win over Indiana will propel it up the ranks. It's bound to go up a few spots due to teams losing, but that's it. The reason for this is because the Badgers have a weak schedule with a flimsiness is only enhanced by the fact the Big Ten's biggest powers reside in the other division. Of those four teams, the Badgers only drew Michigan -- arguably the weakest of the bunch this season -- on their schedule.

So maybe it's time for the Big Ten to consider realigning again or possibly just getting rid of its divisions entirely. It's a crusade that SBNation's Bill Connelly has been on for years, one he's even mapped out for all to see how it could work. When I first heard the idea, much like my reaction to Leaders and Legends, I believed it to be complicating things just for the sake of sophistication. Now, I'm coming around.

Granted, it's not a perfect system because some years there will be teams with easier schedules than others, especially when factoring in what each school's protected rivalries are. But there is no perfect system. There can't be. When you have a sport with 130 teams -- OK, 65 -- eligible for four spots, and those spots are decided by a group of people in a conference room, there are no obvious answers. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't try to find solutions to streamline the process, or if you're an actual conference, to help ensure you always have a spot at the table.

Now might not be the worst time for the Big Ten to take a look in the mirror and figure out if there's anything it can do to improve its chances in the future. And just root like hell for Wisconsin to keep winning in the meantime.

SEC Coaching Projections of the Week

There are going to be a lot of coaching changes in the SEC this offseason. The Florida job is already open, Tennessee looks likely to follow, and the West could have four of its teams looking for a new coach this winter with Kevin Sumlin seemingly on the outs at Texas A&M and if Dan Mullen decides to move on from Starkville, Mississippi.

So, for the sake of toying with people's lives, I've decided I want to do some coaching projections for this winter. Jerry Palm gets to do our playoff and bowl projections, and I want to do this.

So these are my best guesses as to which coach will be leading the respective SEC schools below come 2018.

Mississippi State -- Dan Mullen: While I believe Florida should hire Mullen, things I've heard in the last week lead me to believe it isn't going to happen. So maybe Tennessee comes after him, but I don't know that Mullen would leave Starkville for Knoxville if that were his only appealing option.

Florida -- Willie Taggart: I think Scott Frost is Florida's first choice, but I believe he's more interested in returning to his alma mater than coaching in Gainesville. So once Frost passes on the job, the Gators turn to Taggart, who returns to the state of Florida after one season at Oregon.

Tennessee -- Mike Norvell: Man, I would love to be Norvell's agent. Depending on what goes down this winter, the Memphis coach could be a target at Tennessee, Florida, Ole Miss and Arkansas. So while I don't know exactly where Norvell will be by next season, I do know he'll be getting paid more than he is right now.

Texas A&M -- Chad Morris: It just seems like an obvious move should the Aggies move on from Sumlin. While the overall record at SMU may not be impressive, one must consider the state of the program Morris inherited and the turnaround he's led thus far.

Arkansas -- Neal Brown: Brown's Troy team beat LSU earlier this season to get some national attention, but he's built a solid program at the school since taking over. He has SEC experience, and he also runs a more modern offense. An offense far more similar to the one Bobby Petrino had success with at Arkansas. It's the smart road for the Hogs to take because it's really difficult to out-Alabama Alabama.

Ole Miss -- ??????: I'm sorry, I have no idea. With possible NCAA sanctions hanging over the program in the future, I just don't know who the school can get right now. Which isn't to say the Rebels can't hire a good coach, it's just I don't know who it'll be.

Moon of the Week

Shout out to this Washington State fan for remembering to wear clean underwear on Saturday.

Living Mascot of the Week

It looks like Purdue Pete has received the Pinocchio treatment. He's a real boy now.

Random Ranking of the Week

This week I'm ranking the best "South Park" characters.

1. Butters
2. Randy Marsh
3. Cartman
4. Kenny
5. Towelie

All rankings are final!

Photo of the Week

Baker Mayfield leaped to the top of the list of Heisman Trophy favorites this week thanks to Oklahoma's win over Oklahoma State, and thanks to both Penn State and Ohio State losing another game. This is horrible news for Baker Mayfield because being the Heisman favorite seems like a curse this season. Honestly, as a Heisman voter, even in early November I have no idea who I'm going to vote for yet. This is both a wonderful and terrifying thing.

Stat of the Week

Army beat Air Force 21-0 on Saturday, and it did so without throwing a single pass. It was a brilliant and obvious strategy. I mean, Air Force's name literally means it is a force in the air. It isn't "Ground Force." So staying on the ground was just an excellent tactical decision on Army's part.

AP Voter of the Week

This week's Voter of the Week is one I've featured here before: Pat Caputo. Pat, who writes for the Oakland Press in Pontiac, Michigan, has one of the more interesting ballots this week. What stands out to me is that Pat has LSU at No. 14. When the Associated Press Top 25 came out on Sunday, LSU had dropped out of the top 25 completely following its loss to Alabama, but while some voters still had the Tigers on their ballots -- and justifiably so -- Pat has them three spots higher than any other voter.

He has LSU ahead of a Mississippi State team with a better record, one that beat LSU by 30 points. He has LSU ahead of 7-2 Oklahoma State, a team that's only losses came against a couple of teams Pat has in his top 10. He also has LSU ahead of another 7-2 team in Virginia Tech, one team that has only lost games to teams he has in his own top 10.

LSU has lost by 30 points to the Mississippi State team Pat has ranked below it, Troy, and now Alabama. LSU has beaten Auburn -- quality win! -- BYU (2-8), Syracuse (4-5), Florida (3-5), Ole Miss (4-5) and Chattanooga (2-8).

So, Pat, while I have no problem with you putting LSU on your ballot, I need to know why you put it so high, and ahead of so many better teams.

College Football Playoff Projection of the Week

I don't see anything changing this week.

1. Georgia
2. Alabama
3. Notre Dame
4. Clemson

Until the next Monday After!