Jeff Miller/UW Madison
The absence of Alex Hornibrook made a big difference.
Once preseason contenders for the College Football Playoff, the Wisconsin Badgers fumbled — sometimes literally — their way to a 7-5 season. That’s not good enough for a high-profile bowl game, but pundits predict Wisconsin could make a trip to either the Outback Bowl for the second time in five years or the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl. Both games will be in Florida, and Badgers fans travel well.
Looking for another potential bright spot? Sophomore tailback Jonathan Taylor is the nation’s leading rusher (1,989 yards) and only the fourth player in Football Bowl Subdivision history to rush for more than 1,900 yards in consecutive seasons. The Heisman Trophy typically goes to a player on a highly ranked team, but Taylor recently was named a finalist for the Doak Walker Award, presented to the best running back in college football.
Wisconsin ended its dismal 2018 regular season on a disappointing note Nov. 24, falling to Minnesota for the first time since 2003 and surrendering Paul Bunyan’s Axe to the Gophers at Camp Randall Stadium for the first time since 1994. After the lopsided 37-15 loss, head coach Paul Chryst was asked if he could point to any aspect of UW’s game — offense, defense or special teams — in which the Badgers “won the battle” against Minnesota.
“Yeah, I would say no,” Chryst replied.
How did the Badgers go from a No. 4 preseason ranking and inclusion in the national championship conversation to not even winning the Big Ten West and a trip to the Big Ten Championship Game (which pits Ohio State against Northwestern on Dec. 1)?
There’s not enough space here to count the ways, but one big factor was the absence of junior quarterback (and 2017 Capital One Orange Bowl Most Valuable Player) Alex Hornibrook for three games after he suffered a concussion against Illinois on Oct. 20 and then another concussion vs. Rutgers on Nov. 3. The Badgers lost two of those three games, and when Hornibrook returned to action against Minnesota, he turned the ball over four times. Additionally, a spate of injuries resulted in a depleted defense that simply never seemed to gel.
Were expectations unreasonably high for this team? Not really, especially when you consider how many players from last season’s No. 6-ranked 13-1 team returned. For Badger Nation, that makes the reality of 2018 — by far, the worst season of the Chryst era — hurt a little more.
[Editor's note: This story has been edited to clarify UW's bowl game chances.]
