#35 – Wisconsin Badgers 10-3 SU; 8-5 ATS
Fargo’s Take
- The Barry Alvarez era ended with a bang
as Wisconsin recorded 10 wins in a season for
the first time since 1999. Enter Bret Bielema,
the defensive coordinator the last two seasons
for the Badgers, as the new head coach but he
is not coming into an impossible situation. At
least that’s what it looks like for now.
The defense is going to have to be the strength
despite slipping considerably last season but
with eight starters coming back, we should be
significant improvements. The offense is where
questions abound. Only three players are back
and just one, quarterback John Stocco, returns
at a skill position. The Badgers finished 14th
in the country in scoring offense last season
and reaching that ranking again in 2006 will be
next to impossible. The schedule sets up well
for Wisconsin and making a run at the Big Ten
title is quite possible if the young players step
up on offense. There is pressure on Bielema right
from the get go.
Returning Starters
on Offense – 3 Stocco had a sensational
junior season but matching those numbers will
be a difficult task seeing that he has nobody
coming back around him. The leading returning
receiver is Marcus Randle El, who has just one
career reception while the leading returning rusher
is Jamil Walker, who has just 18 career carries
and likely won’t even be the starter. The
offensive line brings back just two starters and
the leader, senior tackle Joe Thomas, is still
recovering from a torn ACL. The starting line
is enormous, averaging 318 pounds, so that should
help the inexperienced running game. Stocco will
have a lot of pressure on him this year to carry
the team and with 25 consecutive starts under
his belt, he should be up to the task. He will
no doubt need some help and the early part of
the season could be a work in progress until the
offense jells together.
Returning Starters
on Defense – 8 The Badgers defense
finished a disappointing 92nd in total defense
in 2005 but this should be one of the best units
in the conference this season. The defensive line
will be the strength as there are eight players
on the depth chart that have started at least
one game. Two of those players are coming back
from knee injuries and their quick recoveries
will be imperative. The linebackers are young
with freshmen and sophomores holding five of the
six spots on the depth chart. The passing defense
finished 88th in the country, allowing close to
250 ypg, the most in 10 years. The unit will be
much better this year as long as the Badgers can
continue to provide pressure to the quarterbacks.
With the offense expected to struggle early on,
the defense will be asked to win games but with
the easy non-conference schedule to start the
season, that should not be a problem.
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Schedule
- Wisconsin starts the season playing a neutral
game in Cleveland against a rebuilding Bowling
Green team. Two home games against Western Illinois
and San Diego St. follow that before the Badgers
Big Ten opener at Michigan. A second straight
road game at Indiana comes after the game against
the Wolverines and then its back-to-back home
games against Northwestern and Minnesota. The
toughest test in the second half of the conference
slate is a game at Iowa while a home game against
Penn St. will also pose a challenge. The season
finale is a cupcake game against Buffalo. Overall,
the Badgers have just four true road games and
with Ohio St. and Michigan St. off the schedule,
they couldn’t ask for a better scenario
for their young squad to have a chance throughout.
You can bet on…
We should see some low scoring games in Madison
this season, a complete opposite of what we saw
on the field last year. Bielema has his work cut
out for him is his inaugural campaign but with
Alvarez remaining with the program as the athletic
director, it should be a decent transition. Wisconsin
thrives when receiving points as it is 13-5 ATS
as an underdog since 2001 including a 5-1 mark
against the number at home. The Badgers are also
11-4 ATS in their last 15 games as a road dog
and they will find themselves in that role in
their conference opener at Michigan, a team that
is coming off a disappointing 2005 season and
one that will be seeking some revenge following
a three-point loss last season. Wisconsin is 10-6
on the road over the last three years so it does
know how to win away from home.
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