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2011 Wisconsin

11–⁠3 (6–⁠2 Big Ten), coached by Bret Bielema, finished No. 10 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Wisconsin in 2011, game by game: won vs. UNLV 51–17; won vs. Oregon State 35–0; won vs. Northern Illinois 49–7; won vs. South Dakota 59–10; won vs. No. 8 Nebraska 48–17; won vs. Indiana 59–7; lost at No. 15 Michigan State 31–37; lost at Ohio State 29–33; won vs. Purdue 62–17; won at Minnesota 42–13; won at Illinois 28–17; won vs. No. 20 Penn State 45–7; won vs. No. 11 Michigan State 42–39; lost vs. No. 6 Oregon 38–45+52−7Won 51–17 vs. UNLV+34UNLVWon 35–0 vs. Oregon State+35Oregon StateWon 49–7 vs. Northern Illinois+42Northern Illino…Won 59–10 vs. South Dakota+49South DakotaWon 48–17 vs. No. 8 Nebraska+31No. 8 NebraskaWon 59–7 vs. Indiana+52IndianaLost 31–37 at No. 15 Michigan State-6No. 15 Michigan StateLost 29–33 at Ohio State-4Ohio StateWon 62–17 vs. Purdue+45PurdueWon 42–13 at Minnesota+29MinnesotaWon 28–17 at Illinois+11IllinoisWon 45–7 vs. No. 20 Penn State+38No. 20 Penn StateWon 42–39 vs. No. 11 Michigan State+3No. 11 Michigan StateLost 38–45 vs. No. 6 Oregon-7No. 6 Oregon
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 1vsUNLVW 51–⁠1786%
Sep 10vsOregon StateW 35–⁠075%
Sep 17vsNorthern IllinoisW 49–⁠762%
Sep 24vsSouth DakotaW 59–⁠1092%
Oct 1vs8NebraskaW 48–⁠1763%
Oct 15vsIndianaW 59–⁠791%
Oct 22at15Michigan StateL 31–⁠3755%
Oct 29atOhio StateL 29–⁠3349%
Nov 5vsPurdueW 62–⁠1784%
Nov 12atMinnesotaW 42–⁠1385%
Nov 19atIllinoisW 28–⁠1768%
Nov 26vs20Penn StateW 45–⁠768%
Dec 3vs11Michigan StateBig Ten Championship GameW 42–⁠3957%
Jan 2Bowls & playoffvs6OregonRose BowlL 38–⁠4544%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Oregon 45–⁠38 in the Rose Bowl; No. 10 in the final AP poll; Big Ten champions.

In program history: The 4th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 11
  2. Wk 2: 8
  3. Wk 3: 7
  4. Wk 4: 6
  5. Wk 5: 7
  6. Wk 6: 4
  7. Wk 7: 4
  8. Wk 8: 4
  9. Wk 9: 12
  10. Wk 10: 19
  11. Wk 11: 16
  12. Wk 12: 15
  13. Wk 13: 15
  14. Wk 14: 15
  15. Wk 15: 9
  16. Final: 10

Big Ten champions6–⁠2 in the conference, won the Big Ten Championship Game

Heisman voteMontee Ball, fourth

Led the nationRussell Wilson: passer rating (191.8); Montee Ball: rushing yards (1,923 yds), rushing touchdowns (33 TD), points (236 pts), points per game (16.86)

2 consensus All-AmericansMontee Ball, RB; Kevin Zeitler, OG

Record
11–⁠3
Conference
6–⁠2 tied for 2nd in Big Ten
AP final
No. 10 peak No. 4
Points
618–⁠266
Coach
Bret Bielema
Elo
1748 +100 this season
SP+ rating
26.1 No. 6 of 120; offense No. 4, defense No. 36, special teams No. 16
SRS
20.5 No. 5 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 44
Offensive coordinator
Paul Chryst
Defensive coordinators
Chris Ash and Charlie Partridge
Captains
Patrick Butrym, Bradie Ewing, Aaron Henry and Russell Wilson
Most valuable player
Montee Ball and Russell Wilson
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense1st of 120
  • Defense51st of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted1st of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted69th of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.2148%1.021st of 120
Defense0.0339%0.9751st of 120
Opponent-adjusted0.17 off
0.05 def		48% off
40% def		—1st off
69th 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-0.1own 322% allowed
Defense-0.3own 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.

Leaders

Passing yardsRussell Wilson QB3,175 yds
Passing touchdownsRussell Wilson QB33 TD
Rushing yardsMontee Ball RB1,923 yds
Rushing touchdownsMontee Ball RB33 TD
Receiving yardsJared Abbrederis WR933 yds
Receiving touchdownsNick Toon WR10 TD
InterceptionsAaron Henry DB4 INT

Top recruits in the 2011 class

Melvin Gordon RB★★★★No. 249
Jake Keefer ILB★★★★No. 256
Darius Hillary CB★★★No. 928
A.J. Jordan WR★★★No. 928
Derek Watt OLB★★★No. 972

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

The 2011 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs14.00.901
Receivers52.80.823
Offensive line12.00.758
Linebackers33.30.849
Defensive backs43.00.821
Athletes and specialists12.00.733
Whole class152.90.822

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 2012

The 2012 draft
Rd 1Kevin Zeitler OGCincinnati Bengals
Rd 2Peter Konz CAtlanta Falcons
Rd 3Russell Wilson QBSeattle Seahawks
Rd 4Nick Toon WRNew Orleans Saints
Rd 5Bradie Ewing FBAtlanta Falcons
Rd 6Brad Nortman PCarolina Panthers

Roster 119

The 2011 roster

119 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2011 line; 24 have a stat line. See the roster

All-Big Ten

8 first team, 4 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2011 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2011 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Michigan State7–⁠111–⁠311
Michigan6–⁠211–⁠212
Wisconsin6–⁠211–⁠310
Penn State6–⁠29–⁠4
Nebraska5–⁠39–⁠424
Iowa4–⁠47–⁠6
Purdue4–⁠47–⁠6
Ohio State3–⁠56–⁠7
Northwestern3–⁠56–⁠7
Illinois2–⁠67–⁠6
Minnesota2–⁠63–⁠9
Indiana0–⁠81–⁠11

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