The Badgers were the most frustrating 11 win team to watch a season ago. The coaching staff was neither liked nor trusted. The losses were agonizing and yet, the relief came in a coaching carousel no one could have predicted. Nebraska fired Bo Pelini and turned around and hired Mike Riley of Oregon State. Oregon State hired Gary Andersen. Suddenly an unpopular coach and offensive coordinator were gone. So with all this animosity, how did the Badgers even get to 11 wins?
They opened with an infuriating loss to LSU that slipped through their fingers and then won three in a row. The uh-oh of the year came against Northwestern when the staff curiously tried to implement more and more of Andersen’s offense and they lost. Oops. They got back to basics and won out to be 10-2. After being outclassed 59-0 in the Big Ten title game, they beat Auburn in a bowl to get to 11 wins. Yet the real party didn’t start until dufus Gary had packed up his UHaul and left Maddy.
In comes Paul Chryst a former Oregon State offensive coordinator during some of Riley’s best years and a former Badger OC during some of Bielema’s best years. His tenure at Pitt wasn’t flashy but his teams were competitive in the ACC and given the scope of the rebuild, that’s not too shabby. Helping the new coach is two factors. The first is Andersen wasn’t in Madison long enough to ruin the roster that Chryst helped build and the second is that there is plenty of useful talent back from last year’s Big Ten title contender.
The OL has two stars back in Dan Voltz and Tyler Marz and as a back up Corey Clement showed numerous times last year he should be the next in a great line of Badger running backs. Defensively there are eight players back including the outstanding safety Michael Caputo and the equally talented linebacker Vince Biegel. The lack of experience from the other line positions as well as questions swirling around quarterback Joel Stave can’t be ignored, but even with those issues this is the most fearsome team in the West.
2015 Schedule
Alabama (Neutral Site)
- Best Case – The Tide have major, major questions at quarterback. If you’re gonna upset Alabama, doing it in the first half of the season is the easiest time to. 1-0
- Worst Case – Remember when Michigan played ‘bama a few years ago? 0-1
- Prediction – I don’t think there is enough of a threat from the passing game yet for Wisconsin to keep Alabama honest. Tide will load the box and wear down the Badgers. Competitive game, but UW falls short. L, 24-17, 0-1
Miami (OH)
- BC – RedHawks went winless in 2013 and improved to two wins last year. This thing is going to be a very slow rebuild. 2-0
- WC – Injuries, especially on the line, could make for a very costly victory. 1-1
- P – W, 42-10, 1-1
Troy
- BC – This team went 3-9 a year ago including a 66-0 beatdown at Georgia. 3-0
- WC – See the Miami game. 2-1
- P – W, 49-7, 2-1
Hawaii
- BC – The 3-8 Rainbow Warriors become another tune up cupcake for what is quickly becoming an all time great Badger team. 4-0
- WC – Hawaii gave Washington, Oregon State and Colorado games last year so perhaps they are improving under Norm Chow, but I don’t see them pulling off this upset. 3-1
- P – W, 35-14, 3-1
Iowa
- BC – Hawkeyes are a mess and Wisconsin jumps to 17th after a blowout win. 5-0
- WC – Iowa almost won this a season ago and removing Melvin Gordon and some of that line could mean UW takes a step back. 3-2
- P – My favorite recipe is look at the roster, the coach and the home field when the teams look similar in other aspects. In this regard UW returns better defensive talent and hosts. W, 28-20, 4-1 (1-0)
At Nebraska
- BC – Remember the 408 rushing yards Gordon had a year ago? 6-0
- WC – In a critically important game, Wisconsin finds a way to win on the road due to Nebraska struggling to move the ball against their first real defense in several weeks. 4-2
- P – Trying to implement a whole new strategy like Mike Riley will most likely be doing in Lincoln takes months, not just a few games. W, 35-17, 5-1 (2-0)
Purdue
- BC – Thanks to Alabama, Iowa and Nebraska all just one-loss clubs another crushing victory gets Wisconsin to 10th. 7-0
- WC – Too much talent for Purdue to overcome on the road, even if I suspect Purdue will be improved this year. 5-2
- P – W, 42-17, 6-1 (3-0)
At Illinois
- BC – Hottest seat in the league and a roster full of unknowns, hmm. 8-0
- WC – Wisconsin escapes with another 10 point win like last year’s game. 6-2
- P – I know the coaching turmoil is tough to overlook but roster to roster, Illinois has some interesting talent back. Not sure how cohesive it is, but if it wasn’t for Beckman, the Illini might actually be decent this year. W, 42-28, 7-1 (4-0)
Rutgers
- BC – Wisconsin held RU to 139 yards of offense last year. 9-0
- WC – Rutgers’ starting qb graduated so they may take a tiny step back. 7-2
- P – Core Clement’s best game was against RU last year and now he’s the starter! W, 35-6, 8-1 (5-0)
At Maryland
- BC – What a nice cross-over schedule Wisconsin was given. 10-0
- WC – 527 yards, 311 rushing yards, 52 points. That is what they did last year. I see no way for Maryland to win this. 8-2
- P – Huge, huge rushing day leads to another blowout. W, 49-3, 9-1 (6-0)
Northwestern
- BC – Revenge game for last year and a chance to get to #5. 11-0
- WC – This loss was due to the head coach and offensive coordinator being jackasses. They are both no longer on the staff. 9-2
- P – ‘Cats don’t have the horses to run with a physical team like Wisconsin. W, 24-7, 10-1 (7-0)
At Minnesota
- BC – Hello, Indianapolis and a shot for the tournament. 12-0
- WC – Thanks to an intimidating defense, Minnesota is the team that runs roughshod over the division and takes this rivalry game to make Indy. 9-3
- P – I think UW’s OL, even with the new faces, will be too strong for Minnesota’s DL. Big running day fuels UW to a solid win over a good Gopher club. W, 24-14, 11-1 (8-0)
Final Notes
Hey now, 11 straight wins since losing to Alabama. Wisconsin is in the final tournament then, right? Well…no. First of all I think Ohio State, Michigan State and Penn State are all better than Wisconsin so they face long odds winning in Indianapolis. The second reason is that schedule. One of the reasons OSU managed to bounce back from the Tech loss is they knocked off MSU, Minnesota and killed the Badgers in the title game to slip in. Wisconsin won’t have that luxury. There’s a chance no one they play will be ranked after that Alabama game and the odds of them killing OSU/MSU/PSU 59-0 to make a statement is practically none. Obviously winning the league and being 12-1 after the title game is a statement and puts them in the argument, I just don’t think their strength of schedule is enough unless Iowa, Nebraska and Minnesota can all get 8 or 9 wins. Do you want to rely on those teams to do that?
Big Ten and Counting 