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2007 Wisconsin

9–⁠4 (5–⁠3 Big Ten), coached by Bret Bielema, finished No. 24 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Wisconsin in 2007, game by game: won vs. Washington State 42–21; won at UNLV 20–13; won vs. The Citadel 45–31; won vs. Iowa 17–13; won vs. Michigan State 37–34; lost at Illinois 26–31; lost at Penn State 7–38; won vs. Northern Illinois 44–3; won vs. Indiana 33–3; lost at No. 1 Ohio State 17–38; won vs. No. 13 Michigan 37–21; won at Minnesota 41–34; lost vs. No. 14 Tennessee 17–21+41−31Won 42–21 vs. Washington State+21Washington StateWon 20–13 at UNLV+7UNLVWon 45–31 vs. The Citadel+14The CitadelWon 17–13 vs. Iowa+4IowaWon 37–34 vs. Michigan State+3Michigan StateLost 26–31 at Illinois-5IllinoisLost 7–38 at Penn State-31Penn StateWon 44–3 vs. Northern Illinois+41Northern Illino…Won 33–3 vs. Indiana+30IndianaLost 17–38 at No. 1 Ohio State-21No. 1 Ohio StateWon 37–21 vs. No. 13 Michigan+16No. 13 MichiganWon 41–34 at Minnesota+7MinnesotaLost 17–21 vs. No. 14 Tennessee-4No. 14 Tennessee
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 1vsWashington StateW 42–⁠2177%
Sep 8atUNLVW 20–⁠1380%
Sep 15vsThe CitadelW 45–⁠3190%
Sep 22vsIowaW 17–⁠1375%
Sep 29vsMichigan StateW 37–⁠3476%
Oct 6atIllinoisL 26–⁠3171%
Oct 13atPenn StateL 7–⁠3850%
Oct 20vsNorthern IllinoisW 44–⁠383%
Oct 27vsIndianaW 33–⁠378%
Nov 3at1Ohio StateL 17–⁠3824%
Nov 10vs13MichiganW 37–⁠2150%
Nov 17atMinnesotaW 41–⁠3480%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs14TennesseeOutback BowlL 17–⁠2155%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Tennessee 21–⁠17 in the Outback Bowl; No. 24 in the final AP poll; 4th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 22nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 7
  2. Wk 2: 5
  3. Wk 3: 7
  4. Wk 4: 9
  5. Wk 5: 9
  6. Wk 6: 5
  7. Wk 7: 19
  8. Wk 12: 24
  9. Wk 13: 22
  10. Wk 14: 19
  11. Final: 24
Record
9–⁠4
Conference
5–⁠3 4th in Big Ten
AP final
No. 24 peak No. 5
Points
383–⁠301
Coach
Bret Bielema
Elo
1668 +6 this season
SP+ rating
10.4 No. 40 of 120; offense No. 26, defense No. 58, special teams No. 43
SRS
5.7 No. 43 of 119 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 32
Offensive coordinator
Paul Chryst
Defensive coordinator
Mike Hankwitz
Captains
Jonathan Casillas, Andy Crooks, Ken DeBauche, Ben Strickland and Luke Swan
Most valuable player
Tyler Donovan and Matt Shaughnessy
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense27th of 119
  • Defense74th of 119
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0845%0.9027th of 119
Defense0.0639%0.9974th 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
Offense0.0own 332% 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 2007 class

Josh Oglesby OT★★★★★No. 13
John Clay RB★★★★No. 59
Kyle Jefferson WR★★★No. 467
David Gilreath WR★★★No. 608
Louis Nzegwu SDE★★★No. 768

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

The 2007 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs23.50.901
Receivers23.00.862
Offensive line15.00.994
Defensive line32.70.814
Defensive backs13.00.833
Athletes and specialists12.00.789
Whole class103.10.858

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 2008

The 2008 draft
Rd 4Jack Ikegwuonu CBPhiladelphia Eagles
Rd 6Taylor Mehlhaff KNew Orleans Saints
Rd 6Nick Hayden DTCarolina Panthers
Rd 6Paul Hubbard WRCleveland Browns

All-Big Ten

4 first team, 2 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2007 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2007 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Ohio State7–⁠111–⁠25
Michigan6–⁠29–⁠418
Illinois6–⁠29–⁠420
Wisconsin5–⁠39–⁠424
Penn State4–⁠49–⁠4
Iowa4–⁠46–⁠6
Purdue3–⁠58–⁠5
Michigan State3–⁠57–⁠6
Indiana3–⁠57–⁠6
Northwestern3–⁠56–⁠6
Minnesota0–⁠81–⁠11

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