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2017 Wisconsin

13–⁠1 (9–⁠0 Big Ten), coached by Paul Chryst, finished No. 7 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Wisconsin in 2017, game by game: won vs. Utah State 59–10; won vs. Florida Atlantic 31–14; won at BYU 40–6; won vs. Northwestern 33–24; won at Nebraska 38–17; won vs. Purdue 17–9; won vs. Maryland 38–13; won at Illinois 24–10; won at Indiana 45–17; won vs. No. 25 Iowa 38–14; won vs. No. 19 Michigan 24–10; won at Minnesota 31–0; lost vs. No. 8 Ohio State 21–27; won at No. 11 Miami 34–24+49−6Won 59–10 vs. Utah State+49Utah StateWon 31–14 vs. Florida Atlantic+17Florida AtlanticWon 40–6 at BYU+34BYUWon 33–24 vs. Northwestern+9NorthwesternWon 38–17 at Nebraska+21NebraskaWon 17–9 vs. Purdue+8PurdueWon 38–13 vs. Maryland+25MarylandWon 24–10 at Illinois+14IllinoisWon 45–17 at Indiana+28IndianaWon 38–14 vs. No. 25 Iowa+24No. 25 IowaWon 24–10 vs. No. 19 Michigan+14No. 19 MichiganWon 31–0 at Minnesota+31MinnesotaLost 21–27 vs. No. 8 Ohio State-6No. 8 Ohio StateWon 34–24 at No. 11 Miami+10No. 11 Miami
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 1vsUtah StateW 59–⁠1084%
Sep 9vsFlorida AtlanticW 31–⁠1490%
Sep 16atBYUW 40–⁠659%
Sep 30vsNorthwesternW 33–⁠2477%
Oct 7atNebraskaW 38–⁠1763%
Oct 14vsPurdueW 17–⁠986%
Oct 21vsMarylandW 38–⁠1388%
Oct 28atIllinoisW 24–⁠1087%
Nov 4atIndianaW 45–⁠1778%
Nov 11vs25IowaW 38–⁠1475%
Nov 18vs19MichiganW 24–⁠1069%
Nov 25atMinnesotaW 31–⁠079%
Dec 2vs8Ohio StateBig Ten Championship GameL 21–⁠2758%
Dec 30Bowls & playoffat11MiamiOrange BowlW 34–⁠2455%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Miami 34–⁠24 in the Orange Bowl; No. 7 in the final AP poll; first in the Big Ten.

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

AP poll, week by week

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

Big Ten West champions9–⁠0 in the conference

Record
13–⁠1
Conference
9–⁠0 first in Big Ten
AP final
No. 7 peak No. 3
Points
473–⁠195
Coach
Paul Chryst
Elo
1817 +150 this season
SP+ rating
26.8 No. 3 of 128; offense No. 18, defense No. 4, special teams No. 28
SRS
22.9 No. 4 of 130 in FBS
Returning
64% of last season’s EPA, No. 57 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 39 roster talent No. 37 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Joe Rudolph
Defensive coordinator
Jim Leonhard
Captains
Jack Cichy, Michael Deiter, D’Cota Dixon, T.J. Edwards, Troy Fumagalli and Natrell Jamerson
Most valuable player
Jack Cichy and Garret Dooley
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense36th of 130
  • Defense1st of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted22nd of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted5th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1546%1.1336th of 130
Defense-0.1334%1.121st of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.17 off
-0.07 def		47% off
35% def		—22nd off
5th 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
Offense3.9own 3614% allowed
Defense1.9own 2923% caused

CORE rating 19.4, 8th of 130 (offense 5.4, defense -14.0).

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 QB2,644 yds
Passing touchdownsAlex Hornibrook QB25 TD
Rushing yardsJonathan Taylor RB1,794 yds
Rushing touchdownsJonathan Taylor RB12 TD
Receiving yardsTroy Fumagalli TE547 yds
Receiving touchdownsQuintez Cephus WR6 TD
TacklesRyan Connelly ILB88 tkl
SacksGarret Dooley OLB7.5 sacks
InterceptionsJoe Ferguson S4 INT

Top recruits in the 2017 class

Kayden Lyles OG★★★★No. 208
Danny Davis WR★★★★No. 219
Jake Ferguson TE★★★★No. 351
Jonathan Taylor RB★★★No. 369
Tyler Beach OT★★★No. 404

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

The 2017 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks23.00.842
Running backs22.50.833
Receivers53.40.865
Offensive line52.80.836
Defensive line23.00.867
Defensive backs33.00.839
Athletes and specialists12.00.786
Whole class203.00.845

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 2018

The 2018 draft
Rd 4Nick Nelson CBOakland Raiders
Rd 5Troy Fumagalli TEDenver Broncos
Rd 5Natrell Jamerson SNew Orleans Saints
Rd 6Jack Cichy ILBTampa Bay Buccaneers
Rd 7Leon Jacobs OLBJacksonville Jaguars

Roster 102

The 2017 roster

102 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2017 line; 59 have a stat line. See the roster

All-Big Ten

7 first team, 5 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2017 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2017 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Wisconsin9–⁠013–⁠17
Ohio State8–⁠112–⁠25
Penn State7–⁠211–⁠28
Northwestern7–⁠210–⁠317
Michigan State7–⁠210–⁠315
Michigan5–⁠48–⁠5
Iowa4–⁠58–⁠5
Purdue4–⁠57–⁠6
Rutgers3–⁠64–⁠8
Nebraska3–⁠64–⁠8
Minnesota2–⁠75–⁠7
Indiana2–⁠75–⁠7
Maryland2–⁠74–⁠8
Illinois0–⁠92–⁠10

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