2011 College Football Preview: Wisconsin Badgers Analysis and Projections

The Wisconsin Badgers had the making of a national championship contender in 2010, but came up short on the road against the surprise team of the year Michigan State and lost out on their chance to potentially play in the Bowl Championship Series National Championship game. 

An 11-1 regular season record earned the Badgers a share of the Big Ten Conference and a Rose Bowl berth against BCS-buster Texas Christian University. Three botched field goals cost Wisconsin their first Rose Bowl victory since 1999. 

The Badgers return 13 starters from last season's team, including their two sophomore running backs, James White and Monte Ball, who ran for over a combined 2,048 yards. 

Veteran starting quarterback Scott Tolzein completed his final season of eligibility in 2010, but the Badgers won the recruiting war for former North Carolina State quarterback Russell Wilson over the summer. 

Wilson has a year left to play as a graduate student and gives the Badgers potentially their most dynamic quarterback in school history and filled what may have been the only hole preventing them from making another run at a national title in 2011.

Wisconsin has never won a national championship in football, but sixth year coach Bret Bielema is preparing his team to re-write the record books and bring the prized crystal football to Madison in 2011.

Offense

Five starters return from a Badger offense that scored 83 points against Indiana and hung 70 points on Northwestern. The returning starters do not include White and Ball because they were listed below the bulkier running back of the bunch, John Clay, last season. 

Wilson is coming off of back to back 3,000 yard passing seasons and has also shown the ability to scramble very well and pick up extra yards when a play breaks down, which is something Wisconsin has never had at the quarterback position in recent memory. 

Senior wide receiver Nick Toon is poised for a breakout season after being slowed down by a toe injury in 2010 and will have to be great with a lack of depth in the Badgers' receiving corps. 

Sophomore walk-on wideout Jared Abbrederis and tight end Manasseh Garner will need to play well and at least be legitimate threats in the receiving game to help take some coverage away from Toon. Receivers Jeff Duckworth and Isaiah Williams will also be in the mix this season as well. 

Three offensive linemen return from a year ago, but the Badgers must find a replacement for their all-star left tackle Gabe Carimi. Do not expect Wisconsin to have much trouble shuffling their offensive line though. 

Overall, the Badgers have arguably the best running back combo in the country with White and Ball, along with a playmaker at quarterback in Wilson, who will not have to carry the entire team like he did at NC State. 

Look for the Badgers to pound away on the ground like they always do and put up even more points than they did a year ago with Wilson making plays in the passing game and with his legs. Defensive coordinators will be up for an entire week trying to figure out how to slow down Wisconsin's offense this season.

Defense

Replacing second-team All-American defensive end J.J. Watt will be no easy task, but the Badgers bring back the rest of their defensive line, including one of the best defensive tackle tandems in college football. 

Defensive tackles Jordan Kohout and Patrick Butrym will be terrorizing opposing quarterbacks and shutting down just about every rushing offense the Badgers will have to face in 2011, while junior defensive end David Gilbert will attempt to fill the vacancy left behind by Watt. 

Two linebackers must also be replaced from a season ago, however, senior linebacker Kevin Claxton is more than ready to make an impact at outside linebacker and sophomore middle linebacker Chris Borland could be the Badgers best defensive player this season. 

All-Big Ten safety Aaron Henry returns to bolster Wisconsin's secondary and will be aided by senior cornerback Antonio Fenelus, who has the potential to be one of the best cover corners in the country this year. 

Wisconsin's defense should be every bit as good this season as it was in 2010 and will give them a chance to win every game in 2011.

Prediction

The only teams who can stack up with Wisconsin in the Big Ten are Ohio State and Nebraska. The Badgers' running attack will overpower just about everyone on their schedule, but Wisconsin will have to be a legitimate threat to throw the ball in their toughest games of the season. 

Wilson will not put up the same numbers he had while playing at NC State, but only because he does not have to in Wisconsin's run-heavy offense. 

The defense will have some ups and downs, which will be almost unnoticeable with Wisconsin's offense having a chance to put up 50 points on any team they line up against. 

If the Badgers can survive a trip to Columbus against Ohio State and find a way to put points on the board against the stout team defense of Nebraska, then nothing should be preventing them from a berth in the BCS National Championship Game in 2011. 

Watch out world, because the Badgers are about to crash the BCS party and look to end the Southeastern Conference's long running streak of consecutive national championships.

Go to the final slide to see how many games Wisconsin will in 2011!

How Many Games Will Wisconsin Win in 2011?

Projected Record: 13-0 (8-0 Big Ten, 1st Place Leaders Division, Big Ten Champions)

9/1 - UNLV - Win

9/10 - Oregon State - Win

9/17 - Northern Illinois - Win

9/24 - South Dakota - Win

10/1 - Nebraska - Win

10/15 - Indiana - Win

10/22 - @ Michigan State - Win

10/29 - @ Ohio State - Win

11/5 - Purdue - Win

11/12 - @ Minnesota - Win

11/19 - @ Illinois - Win

11/26 - Penn State - Win

12/3 - vs. Nebraska* - Win

* - Big Ten Championship Game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana

Zach Dirlam is a Big Ten Columnist for the new website Sports at Work. Check out his blog, Dirlam’s Dirty Dugout Sports Blog, which features this story along with other articles and video reports on the major sports. You can also follow his blog on Twitter, which will provide you with the latest updates about what will be posted on the blog!