Team: Wisconsin Badgers

Head Coach: Bret Bielema

2008 Record: 7-6 (3-5), crushed by Florida State in the Champs Sports Bowl

What happened to Wisconsin last year?  They were a team everyone in the conference was scared of, but as it turned out, they were nothing more than a shaky team riddled with injuries and an offense with absolutely no semblance of a passing game.  Maybe if we had looked a little closer during the preseason, we could have predicted it.  But we are lazy, so alas...

Anyway, it was definitely enjoyable for us to watch Wisconsin wallow in mediocrity last season for a couple of reasons.  First, we've been there recently, so we can relate.  But more importantly, we have really come to despise Bret Bielema over his three-year tenure as the Badgers' head coach.  He had a stellar first season with all of Barry Alvarez's players, and everyone annointed him a genius.  But the last two years have shown us that he's probably closer to the dumb jock that he looks like in this picture:

Anyway, Bielema had this all coming to him when he decided to run the clock out on Penn State using offsides penalties in 2006, so the Lions couldn't get the ball before the half.  Some people called this a great coaching move, while we would substitute "great coaching" with "dick."  Kharma is real, and it has since taken a big bite out of Bielema's ass.  Case in point:

As you can tell, just thinking of this dude gets us a little fired up, but what we should really be concentrating on is whether or not he can turn Wisconsin's team around this year.  The team appears to be healthier, a young, mobile QB may be ready to take the helm, and the ground game is going to be killer.  Can the Badgers get back to the top of the conference?  What a teaser!  Click "Read More" to see the full preview.

In the spring, it looked like senior Dustin Sherer would be the man for the job at QB.  Sherer played some last year, filling in at time for Allan Evridge, and while he was largely inconsistent, he at least brings some experience at the table.  However, the coaching staff has been giving redshirt freshman Curt Phillips a lot of reps in the preseason, and it looks like he may get the job.  To us, the answer seems obvious: Phillips is a young player with good mobility who has loads of time to develop and Sherer is a guy with one year left who doesn't do anything all that well.  On the other hand, Bielema is on a bit of a hot seat, so he may not be all that patient if Phillips starts slow.  And of course, Phillips doesn't have any game experience yet:

The most people Curt Phillips has played in front of.

Still, we think that Phillips is going to be the guy to lead the offense this season, whether it happens right away or after a few games.

Whoever the QB ends up being, some of his load will be lightened by one of the conference's top rushing attacks.  John Clay was one of the best backup running backs in the country last year, rushing for 884 yards, 9 TDs and a 5.7 ypc average.  With P.J. Hill (and all of our third-person P.J. Hill jokes) gone, Clay becomes the starter, and another talented backup, junior Zach Brown, will fill Clay's old role.  We've read some articles saying Clay and Brown are the best running back combo in the Big11Ten, but we know two guys who would beg to differ:

Either way, the ground game is going to be what drives the Badger offense this year (as if that's a big surprise), and it's going to be hard to stop.  Conversely, the Wisconsin passing attack, when and if it actually happens, may be easier to deal with.  The team's top receiver from last year was its tight end, Garrett Graham, and he caught just 40 passes for 540 yards.  He returns for his senior season to lead the aerial attack (or lack thereof).  Juniors David Gilreath and Isaac Anderson will be the starting wideouts for the Badgers.  Gilreath will probaby be the main weapon out wide, as he is extremely quick and strong for his size.  Expect to see him get some work in the ground game as well, as he had 305 yards rushing last year on 25 carries.

The O-line will be anchored by junior center John Moffit and junior leftt tackle Gabe Carimi, that is if the two can stay healthy.  Carimi was injured during the Ohio State game last year, and he suffered a knee injury in preseason camp recently.  Although the injury is supposedly minor, Carimi's health is a major concern.  Moffit had a very solid year at center in 2008, but he suffered a pectoral strain last week.  Bielema says Moffit should be good to go sometime this week.  The line obviously opened up holes for the running game last year, but struggled a bit in pass protection.  If Moffit and Carimi stay healthy, look for both areas to improve this year.

On defense, the Badgers are trying to recover from a 2008 season that saw them finish just eighth in the conference in scoring defense.  Improving that performance starts at the defensives line.  Wisconsin has to get more pressure on the quarterback this year, as they were tenth in the conference last year with only 23 sacks.  Providing most of the pressure will be senior end O'Brien Schofield, who had 5 sacks and 8.5 TFL last year.  J.J. Watt, a former walk-on after trasnferring from Central Michigan, will get the start at the other end.  Watt is big for an end at 6'6", 285, but isn't the speed rusher that Schofield is.  The interior lineman will be key this year, as they'll need to eat up space against the run and help Schofield get into the backfield against the pass.  Senior Jeff Steele and Dan Moore will be the starters.

The linebackers won't be mentioned among the elite in the Big11Ten, but they should get the job done.  Senior Jaevery McFadden returns to the middle spot after leading the team in tackles last year, and he'll be flanked by juniors Culmer St. John and Blake Sorensen, both of whom have limited experience but are expected to be steady defenders.  In the secondary, sophomore Aaron Henry has the potential to be a shutdown corner after he had difficulty last season returning from a knee injury the year before.  He's athletic and has good speed, so look for him to be a factor against the pass.  Niles Brinkley will start at the other corner spot, and despite being a bit undersized, he had a nice year in 2008 with 40 tackles and 4 picks.  At the safety spots, junior Jai Valai and senior Chris Maragos will both have to make more plays if the Badgers secondary wants to great instead of average in 2009.

Wisconson's schedule isn't too hard, but they do have three tough away games on the conference schedule in Ohio State, Minnesota and Northwestern, and we think they're going to drop all of those.  The Badgers may be able to get things going in the right direction this year, but we don't think the record is going to reflect it.  We're just not sure we can count on the team to score when they absolutely need it.  But one thing we can count on: when things start going badly for Wisconsin this year, we'll definitely enjoy the dumbfounded look on Bielema's face.

WWTL Prediction: 6-6 (3-5)

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