I remember when rankings actually meant something because they were earned on the field, not in some offseason hot take column. A top 25 ranking is a sign of respect, something you build over decades, not some defensive stat from one season in a new league. I watched Barry Alvarez build this program from nothing, and getting into that poll was a huge deal, it meant you arrived. This idea that you can ignore the perception and the rankings is nonsense. If you aren't ranked, you're an afterthought, simpe as that. BYU can talk about yards per play all they want, but we used to win games in the Big Ten by controlling the line and the clock, stats be damned. The real issue is whether a team has the toughness to win close games, the kind we used to have against Michigan and Ohio State back when the Big Ten was a real conference. These new coaches get hired to win games and get ranked, not to win a spreadsheet battle. I'd take a team ranked in the top 25 with a worse defensive stat any day, because that ranking means you're winning games that matter. The polls drive everything, from bowl bids to national attention. You think anyone remembers the 1998 Badgers team for its yards per play? No, they remember the Rose Bowl win and the top 10 finish. That's what lasts.