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2005 Wisconsin

10–⁠3 (5–⁠3 Big Ten), coached by Barry Alvarez, finished No. 15 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Wisconsin in 2005, game by game: won vs. Bowling Green 56–42; won vs. Temple 65–0; won at North Carolina 14–5; won vs. No. 14 Michigan 23–20; won vs. Indiana 41–24; lost at Northwestern 48–51; won at No. 22 Minnesota 38–34; won vs. Purdue 31–20; won at Illinois 41–24; lost at No. 10 Penn State 14–35; lost vs. Iowa 10–20; won at Hawai’i 41–24; won vs. No. 9 Auburn 24–10+65−21Won 56–42 vs. Bowling Green+14Bowling GreenWon 65–0 vs. Temple+65TempleWon 14–5 at North Carolina+9North CarolinaWon 23–20 vs. No. 14 Michigan+3No. 14 MichiganWon 41–24 vs. Indiana+17IndianaLost 48–51 at Northwestern-3NorthwesternWon 38–34 at No. 22 Minnesota+4No. 22 MinnesotaWon 31–20 vs. Purdue+11PurdueWon 41–24 at Illinois+17IllinoisLost 14–35 at No. 10 Penn State-21No. 10 Penn StateLost 10–20 vs. Iowa-10IowaWon 41–24 at Hawai’i+17Hawai’iWon 24–10 vs. No. 9 Auburn+14No. 9 Auburn
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 3vsBowling GreenW 56–⁠4253%
Sep 10vsTempleW 65–⁠083%
Sep 17atNorth CarolinaW 14–⁠560%
Sep 24vs14MichiganW 23–⁠2056%
Oct 1vsIndianaW 41–⁠2480%
Oct 8atNorthwesternL 48–⁠5165%
Oct 15at22MinnesotaW 38–⁠3445%
Oct 22vsPurdueW 31–⁠2075%
Oct 29atIllinoisW 41–⁠2481%
Nov 5at10Penn StateL 14–⁠3545%
Nov 12vsIowaL 10–⁠2059%
Nov 25atHawai’iW 41–⁠2462%
Jan 2Bowls & playoffvs9AuburnCapital One BowlW 24–⁠1035%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Auburn 24–⁠10 in the Capital One Bowl; No. 15 in the final AP poll; tied for 3rd in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 23rd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 5: 17
  2. Wk 6: 14
  3. Wk 7: 23
  4. Wk 8: 19
  5. Wk 9: 15
  6. Wk 10: 14
  7. Wk 11: 19
  8. Wk 12: 25
  9. Wk 13: 24
  10. Wk 14: 21
  11. Final: 15
Record
10–⁠3
Conference
5–⁠3 tied for 3rd in Big Ten
AP final
No. 15 peak No. 14
Points
446–⁠309
Coach
Barry Alvarez
Elo
1668 +100 this season
SP+ rating
11.1 No. 30 of 118; offense No. 22, defense No. 46
SRS
11.4 No. 21 of 119 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 30
Offensive coordinators
Brian White and Paul Chryst
Defensive coordinator
Bret Bielema
Captains
Brett Bell, Matt Bernstein, Donovan Raiola and Mark Zalewski
Most valuable player
Brian Calhoun
Offense
Multiple
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense41st of 119
  • Defense91st of 119
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0941%1.0441st of 119
Defense0.1141%1.0191st of 119
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-0.2own 332% allowed
Defense0.0own 273% 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 2005 class

Travis Beckum OLB★★★★No. 39
Elijah Hodge OLB★★★★No. 121
P.J. Hill FB★★★No. 829
Jeff Stehle SDE★★★No. 829
Matt Shaughnessy WDE★★★No. 954

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

The 2005 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs13.00.811
Receivers12.00.744
Defensive line32.70.793
Linebackers33.30.893
Defensive backs12.00.789
Whole class92.80.822

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 2006

The 2006 draft
Rd 3Brian Calhoun RBDetroit Lions
Rd 3Brandon Williams WRSan Francisco 49ers
Rd 4Owen Daniels TEHouston Texans
Rd 5Jason Pociask TENew York Jets
Rd 6Jonathan Orr WRTennessee Titans

All-Big Ten

3 first team, 2 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2005 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2005 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Penn State7–⁠111–⁠13
Ohio State7–⁠110–⁠24
Wisconsin5–⁠310–⁠315
Iowa5–⁠37–⁠5
Northwestern5–⁠37–⁠5
Michigan5–⁠37–⁠5
Minnesota4–⁠47–⁠5
Purdue3–⁠55–⁠6
Michigan State2–⁠65–⁠6
Indiana1–⁠74–⁠7
Illinois0–⁠82–⁠9

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