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2016 Wisconsin

11–⁠3 (7–⁠2 Big Ten), coached by Paul Chryst, finished No. 9 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Wisconsin in 2016, game by game: won vs. No. 5 LSU 16–14; won vs. Akron 54–10; won vs. Georgia State 23–17; won at No. 8 Michigan State 30–6; lost at No. 4 Michigan 7–14; lost vs. No. 2 Ohio State 23–30; won at Iowa 17–9; won vs. No. 7 Nebraska 23–17; won at Northwestern 21–7; won vs. Illinois 48–3; won at Purdue 49–20; won vs. Minnesota 31–17; lost vs. No. 8 Penn State 31–38; won vs. No. 12 Western Michigan 24–16+45−7Won 16–14 vs. No. 5 LSU+2No. 5 LSUWon 54–10 vs. Akron+44AkronWon 23–17 vs. Georgia State+6Georgia StateWon 30–6 at No. 8 Michigan State+24No. 8 Michigan StateLost 7–14 at No. 4 Michigan-7No. 4 MichiganLost 23–30 vs. No. 2 Ohio State-7No. 2 Ohio StateWon 17–9 at Iowa+8IowaWon 23–17 vs. No. 7 Nebraska+6No. 7 NebraskaWon 21–7 at Northwestern+14NorthwesternWon 48–3 vs. Illinois+45IllinoisWon 49–20 at Purdue+29PurdueWon 31–17 vs. Minnesota+14MinnesotaLost 31–38 vs. No. 8 Penn State-7No. 8 Penn StateWon 24–16 vs. No. 12 Western Michigan+8No. 12 Western Michigan
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 3vs5LSUW 16–⁠1451%
Sep 10vsAkronW 54–⁠1075%
Sep 17vsGeorgia StateW 23–⁠1787%
Sep 24at8Michigan StateW 30–⁠636%
Oct 1at4MichiganL 7–⁠1446%
Oct 15vs2Ohio StateL 23–⁠3040%
Oct 22atIowaW 17–⁠946%
Oct 29vs7NebraskaW 23–⁠1762%
Nov 5atNorthwesternW 21–⁠757%
Nov 12vsIllinoisW 48–⁠389%
Nov 19atPurdueW 49–⁠2088%
Nov 26vsMinnesotaW 31–⁠1775%
Dec 3vs8Penn StateBig Ten Championship GameL 31–⁠3860%
Jan 2Bowls & playoffvs12Western MichiganCotton BowlW 24–⁠1647%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Western Michigan 24–⁠16 in the Cotton Bowl; No. 9 in the final AP poll; tied for 3rd in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 3rd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).

AP poll, week by week

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

Big Ten West champions7–⁠2 in the conference

Consensus All-AmericanRyan Ramczyk, OL

Record
11–⁠3
Conference
7–⁠2 tied for 3rd in Big Ten
AP final
No. 9 peak No. 5
Points
397–⁠218
Coach
Paul Chryst
Elo
1749 +127 this season
SP+ rating
16.1 No. 16 of 128; offense No. 58, defense No. 7, special teams No. 41
SRS
15.3 No. 11 of 128 in FBS
Returning
30% of last season’s EPA, No. 120 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 35 roster talent No. 37 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Joe Rudolph
Defensive coordinator
Justin Wilcox
Captain
Vince Biegel, Dare Ogunbowale
Most valuable player
Leo Musso
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense52nd of 128
  • Defense8th of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted39th of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted7th of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1346%1.1352nd of 128
Defense-0.0639%1.098th of 128
Opponent-adjusted0.15 off
-0.05 def		47% off
38% def		—39th off
7th 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
Offense3.8own 3113% allowed
Defense2.4own 2720% caused

CORE rating 14.3, 13th of 128 (offense 3.0, defense -11.3).

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. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsAlex Hornibrook QB1,262 yds
Passing touchdownsAlex Hornibrook QB9 TD
Rushing yardsCorey Clement RB1,375 yds
Rushing touchdownsCorey Clement RB15 TD
Receiving yardsJazz Peavy WR635 yds
Receiving touchdownsJazz Peavy WR5 TD
TacklesT.J. Edwards ILB89 tkl
SacksT.J. Watt OLB11.5 sacks
InterceptionsLeo Musso S5 INT

Top recruits in the 2016 class

Cole Van Lanen OT★★★★No. 136
Garrett Rand DT★★★★No. 184
A.J. Taylor ATH★★★★No. 335
Noah Burks OLB★★★No. 470
Patrick Kasl OT★★★No. 475

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

The 2016 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.849
Running backs13.00.869
Receivers52.60.806
Offensive line23.50.907
Defensive line62.80.802
Linebackers43.00.855
Defensive backs53.00.844
Athletes and specialists72.90.816
Whole class312.90.830

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 2017

The 2017 draft
Rd 1T.J. Watt OLBPittsburgh Steelers
Rd 1Ryan Ramczyk OTNew Orleans Saints
Rd 4Vince Biegel OLBGreen Bay Packers

Roster 101

The 2016 roster

101 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2016 line; 54 have a stat line. See the roster

All-Big Ten

4 first team, 3 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2016 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2016 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Ohio State8–⁠111–⁠26
Penn State8–⁠111–⁠37
Wisconsin7–⁠211–⁠39
Michigan7–⁠210–⁠310
Nebraska6–⁠39–⁠4
Iowa6–⁠38–⁠5
Minnesota5–⁠49–⁠4
Northwestern5–⁠47–⁠6
Indiana4–⁠56–⁠7
Maryland3–⁠66–⁠7
Illinois2–⁠73–⁠9
Michigan State1–⁠83–⁠9
Purdue1–⁠83–⁠9
Rutgers0–⁠92–⁠10

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