CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2019 Wisconsin

10–⁠4 (7–⁠2 Big Ten), coached by Paul Chryst, finished No. 11 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Wisconsin in 2019, game by game: won at South Florida 49–0; won vs. Central Michigan 61–0; won vs. No. 11 Michigan 35–14; won vs. Northwestern 24–15; won vs. Kent State 48–0; won vs. Michigan State 38–0; lost at Illinois 23–24; lost at No. 3 Ohio State 7–38; won vs. No. 18 Iowa 24–22; won at Nebraska 37–21; won vs. Purdue 45–24; won at No. 9 Minnesota 38–17; lost vs. No. 2 Ohio State 21–34; lost vs. No. 7 Oregon 27–28+61−31Won 49–0 at South Florida+49South FloridaWon 61–0 vs. Central Michigan+61Central MichiganWon 35–14 vs. No. 11 Michigan+21No. 11 MichiganWon 24–15 vs. Northwestern+9NorthwesternWon 48–0 vs. Kent State+48Kent StateWon 38–0 vs. Michigan State+38Michigan StateLost 23–24 at Illinois-1IllinoisLost 7–38 at No. 3 Ohio State-31No. 3 Ohio StateWon 24–22 vs. No. 18 Iowa+2No. 18 IowaWon 37–21 at Nebraska+16NebraskaWon 45–24 vs. Purdue+21PurdueWon 38–17 at No. 9 Minnesota+21No. 9 MinnesotaLost 21–34 vs. No. 2 Ohio State-13No. 2 Ohio StateLost 27–28 vs. No. 7 Oregon-1No. 7 Oregon
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30atSouth FloridaW 49–⁠057%
Sep 7vsCentral MichiganW 61–⁠086%
Sep 21vs11MichiganW 35–⁠1456%
Sep 28vsNorthwesternW 24–⁠1572%
Oct 5vsKent StateW 48–⁠089%
Oct 12vsMichigan StateW 38–⁠068%
Oct 19atIllinoisL 23–⁠2481%
Oct 26at3Ohio StateL 7–⁠3827%
Nov 9vs18IowaW 24–⁠2260%
Nov 16atNebraskaW 37–⁠2172%
Nov 23vsPurdueW 45–⁠2483%
Nov 30at9MinnesotaW 38–⁠1746%
Dec 7vs2Ohio StateBig Ten Championship GameL 21–⁠3431%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs7OregonRose BowlL 27–⁠2849%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Oregon 28–⁠27 in the Rose Bowl; No. 11 in the final AP poll; tied for 2nd in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 7th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 19
  2. Wk 2: 17
  3. Wk 3: 14
  4. Wk 4: 13
  5. Wk 5: 8
  6. Wk 6: 8
  7. Wk 7: 8
  8. Wk 8: 6
  9. Wk 9: 13
  10. Wk 10: 18
  11. Wk 11: 16
  12. Wk 12: 15
  13. Wk 13: 14
  14. Wk 14: 13
  15. Wk 15: 10
  16. Wk 16: 11
  17. Final: 11

Big Ten West champions7–⁠2 in the conference, shared with Minnesota

Heisman voteJonathan Taylor, fifth

Led the nationJonathan Taylor: points (156 pts)

Doak Walker AwardJonathan Taylor, RB

Rimington TrophyTyler Biadasz, C

3 consensus All-AmericansJonathan Taylor, RB; Tyler Biadasz, C; Zack Baun, LB

Record
10–⁠4
Conference
7–⁠2 tied for 2nd in Big Ten
AP final
No. 11 peak No. 6
Points
477–⁠237
Coach
Paul Chryst
Elo
1722 +125 this season
SP+ rating
20.3 No. 11 of 130; offense No. 12, defense No. 14, special teams No. 93
SRS
16.4 No. 12 of 130 in FBS
Returning
71% of last season’s EPA, No. 44 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 29 roster talent No. 33 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Joe Rudolph
Defensive coordinator
Jim Leonhard
Captains
Zack Baun, Tyler Biadasz, Jack Coan, Garrett Groshek, Chris Orr and Jonathan Taylor
Most valuable player
Jonathan Taylor and Chris Orr
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense18th of 130
  • Defense9th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted9th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted4th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.2150%1.0918th of 130
Defense-0.0436%1.329th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.24 off
-0.05 def		51% off
34% def		—9th off
4th 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
Offense4.1own 3116% allowed
Defense3.0own 2828% caused

CORE rating 24.9, 5th of 130 (offense 13.4, defense -11.4).

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 yardsJack Coan QB2,727 yds
Passing touchdownsJack Coan QB18 TD
Rushing yardsJonathan Taylor RB2,003 yds
Rushing touchdownsJonathan Taylor RB21 TD
Receiving yardsQuintez Cephus WR901 yds
Receiving touchdownsQuintez Cephus WR7 TD
TacklesJack Sanborn LB80 tkl
SacksZack Baun LB12.5 sacks
InterceptionsEric Burrell S3 INT

Top recruits in the 2019 class

Logan Brown OT★★★★★No. 17
Graham Mertz PRO★★★★No. 65
Joe Tippmann OT★★★★No. 316
Spencer Lytle OLB★★★★No. 402
Rodas Johnson DT★★★No. 423

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

The 2019 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks14.00.969
Running backs13.00.881
Receivers33.00.865
Offensive line24.50.946
Defensive line33.00.867
Linebackers33.30.877
Defensive backs43.00.867
Athletes and specialists42.80.829
Whole class213.20.874

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 2020

The 2020 draft
Rd 2Jonathan Taylor RBIndianapolis Colts
Rd 3Zack Baun OLBNew Orleans Saints
Rd 4Tyler Biadasz CDallas Cowboys
Rd 5Quintez Cephus WRDetroit Lions

Roster 115

The 2019 roster

115 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2019 line; 60 have a stat line. See the roster

All-Big Ten

3 first team, 3 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2019 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2019 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Ohio State9–⁠013–⁠13
Penn State7–⁠211–⁠29
Minnesota7–⁠211–⁠210
Wisconsin7–⁠210–⁠411
Iowa6–⁠310–⁠315
Michigan6–⁠39–⁠418
Indiana5–⁠48–⁠5
Michigan State4–⁠57–⁠6
Illinois4–⁠56–⁠7
Nebraska3–⁠65–⁠7
Purdue3–⁠64–⁠8
Maryland1–⁠83–⁠9
Northwestern1–⁠83–⁠9
Rutgers0–⁠92–⁠10

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