2015-2016 Football Previews (Big Ten) – Badgers
The Wisconsin Badgers unexpectedly saw Head Coach Gary Andersen leave at the end of last season. Paul Chryst, who has been a coordinator at Wisconsin in the past, returns to be the top man this season.
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Big Ten 2015-2016 College Football Preview – Wisconsin Badgers
Head Coach: Paul Chryst
2014 Record: 11-3
Odds to Win College Football Championship (from BetOnline): +6,600
Odds to win Big Ten (from BetOnline): +1,000
Season Win Total (from 5Dimes): 9.5
Chryst is going to want to do the same thing Wisconsin has always done and that is run the football well early and often.
Wisconsin returns only 5 starters on offense and six starters on defense, so there has been a lot of turnover here. Still, there is a lot of talent in Madison for the Badgers.
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They also benefit from being in the much weaker side of the Big Ten. The Big Ten West is there for the taking once again. Can Wisconsin make a fourth trip to the Big Ten Championship game in five years?
Team Strengths:
Would it be Wisconsin if they weren’t loaded at the running back spot? They aren’t going to match last year’s numbers since Melvin Gordon is gone, but this team still has some very good backs. Corey Clement is the clear cut starter here (he averaged 6.5 yards per carry) and there are four or five very good backs fighting for the number two spot on the depth chart.
Wisconsin’s secondary is tremendous. Tanner McEvoy returns to the free safety spot after playing at quarterback some the past couple years. McEvoy is a great safety and will lead this unit. Michael Caputo is the strong safety, and he racked up a team leading 106 tackles last year. Sojourn Shelton and Darius Hillary are both excellent cover corners. This is one of the best secondaries in the country.
The offensive line is always tremendous in Madison, and that will be the case again this year.
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Chryst is an offensive line guy, and he’ll do a great job maximizing the potential of a group that has a bunch of highly touted linemen.
Team Weaknesses:
The quarterback spot is the number one weakness for the Badgers. Joel Stave threw nine touchdowns and ten interceptions last year. Stave is not an accurate passer, and he isn’t very mobile either. He hasn’t been good enough for Wisconsin to consistently beat elite teams in the past, and I think the same will prove true again this season.
Another issue for Wisconsin’s offense is the wide receivers. Stave isn’t a good passer, and he won’t have many good options on the outside either. Only Alex Erickson has proven himself as a consistent threat on the outside. Erickson is more of a possession receiver though, and there is no deep threat on the roster. Wisconsin hasn’t recruited well at this spot the last few seasons.
Wisconsin has lost a bunch of good linebackers in the last couple years. While the current group won’t be bad, they will definitely be a clear step down from what Wisconsin has been in the past.
Wisconsin Badgers 2015-2016 Prediction: 10-3
Wisconsin isn’t quite as good of a team on paper as last year. They still have a good shot at being the best in this weak side of the Big Ten though. They get a huge matchup with Alabama in the season opener, but after that they have a very favorable schedule.
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The two teams they drew from the East were Rutgers and Maryland. A good season, but this team isn’t great.
Wisconsin Badgers 2015 Football Schedule
| Regular Season | |||
| Date | Time | vs | |
| 9/5/15 | 8:00 PM ET | @ALA | |
| 9/12/15 | TBD | M-OH | |
| 9/19/15 | TBD | TROY | |
| 9/26/15 | 8:00 PM ET | HAW | |
| 10/3/15 | TBD | IOWA | |
| 10/10/15 | TBD | @NEB | |
| 10/17/15 | 12:00 PM ET | PUR | |
| 10/24/15 | 3:30 PM ET | @ILL | |
| 10/31/15 | TBD | RUTG | |
| 11/7/15 | 3:30 PM ET | @MD | |
| 11/21/15 | TBD | NW | |
| 11/28/15 | TBD | @MINN | |
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