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2006 Wisconsin

12–⁠1 (7–⁠1 Big Ten), coached by Bret Bielema, finished No. 7 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Wisconsin in 2006, game by game: won vs. Bowling Green 35–14; won vs. Western Illinois 34–10; won vs. San Diego State 14–0; lost at No. 6 Michigan 13–27; won at Indiana 52–17; won vs. Northwestern 41–9; won vs. Minnesota 48–12; won at Purdue 24–3; won vs. Illinois 30–24; won vs. Penn State 13–3; won at Iowa 24–21; won vs. Buffalo 35–3; won vs. No. 8 Arkansas 17–14+36−14Won 35–14 vs. Bowling Green+21Bowling GreenWon 34–10 vs. Western Illinois+24Western IllinoisWon 14–0 vs. San Diego State+14San Diego StateLost 13–27 at No. 6 Michigan-14No. 6 MichiganWon 52–17 at Indiana+35IndianaWon 41–9 vs. Northwestern+32NorthwesternWon 48–12 vs. Minnesota+36MinnesotaWon 24–3 at Purdue+21PurdueWon 30–24 vs. Illinois+6IllinoisWon 13–3 vs. Penn State+10Penn StateWon 24–21 at Iowa+3IowaWon 35–3 vs. Buffalo+32BuffaloWon 17–14 vs. No. 8 Arkansas+3No. 8 Arkansas
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2vsBowling GreenW 35–⁠1462%
Sep 9vsWestern IllinoisW 34–⁠1089%
Sep 16vsSan Diego StateW 14–⁠080%
Sep 23at6MichiganL 13–⁠2740%
Sep 30atIndianaW 52–⁠1773%
Oct 7vsNorthwesternW 41–⁠978%
Oct 14vsMinnesotaW 48–⁠1276%
Oct 21atPurdueW 24–⁠358%
Oct 28vsIllinoisW 30–⁠2492%
Nov 4vsPenn StateW 13–⁠366%
Nov 11atIowaW 24–⁠2163%
Nov 18vsBuffaloW 35–⁠395%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs8ArkansasCapital One BowlW 17–⁠1464%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Arkansas 17–⁠14 in the Capital One Bowl; No. 7 in the final AP poll; tied for 2nd in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 5th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 7: 25
  2. Wk 8: 21
  3. Wk 9: 17
  4. Wk 10: 17
  5. Wk 11: 16
  6. Wk 12: 12
  7. Wk 13: 10
  8. Wk 14: 7
  9. Final: 7

Outland TrophyJoe Thomas, OT

Consensus All-AmericanJoe Thomas, OT

Record
12–⁠1
Conference
7–⁠1 tied for 2nd in Big Ten
AP final
No. 7 peak No. 7
Points
380–⁠157
Coach
Bret Bielema
Elo
1744 +132 this season
SP+ rating
19.1 No. 14 of 119; offense No. 37, defense No. 7, special teams No. 19
SRS
12.4 No. 17 of 119 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 36
Offensive coordinator
Paul Chryst
Defensive coordinator
Mike Hankwitz
Captains
John Stocco, Joe Thomas and Mark Zalewski
Most valuable player
John Stocco and Joe Thomas
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense47th of 119
  • Defense3rd of 119
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0542%0.9447th of 119
Defense-0.0932%0.993rd 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-0.1own 322% allowed
Defense-0.1own 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 2006 class

Lance Kendricks WR★★★★No. 150
Lance Smith RB★★★★No. 251
Jake Bscherer OT★★★★No. 263
Brandon Hoey DT★★★No. 425
Kirk DeCremer SDE★★★No. 782

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

The 2006 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.809
Running backs14.00.900
Receivers23.00.850
Offensive line33.30.855
Defensive line33.00.838
Defensive backs22.50.811
Athletes and specialists12.00.767
Whole class133.00.837

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 2007

The 2007 draft
Rd 1Joe Thomas OTCleveland Browns

All-Big Ten

3 first team, 4 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2006 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2006 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Ohio State8–⁠012–⁠12
Wisconsin7–⁠112–⁠17
Michigan7–⁠111–⁠28
Penn State5–⁠39–⁠424
Purdue5–⁠38–⁠6
Minnesota3–⁠56–⁠7
Indiana3–⁠55–⁠7
Iowa2–⁠66–⁠7
Northwestern2–⁠64–⁠8
Michigan State1–⁠74–⁠8
Illinois1–⁠72–⁠10

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