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2004 Wisconsin

9–⁠3 (6–⁠2 Big Ten), coached by Barry Alvarez, finished No. 17 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Wisconsin in 2004, game by game: won vs. UCF 34–6; won vs. UNLV 18–3; won at Arizona 9–7; won vs. Penn State 16–3; won vs. Illinois 24–7; won at No. 18 Ohio State 24–13; won at No. 5 Purdue 20–17; won vs. Northwestern 24–12; won vs. Minnesota 38–14; lost at Michigan State 14–49; lost at No. 17 Iowa 7–30; lost vs. No. 8 Georgia 21–24+28−35Won 34–6 vs. UCF+28UCFWon 18–3 vs. UNLV+15UNLVWon 9–7 at Arizona+2ArizonaWon 16–3 vs. Penn State+13Penn StateWon 24–7 vs. Illinois+17IllinoisWon 24–13 at No. 18 Ohio State+11No. 18 Ohio StateWon 20–17 at No. 5 Purdue+3No. 5 PurdueWon 24–12 vs. Northwestern+12NorthwesternWon 38–14 vs. Minnesota+24MinnesotaLost 14–49 at Michigan State-35Michigan StateLost 7–30 at No. 17 Iowa-23No. 17 IowaLost 21–24 vs. No. 8 Georgia-3No. 8 Georgia
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 4vsUCFW 34–⁠675%
Sep 11vsUNLVW 18–⁠370%
Sep 18atArizonaW 9–⁠765%
Sep 25vsPenn StateW 16–⁠367%
Oct 2vsIllinoisW 24–⁠782%
Oct 9at18Ohio StateW 24–⁠1332%
Oct 16at5PurdueW 20–⁠1735%
Oct 23vsNorthwesternW 24–⁠1278%
Nov 6vsMinnesotaW 38–⁠1470%
Nov 13atMichigan StateL 14–⁠4964%
Nov 20at17IowaL 7–⁠3036%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs8GeorgiaOutback BowlL 21–⁠2435%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Georgia 24–⁠21 in the Outback Bowl; No. 17 in the final AP poll; 3rd in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 42nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 21
  2. Wk 3: 21
  3. Wk 4: 20
  4. Wk 5: 20
  5. Wk 6: 20
  6. Wk 7: 15
  7. Wk 8: 10
  8. Wk 9: 6
  9. Wk 10: 6
  10. Wk 11: 5
  11. Wk 12: 4
  12. Wk 13: 9
  13. Wk 14: 20
  14. Wk 15: 17
  15. Final: 17

Consensus All-AmericanErasmus James, DL

Record
9–⁠3
Conference
6–⁠2 3rd in Big Ten
AP final
No. 17 peak No. 4
Points
249–⁠185
Coach
Barry Alvarez
Elo
1602 +69 this season
SP+ rating
10.5 No. 33 of 120; offense No. 99, defense No. 8
SRS
7.4 No. 29 of 119 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 36
Offensive coordinator
Brian White
Defensive coordinator
Bret Bielema
Captains
Dan Buenning, Anthony Davis, Anttaj Hawthorne and Jim Leonhard
Most valuable player
Scott Starks
Offense
Multiple
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense60th of 118
  • Defense29th of 118
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense-0.0834%1.0260th of 118
Defense-0.0933%1.0129th of 118
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense-0.1own 322% allowed
Defense0.0own 293% caused

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. From CollegeFootballData.com.

Top recruits in the 2004 class

Nick Hayden DT★★★★No. 85
Marcus Randle El ATH★★★No. 229
Jammar Crane OLB★★No. 831
Allen Langford CB★★No. 979
Dave Peck TE★★No. 979

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2004 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs12.00.700
Receivers32.00.752
Defensive line14.00.968
Linebackers42.00.761
Defensive backs32.00.752
Athletes and specialists22.50.822
Whole class142.20.776

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Drafted in 2005

The 2005 draft
Rd 1Erasmus James DEMinnesota Vikings
Rd 3Scott Starks DBJacksonville Jaguars
Rd 4Dan Buenning OGTampa Bay Buccaneers
Rd 5Jonathan Welsh DEIndianapolis Colts
Rd 6Anttaj Hawthorne DTOakland Raiders
Rd 6Jason Jefferson DTNew Orleans Saints
Rd 7Anthony Davis RBIndianapolis Colts

All-Big Ten

5 first team, 2 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2004 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2004 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Iowa7–⁠110–⁠28
Michigan7–⁠19–⁠314
Wisconsin6–⁠29–⁠317
Northwestern5–⁠36–⁠6
Ohio State4–⁠48–⁠420
Purdue4–⁠47–⁠5
Michigan State4–⁠45–⁠7
Minnesota3–⁠57–⁠5
Penn State2–⁠64–⁠7
Illinois1–⁠73–⁠8
Indiana1–⁠73–⁠8

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.