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2018 Wisconsin

8–⁠5 (5–⁠4 Big Ten), coached by Paul Chryst.

Schedule and results

Wisconsin in 2018, game by game: won vs. Western Kentucky 34–3; won vs. New Mexico 45–14; lost vs. BYU 21–24; won at Iowa 28–17; won vs. Nebraska 41–24; lost at No. 12 Michigan 13–38; won vs. Illinois 49–20; lost at Northwestern 17–31; won vs. Rutgers 31–17; lost at No. 21 Penn State 10–22; won at Purdue 47–44; lost vs. Minnesota 15–37; won vs. Miami 35–3+32−25Won 34–3 vs. Western Kentucky+31Western KentuckyWon 45–14 vs. New Mexico+31New MexicoLost 21–24 vs. BYU-3BYUWon 28–17 at Iowa+11IowaWon 41–24 vs. Nebraska+17NebraskaLost 13–38 at No. 12 Michigan-25No. 12 MichiganWon 49–20 vs. Illinois+29IllinoisLost 17–31 at Northwestern-14NorthwesternWon 31–17 vs. Rutgers+14RutgersLost 10–22 at No. 21 Penn State-12No. 21 Penn StateWon 47–44 at Purdue+3PurdueLost 15–37 vs. Minnesota-22MinnesotaWon 35–3 vs. Miami+32Miami
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 31vsWestern KentuckyW 34–⁠384%
Sep 8vsNew MexicoW 45–⁠1488%
Sep 15vsBYUL 21–⁠2486%
Sep 22atIowaW 28–⁠1752%
Oct 6vsNebraskaW 41–⁠2490%
Oct 13at12MichiganL 13–⁠3853%
Oct 20vsIllinoisW 49–⁠2088%
Oct 27atNorthwesternL 17–⁠3158%
Nov 3vsRutgersW 31–⁠1792%
Nov 10at21Penn StateL 10–⁠2239%
Nov 17atPurdueW 47–⁠4455%
Nov 24vsMinnesotaL 15–⁠3781%
Dec 27Bowls & playoffvsMiamiPinstripe BowlW 35–⁠346%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Miami 35–⁠3 in the Pinstripe Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 5th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 28th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 4
  2. Wk 2: 5
  3. Wk 3: 6
  4. Wk 4: 18
  5. Wk 5: 15
  6. Wk 6: 16
  7. Wk 7: 15
  8. Wk 8: 23
  9. Wk 9: 20

Led the nationDevin Singletary: points per game (13.0); Jonathan Taylor: rushing yards (2,194 yds)

Doak Walker AwardJonathan Taylor, RB

2 consensus All-AmericansJonathan Taylor, RB; Beau Benzschawel, OL

Record
8–⁠5
Conference
5–⁠4 tied for 5th in Big Ten
AP final
Unranked peak No. 4
Points
386–⁠294
Coach
Paul Chryst
Elo
1645 −66 this season
SP+ rating
15.5 No. 19 of 130; offense No. 12, defense No. 29, special teams No. 125
SRS
8.4 No. 28 of 130 in FBS
Returning
86% of last season’s EPA, No. 14 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 45 roster talent No. 35 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Joe Rudolph
Defensive coordinator
Jim Leonhard
Captains
Ryan Connelly, Michael Deiter, D’Cota Dixon, T.J. Edwards, Alex Hornibrook and Alec Ingold
Most valuable player
Jonathan Taylor
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense27th of 130
  • Defense23rd of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted27th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted31st of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1752%1.0127th of 130
Defense0.0143%1.0623rd of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.16 off
0.04 def		52% off
42% def		—27th off
31st 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
Offense4.0own 3013% allowed
Defense3.0own 3015% caused

CORE rating 13.9, 14th of 130 (offense 9.0, defense -4.9).

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 QB1,532 yds
Passing touchdownsAlex Hornibrook QB13 TD
Rushing yardsJonathan Taylor RB2,194 yds
Rushing touchdownsJonathan Taylor RB16 TD
Receiving yardsA.J. Taylor WR521 yds
Receiving touchdownsDanny Davis III WR5 TD
TacklesT.J. Edwards ILB103 tkl
SacksAndrew Van Ginkel LB4.5 sacks
InterceptionsT.J. Edwards ILB3 INT

Top recruits in the 2018 class

Jack Sanborn ILB★★★★No. 337
Nakia Watson RB★★★No. 456
Aron Cruickshank ATH★★★No. 509
Boyd Dietzen SDE★★★No. 587
Travian Blaylock CB★★★No. 607

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

The 2018 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks22.50.806
Running backs13.00.882
Receivers33.00.859
Offensive line22.50.780
Defensive line43.00.864
Linebackers43.30.858
Defensive backs53.00.862
Athletes and specialists33.00.848
Whole class243.00.849

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 2019

The 2019 draft
Rd 3Michael Deiter OGMiami Dolphins
Rd 5Ryan Connelly ILBNew York Giants
Rd 5Andrew Van Ginkel OLBMiami Dolphins
Rd 5David Edwards OTLos Angeles Rams

Roster 99

The 2018 roster

99 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2018 line; 59 have a stat line. See the roster

All-Big Ten

6 first team

First team

From Wikipedia’s 2018 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2018 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Ohio State8–⁠113–⁠13
Michigan8–⁠110–⁠314
Northwestern8–⁠19–⁠521
Penn State6–⁠39–⁠417
Iowa5–⁠49–⁠425
Wisconsin5–⁠48–⁠5
Michigan State5–⁠47–⁠6
Purdue5–⁠46–⁠7
Minnesota3–⁠67–⁠6
Maryland3–⁠65–⁠7
Nebraska3–⁠64–⁠8
Indiana2–⁠75–⁠7
Illinois2–⁠74–⁠8
Rutgers0–⁠91–⁠11

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