Each and every year, you can tab the Wisconsin Badgers as Big Ten contenders. You know they're going to run the heck out of the football and play good defense, and even though we are in a day and age of the run and gun and scoring 40 points to win games, the Badgers are anything but. They should keep that up again in 2015.
2015 SCHEDULE
9/5: vs. Alabama (at Cowboys Stadium)
9/12: vs. Miami (OH)
9/19: vs. Troy
9/26: vs. Hawaii
10/3: vs. Iowa
10/10: at Nebraska
10/17: vs. Purdue
10/24: at Illinois
10/31: vs. Rutgers
11/7: at Maryland
11/21: vs. Northwestern
11/28: at Minnesota
The schedule-makers have once again given the Badgers a real pass this year. This is the second straight season that Ohio State, Michigan and Michigan State have all been dodged, and that, if nothing else, should keep the Badgers winning games, even if those wins aren't of the impressive variety.
SEASON WIN TOTAL
Wisconsin's season win total is placed at 10, which more or less insinuates that it has to win out after the first game of the year against Alabama to cash ‘over’ bettors tickets. Then again, when you look at the schedule after the Tide, what is there that can trip up the Badgers? Games at Nebraska and at Maryland seem to be the most likely candidates, but clearly, Wisconsin will be favored in both games.
OFFENSIVE OUTLOOK
The quarterback position has long been a joke for the Badgers, and this year won't be an exception to that. Joel Stave and Tanner McEvoy are both back for their senior seasons, and neither were anywhere near effective last year.
Losing Melvin Gordon to the NFL might seem like a big loss, but we're not all that sure. Yes, replacing 2,587 yards and 29 TDs on the ground isn't easy to do, but remember that before Gordon, there was Montee Ball and James White, and before that, there were other great backs donning red and white as well.
Corey Clement is the next in line, and in largely mop-up duty and spare situations to give Gordon a rest last season, he rushed for 949 yards and nine TDs.
The key is going to be the offensive line. The Badgers just continue to churn out 350 pound NFL prospects along the offensive line, and Dan Voltz is the next in that line. He's a true center and is just a junior, and we have no doubt that this will be yet another season for him in which he is an All-Big Ten performer.
DEFENSIVE OUTLOOK
The defense brings back seven from last year's squad, and that could be a really good sign considering the fact that the unit allowed 294.1 yards per game, fourth in America.
Vince Biegel and Michael Caputo were both All-Big Ten last year and should be once again, but we look for Sojourn Shelton, who came on strong at the end of last year, to be an anchor at corner as well. Throwing on this team is going to be darn near impossible.
SEASON PREDICTION
When you look back at last season for Wisconsin, you see a lot of "What if?" What if the team had held on against LSU? What if the quarterbacks weren't a complete no-show against Northwestern? What if the defense was better prepared to play against an Ohio State team playing with its third-string quarterback?
Even if that game against Ohio State was a brutal loss, the bowl win over Auburn was a tremendous accomplishment.
Wisconsin is lined at 75 to 1 to win the National Championship, and we think this is a bet well worth making. Sure, the Badgers could be all but done if they get beaten in Week 1, but even still, the prospect is there to be 11-1 with a shot to take on Ohio State for the second straight season for the Big Ten title. Win either that game or the game against Alabama, and we would have a tough time seeing the CFP committee leaving the Badgers out.
Feel free to take Wisconsin at 12 to 1 to win the Big Ten as well, as we think that Ohio State is being massively overrated as the conference champ considering the fact that it is going to have to play a conference title game.
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