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2009 Wisconsin

10–⁠3 (5–⁠3 Big Ten), coached by Bret Bielema, finished No. 16 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Wisconsin in 2009, game by game: won vs. Northern Illinois 28–20; won vs. Fresno State 34–31; won vs. Wofford 44–14; won vs. Michigan State 38–30; won at Minnesota 31–28; lost at No. 9 Ohio State 13–31; lost vs. No. 11 Iowa 10–20; won vs. Purdue 37–0; won at Indiana 31–28; won vs. Michigan 45–24; lost at Northwestern 31–33; won at Hawai’i 51–10; won vs. No. 14 Miami 20–14+41−18Won 28–20 vs. Northern Illinois+8Northern Illino…Won 34–31 vs. Fresno State+3Fresno StateWon 44–14 vs. Wofford+30WoffordWon 38–30 vs. Michigan State+8Michigan StateWon 31–28 at Minnesota+3MinnesotaLost 13–31 at No. 9 Ohio State-18No. 9 Ohio StateLost 10–20 vs. No. 11 Iowa-10No. 11 IowaWon 37–0 vs. Purdue+37PurdueWon 31–28 at Indiana+3IndianaWon 45–24 vs. Michigan+21MichiganLost 31–33 at Northwestern-2NorthwesternWon 51–10 at Hawai’i+41Hawai’iWon 20–14 vs. No. 14 Miami+6No. 14 Miami
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5vsNorthern IllinoisW 28–⁠2071%
Sep 12vsFresno StateW 34–⁠3163%
Sep 19vsWoffordW 44–⁠1476%
Sep 26vsMichigan StateW 38–⁠3062%
Oct 3atMinnesotaW 31–⁠2856%
Oct 10at9Ohio StateL 13–⁠3130%
Oct 17vs11IowaL 10–⁠2046%
Oct 31vsPurdueW 37–⁠071%
Nov 7atIndianaW 31–⁠2866%
Nov 14vsMichiganW 45–⁠2475%
Nov 21atNorthwesternL 31–⁠3351%
Dec 5atHawai’iW 51–⁠1060%
Dec 29Bowls & playoffvs14MiamiChamps Sports BowlW 20–⁠1450%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Miami 20–⁠14 in the Champs Sports Bowl; No. 16 in the final AP poll; tied for 4th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 26th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 10: 24
  2. Wk 11: 21
  3. Wk 12: 17
  4. Wk 15: 24
  5. Final: 16
Record
10–⁠3
Conference
5–⁠3 tied for 4th in Big Ten
AP final
No. 16 peak No. 16
Points
413–⁠283
Coach
Bret Bielema
Elo
1655 +106 this season
SP+ rating
16.9 No. 20 of 120; offense No. 18, defense No. 32, special teams No. 31
SRS
7.1 No. 33 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 42
Offensive coordinator
Paul Chryst
Defensive coordinator
Dave Doeren
Captains
Garrett Graham, Chris Maragos, O’Brien Schofield and Mickey Turner
Most valuable player
Garrett Graham and O’Brien Schofield
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense11th of 120
  • Defense29th of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted10th of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted35th of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1246%0.8911th of 120
Defense0.0036%1.1229th of 120
Opponent-adjusted0.10 off
0.02 def		46% off
37% def		—10th off
35th def
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. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense-0.4own 342% allowed
Defense-0.3own 302% 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.

Leaders

Passing yardsScott Tolzien QB2,705 yds
Passing touchdownsScott Tolzien QB16 TD
Rushing yardsJohn Clay RB1,517 yds
Rushing touchdownsJohn Clay RB18 TD
Receiving yardsNick Toon WR805 yds
Receiving touchdownsGarrett Graham TE7 TD
InterceptionsChris Maragos DB4 INT

Top recruits in the 2009 class

Kraig Appleton WR★★★★No. 128
Jordan Kohout DT★★★★No. 233
Shelby Harris WDE★★★★No. 335
Montee Ball RB★★★No. 363
Jon Budmayr PRO★★★No. 377

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

The 2009 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.889
Running backs13.00.890
Receivers33.00.854
Offensive line13.00.811
Defensive line33.70.890
Defensive backs32.30.796
Whole class123.00.851

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 2010

The 2010 draft
Rd 4Garrett Graham TEHouston Texans
Rd 4O’Brien Schofield OLBArizona Cardinals

Roster 113

The 2009 roster

113 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2009 line; 32 have a stat line. See the roster

All-Big Ten

5 first team, 1 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2009 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2009 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Ohio State7–⁠111–⁠25
Iowa6–⁠211–⁠27
Penn State6–⁠211–⁠29
Wisconsin5–⁠310–⁠316
Northwestern5–⁠38–⁠5
Michigan State4–⁠46–⁠7
Purdue4–⁠45–⁠7
Minnesota3–⁠56–⁠7
Illinois2–⁠63–⁠9
Michigan1–⁠75–⁠7
Indiana1–⁠74–⁠8

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