Wisconsin Badgers Season Preview

A season in which they won a share of the Big Ten title and reached the grand daddy of them all (Rose Bowl) certainly fits into the mold of having a magical season.

Losing to the TCU Horned Frogs after the president of Ohio State said TCU and non automatic qualifiers “played sisters of the poor” was a bad choice of words, especially since his mack daddies lost to those poor little TCU Frogs.

Still, a trip to Pasadena is a dream come true and anything else outside of a National Championship would not have been better. Bret Bielema has done a fabulous job as the coach since taking over for Barry Alvarez (Athletic Director).

At 41 years old and through five years with the Badgers, Bielema is 49-16 overall with a Big Ten record of 27-13.

That equates to a 10-3 type of season with a New Year’s Day Bowl every season. Not bad in Badger land where most of the fans are rabid about their program. They are excited for the new Big Ten and believe they have the coaching staff to continue to win 10 games a season. 

Will Russell Elevate His Game?

The team lost a few of their stars on offense coming off that Rose Bowl berth. Quarterback Scott Tolzien may be a difficult loss since he was the last QB (Brooks Bollinger, 2000) to take the Badgers to a BCS Bowl. However, the addition of North Carolina State transfer Russell Wilson should ease the stress.

Wilson was quite the story at NC State, where he threw for 76 TDs compared to 26 INTs and over 8,000 yards in nearly three full seasons. His completion rating was only in the upper 50s, which is something that must improve. 

Starting running back John Clay left for the NFL Draft a year early as well, but it turned out barely to be considered a loss since James White and Montee Ball were both arguably better a season ago. They both will tote the rock a guaranteed 25 plus times combined per game.

If you’re head coach Bret Bielema and coordinator Paul Chryst, why would you do anything but run anyways? Both 1,000-yard rushers return from a season ago and the Badgers would have returned three if John Clay had not entered the NFL Draft a year early.

White has blazing speed and can catch the ball out of the backfield. For a freshman, he had quite the wiggle and often avoided taking the big hit.

Ball (5’11”, 236-pounds) will often challenge a defense by taking on would-be tacklers. He has a nice burst as well as a ton of lower body strength to keep the chains moving. 

The Power of Cheese

With Wilson starting as the signal caller, expect him to take off himself a few times when there are no targets open downfield. Having Nick Toon back will certainly help, assuming he can stay healthy for a season.The Badgers will forever live and die by their front wall. 

Expect the line to help open up the passing game more with Wilson’s arm strength and ability to throw the ball downfield. Despite losing two All-Americans in Gabe Carimi and John Moffitt, the Badgers maulers will open up holes that even Bucky the Badger could run through blindfolded.

They return the entire right side of the line with Ricky Wagner, Josh Oglesby, Kevin Zeitler, and Peter Konz leading the way.

Wisconsin often throws in an extra fullback (Brady Ewing) and an extra tight end or two (Jacob Pedersen and Jake Byrne) to make it easier to use the play-action pass after the defense commits to stopping the run.

Nick Needs to Go Loony Toons

The key for the Badgers is when the opposition is forced to put eight/nine men in the box to stop the Badgers running game.

After they open the playbook up, expect them to beat the secondary deep for a home run and be able to master it with consistency. The Badgers made the most of Chris Chambers and Lee Evans back in the day, so can Nick Toon (who has exceptional talent) do the same?

Toon has often been nicked up as a 6’3”, 218-pound senior. The son of former All-Pro NFL wideout Al Toon, Nick is expected to be fully healthy heading into the 2011 season. It is remarkable that he has only caught eight career touchdowns with all the talent he has.  

Toon will need a teammate to step up his game in order to draw fewer double coverages. The leading candidates to start opposite him is Jared Abbrederis. Keep a close eye on Jeff Duckworth, but the depth is a concern after the terrible news of Kraig Appleton, who was shot several times in the off-season. We wish him nothing but a speedy recovery.  

