Jeff Miller/UW-Madison
The Badgers were ranked number 9 in preseason polls, the best showing since 2007. Could a playoff appearance be in the cards this year?
Given the recent announcements about the University of Wisconsin playing high-profile neutral-site football games against Notre Dame in 2020 and 2021 (at Green Bay’s Lambeau Field and Chicago’s Soldier Field) and home-and-home games against UCLA in 2029 and 2030, it’s easy to overlook the fact that UW kicks off its 2017 season on Sept. 1 at Camp Randall against Utah State.
Note that this is a Friday night game, a schedule change the Big Ten implemented this season to take advantage of the conference’s new TV deal with ESPN and Fox. (It’s also likely to impact attendance at Madison-area high school football games that night.)
Granted, UW vs. USU is not a marquee matchup, but it could be the beginning of another memorable season under 2016 Big Ten Coach of the Year Paul Chryst, a Badgers alum entering his third season as UW’s head coach. Last season, Wisconsin played six teams ranked in the Associated Press poll’s top 10. That’s not bad for a team that started the season unranked and ended as Cotton Bowl champions.
This year’s No. 9 preseason ranking is UW’s first preseason top-10 appearance since 2007’s 9-4 team (which went on to lose the Outback Bowl on New Year’s Day).
Sam McKewon, a columnist for the Omaha World-Herald in Nebraska — home of the Badgers’ biggest Big Ten West rival, which hosts UW on Oct. 7 — predicts Wisconsin will win the division title again this season and seems a little shocked by UW’s productivity over the past five years.
“Wisconsin wins despite changing coaches, coordinators and quarterbacks with stunning regularity since 2012,” McKewon wrote. “Through all that, Wisconsin has averaged 10 wins per season.”
Sports Illustrated goes even further, arguing that a Big Ten championship for the Badgers “could catapult them into the playoff.” And according to Bovada’s Las Vegas Superbook’s college football odds, the Badgers have the same odds (20 to 1) of winning the 2018 National Championship as Michigan and Penn State; Ohio State’s odds are 3 to 1, right behind top bet Alabama at 5 to 2.
Getting there won’t be easy, but it could sure be fun. Last season, the 11-3 Badgers stayed in contention for the four-team College Football Playoff until the very end, when they stunk up Lucas Oil Stadium in the Big Ten Championship Game — blowing a 28-7 lead against Penn State and losing 38-31. It was Wisconsin’s fourth appearance in the game’s six-year history.
Despite the loss of redshirt senior inside linebacker and team captain Jack Cichy to a torn ACL — a season-ending injury for the former walk-on that occurred during a preseason practice — Wisconsin has terrific depth at the linebacker position. Sophomore Alex Hornibrook, in his second season as UW’s No. 1 quarterback, has improved both his physical and mental game, and his favorite target, senior Troy Fumagalli, is considered by many pundits to be one of college football’s most NFL-ready tight ends.
David Stluka/UW Athletics
Jim Leonhard — a former UW safety who spent a decade in the NFL — was promoted to defensive coordinator after just a year on the Badgers coaching staff.
Fans also will want to keep their eye on the sidelines this season, as Jim Leonhard — a former Badger safety who spent a decade in the NFL — takes over for Justin Wilcox as UW’s defensive coordinator. Hired by Chryst last season as the defensive backs coach and promoted after only one year of college coaching experience, Leonhard helped revive a secondary that averaged only nine interceptions per year. In 2016, the Badgers picked off 22 to lead all teams in the Power Five conferences. (Fun fact: Leonhard holds Wisconsin’s single-season interception record with 11.)
This defense has few holes, despite the loss of guys like Vince Biegel, T.J. Watt and Sojourn Shelton to graduation and the NFL. UW ranked fourth nationally last season in scoring defense, allowing only 15.6 points per game. The Badgers’ 3-4 defense also posted top-10 rankings in total defense (301.4 yards per game), rushing defense (98.8 yards per game) and pass efficiency defense (106.9).
If you’re heading to Camp Randall on Sept. 1 or any other gameday, know that UW is implementing a clear-bag policy this year, similar to the one used at NFL stadiums. Fans are allowed to carry in one large, clear bag (which season-ticket holders should have received free in the mail from the university) as well as a small clutch purse measuring no larger than 6.5-by-4.5 inches. For context, nine of the Big Ten’s 14 schools have a clear-bag policy, and Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State have banned bags altogether.
“It’ll still speed up the entrance at our gates,” Jason King, UW’s senior associate athletic director for capital projects and operations, told the Wisconsin State Journal in July. “There will still be some checking that needs to obviously take place. But the ability to visually see what’s in a bag makes the process a lot smoother.”
