CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2021 Wisconsin

9–⁠4 (6–⁠3 Big Ten), coached by Paul Chryst.

Schedule and results

Wisconsin in 2021, game by game: lost vs. No. 19 Penn State 10–16; won vs. Eastern Michigan 34–7; lost vs. No. 12 Notre Dame 13–41; lost vs. No. 14 Michigan 17–38; won at Illinois 24–0; won vs. Army 20–14; won at No. 25 Purdue 30–13; won vs. No. 9 Iowa 27–7; won at Rutgers 52–3; won vs. Northwestern 35–7; won vs. Nebraska 35–28; lost at Minnesota 13–23; won vs. Arizona State 20–13+49−28Lost 10–16 vs. No. 19 Penn State-6No. 19 Penn StateWon 34–7 vs. Eastern Michigan+27Eastern MichiganLost 13–41 vs. No. 12 Notre Dame-28No. 12 Notre DameLost 17–38 vs. No. 14 Michigan-21No. 14 MichiganWon 24–0 at Illinois+24IllinoisWon 20–14 vs. Army+6ArmyWon 30–13 at No. 25 Purdue+17No. 25 PurdueWon 27–7 vs. No. 9 Iowa+20No. 9 IowaWon 52–3 at Rutgers+49RutgersWon 35–7 vs. Northwestern+28NorthwesternWon 35–28 vs. Nebraska+7NebraskaLost 13–23 at Minnesota-10MinnesotaWon 20–13 vs. Arizona State+7Arizona State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 4vs19Penn StateL 10–⁠1661%
Sep 11vsEastern MichiganW 34–⁠772%
Sep 25vs12Notre DameL 13–⁠4136%
Oct 2vs14MichiganL 17–⁠3852%
Oct 9atIllinoisW 24–⁠059%
Oct 16vsArmyW 20–⁠1457%
Oct 23at25PurdueW 30–⁠1349%
Oct 30vs9IowaW 27–⁠747%
Nov 6atRutgersW 52–⁠368%
Nov 13vsNorthwesternW 35–⁠782%
Nov 20vsNebraskaW 35–⁠2881%
Nov 27atMinnesotaL 13–⁠2354%
Dec 30Bowls & playoffvsArizona StateLas Vegas BowlW 20–⁠1361%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Arizona State 20–⁠13 in the Las Vegas Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 5th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 20th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 12
  2. Wk 2: 18
  3. Wk 3: 18
  4. Wk 4: 18
  5. Wk 11: 20
  6. Wk 12: 19
  7. Wk 13: 18
Record
9–⁠4
Conference
6–⁠3 tied for 5th in Big Ten
AP final
Unranked peak No. 12
Points
330–⁠210
Coach
Paul Chryst
Elo
1671 +73 this season
SP+ rating
20.1 No. 7 of 130; offense No. 58, defense No. 2
SRS
12.9 No. 11 of 130 in FBS
Returning
81% of last season’s EPA, No. 56 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 15 roster talent No. 21 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Joe Rudolph
Defensive coordinator
Jim Leonhard
Captains
Jake Ferguson, Faion Hicks and Jack Sanborn
Most valuable player
Leo Chenal
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense84th of 130
  • Defense1st of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted74th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted2nd of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0945%1.0284th of 130
Defense-0.1332%1.231st of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.13 off
-0.08 def		46% off
32% def		—74th off
2nd 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
Offense3.1own 3013% allowed
Defense2.9own 2821% caused

CORE rating 17.2, 8th of 130 (offense -2.6, defense -19.9).

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 yardsGraham Mertz QB1,958 yds
Passing touchdownsGraham Mertz QB10 TD
Rushing yardsBraelon Allen RB1,268 yds
Rushing touchdownsBraelon Allen RB12 TD
Receiving yardsDanny Davis III WR478 yds
Receiving touchdownsJake Ferguson TE3 TD
TacklesLeo Chenal LB96 tkl
SacksNick Herbig LB9 sacks
InterceptionsCaesar Williams CB3 INT

Top recruits in the 2021 class

Nolan Rucci OT★★★★★No. 16
J.P. Benzschawel OT★★★★No. 131
Riley Mahlman OT★★★★No. 142
T.J. Bollers DE★★★★No. 159
Hunter Wohler S★★★★No. 212
Braelon Allen LB★★★★No. 227
Markus Allen WR★★★★No. 376
Jake Ratzlaff LB★★★★No. 377

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

The 2021 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.881
Running backs23.00.864
Receivers33.30.879
Offensive line34.30.957
Defensive line33.30.891
Linebackers53.60.889
Defensive backs33.30.883
Athletes and specialists13.00.876
Whole class213.50.893

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 2022

The 2022 draft
Rd 3Leo Chenal ILBKansas City Chiefs
Rd 3Logan Bruss OGLos Angeles Rams
Rd 4Jake Ferguson TEDallas Cowboys
Rd 6Matt Henningsen DTDenver Broncos
Rd 7Faion Hicks CBDenver Broncos

Roster 113

The 2021 roster

113 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2021 line; 71 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 2

The 2021 portal
Chez Mellusi RB★★★from Clemson
Isaac Townsend WDE★★★from Oregon

Transfers out 8

Jack Coan PRO★★★to Notre Dame
Madison Cone S★★★to App State
Malik Reed LB★★★to Arizona
Nakia Watson RB★★★to Washington State
Reggie Pearson S★★★to Texas Tech
Taj Mustapha WR★★★to Kent State
Gabe Lloyd TE★★no new school on file
Dante Caputo Sno new school on file

All-Big Ten

4 first team, 3 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2021 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2021 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Michigan8–⁠112–⁠23
Ohio State8–⁠111–⁠26
Michigan State7–⁠211–⁠29
Iowa7–⁠210–⁠423
Wisconsin6–⁠39–⁠4
Minnesota6–⁠39–⁠4
Purdue6–⁠39–⁠4
Penn State4–⁠57–⁠6
Illinois4–⁠55–⁠7
Maryland3–⁠67–⁠6
Rutgers2–⁠75–⁠8
Northwestern1–⁠83–⁠9
Nebraska1–⁠83–⁠9
Indiana0–⁠92–⁠10

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