The Badgers will have two solid tight ends (Pedersen and Byrne) which is very common in the system they run. Somebody out of the blue must step up because the losses of Kendricks, Carimi, Moffitt, Tolzien, Clay, Anderson and Gilreath is a lot to overcome without somebody improving their game. 

Look for fullback Brady Ewing to have a solid season blocking, catching and running the bacon behind the great wall of cheese.  

Badgers That Run Like Deer

JJ Watt was an absolute beast coming off the edge; he dominated in the biggest game of the regular season against Ohio State as he registered two sacks on Terrelle Pryor. Even on running plays, he was quick enough to get in the backfield and notch a few tackle for losses. Somebody must fill the void that he is leaving at Camp Randall.

Louis Nzegwu was opposite of Watt on the line and must deliver big without Watt. A season ago, Nzegwu registered 3.5 sacks, 7.5 tackle for losses and 46 total tackles. He will be going into the third season as a full-time starter. At 6’4” 245 pounds, he is quick off the ball and has a solid motor while getting in the opponents’ backfield.

The Badgers front four was arguably the best in the Big Ten because of Watt and Nzegwu. The interior of the line will need a pair of seniors to step up production wise in Patrick Butrym and Jordan Kohout.

Butrym has a tad more talent, though both players are considered hogs that can stuff the run and occasionally get after the passer.

We Don't Need No Stinking Badgers

The LB corps will only be as good as the front four, however they need to stay at the same level as they did a season ago.

Culmer St. Jean and Blake Sorensen are both done in Madison, so Kevin Claxton and Ethan Armstrong must step up. Both do not have much experience other than as backups last season.

Claxton was a solid three-star recruit out of Florida whereas Armstrong is out of Illinois. Armstrong, though, is a downhill tackler and is a solid 6’2”, 237 pounds. These Badgers LB’s may not be the fastest, but they make up for it with great instincts and pure tackling ability.

Do not forget about Mike Taylor and Chris Borland (health concerns still) who is coming off a season-ending injured shoulder. He was once an All Big-Ten caliber type of player, so expect him to start on the other edge with Taylor.

Defensive Back University?

The back four has always been kind to Bucky and the Badgers going all the way back to 1991, where Troy Vincent became an All-American and was the seventh pick in the ’92 NFL Draft.

They may not have an All-American per se, but they certainly have a few All Big-Ten performers with Antonio Fenelus and Aaron Henry both returning for their senior campaigns. Losing Jay Valai should not become a huge issue with those two solid contributors.

The other two starters are expected to be Devin Smith and Shelton Johnson. Smith played a bunch of nickel back last season, but Johnson is fairly green. As long as the front four is stout like it was a season ago, the secondary may look even better in 2011.  That is easier said than done, though.

Drama's Forecast

Losing All-American defensive end JJ Watt will be quite the challenge for a team that has not had a defensive All-American since 2004, when Erasmus James made the AP team.

Watt put relentless pressure on opposing Big Ten quarterbacks and he ended up winning the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. It is not so much replacing an individual that will make up the difference, but how the unit as a whole responds without him. (Note: I challenge the DL more than LB though against Nebraska the LB's better step up)

The most underrated unit on this team could be the secondary with two All Big-Ten performers back in the secondary (Fenelus and Henry) and depending on how the linebacker unit performs, the opposition may continue to struggle.

The schedule will not let up by the end of October as trips to East Lansing and Columbus in back-to-back weeks will be extremely difficult. Throw in the conference opener against the Huskers a few weeks prior, and that ultimately could be a preview of the Big Ten Title game.

They need to win the prime-time games like they did last season or else they may fail to reach a New Year's Day bowl. However, Bielema has proven that he can win games in tough environments, so going against the grain may not be the smartest decision.

Returning Starters: 5 Offense/ 6 Defense

Projected Record: 10-3, 5-3

Predicted Finish: Third in Leaders, Fifth Overall

Projected Bowl: Insight Bowl 

(Please let me know if there any player updates/injuries I am unaware of and remember this is just one man's opinion and it is far from gospel.)