The University of Wisconsin football team is still looking up at Ohio State.
The Badgers beat the Buckeyes, earned a share of their first Big Ten Conference title in 11 years and advanced to the Rose Bowl this past season.
Still, Ohio State was the top-ranked Big Ten team when the final polls were released on Tuesday.
The Badgers (11-2) finished seventh in the Associated Press media poll and tied for eighth with LSU in the USA Today coaches' poll. The Buckeyes (12-1) - whose only loss was to UW 31-18 on Oct. 16 - were fifth in both polls.
UW has finished behind Ohio State in the final polls in each of the last six seasons. The last time the Badgers were ranked ahead of the Buckeyes was after the 2004 season.
It was the highest finish for UW in the polls since the Badgers were No. 5 in the coaches' poll and No. 7 in the media poll after Bret Bielema's first season as coach in 2006.
Since 1993, UW has had five Top 10 finishes. In addition to 2006 and '10, the Badgers were fifth in the coaches and sixth in the AP after the 1993 season; sixth in both polls in '98; and fourth in both polls in '99.
After losing to Texas Christian 21-19 in the Rose Bowl, the Badgers fell from fourth in both polls.
The top six are the same in both polls. Auburn, which defeated Oregon 22-19 Monday night in the BCS title game, was No. 1, followed by TCU (13-0), Oregon (12-1), Stanford (12-1), Ohio State and Oklahoma (12-2).
The Badgers were jumped by Stanford, Ohio State and Oklahoma in both polls, as well as Boise State (12-1) in the coaches' poll. Boise State, which defeated Utah 26-3 in the MAACO Bowl, moved up from 10th to seventh in the coaches' poll and from 10th to ninth in the media poll.
The only other ranked Big Ten team was Michigan State (11-2), which shared the title with UW and Ohio State, but lost 49-7 to Alabama in the Capital One Bowl. The Spartans dropped seven spots to 14th in both polls.
Nebraska (10-4), which joins the Big Ten next season, finished 20th in the media poll and 19th in the coaches' poll.
The last time UW finished the season in the Top 10, they started the next season in the same spot. After going 12-1 in 2006, they started at No. 7 in both major preseason polls in '07.
UW loses 10 players who started in the Rose Bowl, nine seniors and junior defensive end J.J. Watt, who elected to make himself eligible for the NFL draft. Junior John Clay, the team's second-leading rusher with 1,012 yards, also announced last week he is leaving early for the NFL.
Ohio State closed with a 31-26 win over Arkansas in the Sugar Bowl, playing with five players who face five-game suspensions imposed by the NCAA to start next season. The suspended players include starting quarterback Terrelle Pryor.
This is the third time in Bielema's five seasons the Badgers finished the season ranked higher than they were in the preseason. They went from unranked to fifth and seventh in 2006 and from unranked to 16th last season. They were 12th in both preseason polls this season .
It's also their first time finishing in the Top 20 in consecutive seasons since 2005 and '06, one of nine teams to do so the last two seasons. Their 21-5 record over the past two seasons is seventh-best in the country.
The Big Ten splits into divisions with the addition of Nebraska next season. The Badgers and Buckeyes are expected to be the favorites in what is currently the Leaders Division.
Jon Budmayr, who will be a sophomore next season and is the leading candidate to be the starting quarterback, said prior to the Rose Bowl he believes the Badgers have earned a spot in the upper echelon of the Big Ten with Ohio State.
"We feel we can compete in every game," Budmayr said. "We have to take that mind-set into each week and see what happens."
