Wisconsin Football: Russell Wilson the Starter, Big Ten Is Badgers' to Lose

When the Wisconsin Badgers received the news that Russell Wilson would be transferring to them from North Carolina State, excitement began buzzing around Madison.  Wilson adds a great dynamic to the Wisconsin offense, which is already pretty powerful to begin with.

The Badgers averaged 41.5 points per game last year, making some of their finals look more like basketball scores than football scores.  Wilson adds a run-pass threat under center—an element that Wisconsin has never really had at their disposal.

Wisconsin plays at Michigan State and Ohio State, but gets the rest of their tough games at home.  The Badgers welcome Nebraska and Penn State into Camp Randall, where they have been very, very good.  The rest of their Big Ten opponents seem to pose little or no threat to them.  Indiana, Purdue, Minnesota and Illinois are the teams that round out Wisconsin’s conference schedule.  None of them figure to be horses in the title race this year.

Now that Wilson is on board, the Badgers will likely be eyeing a prize much bigger than the Big Ten Championship.  Wilson makes them legitimate BCS Championship contenders this year.  They are starting off at No. 11, so they have a good beginning rank, which can prove to be very helpful.

Their schedule lines up very nicely for them, as their two road tests are only of moderate difficulty.  They dodge Iowa and Michigan—two teams that are expected to finish in the middle of the pack but could still be dangerous.  There is a very good chance that Wisconsin will only be listed as underdogs in two games all year: at Michigan State and Ohio State.

Big Ten opponents will have to shake the sick feeling out of their stomach after the Russell Wilson signing and prepare themselves to take on what should be one of the country’s most prolific offenses in 2011.  The Badgers made an awfully big splash this offseason, and this could be the year that it’s BCS Championship or bust. 

The Big Ten seems to be theirs to lose now. Can they eye the bigger prize and finish the year as national champions?