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The Badger Herald

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Football: Predicting Wisconsin’s record in 2015

Paul+Chryst+
Jason Chan
Paul Chryst

The Wisconsin football spring season came and went under new head coach Paul Chryst.

After an 11-3 record, a Big Ten West Division title and a win over Auburn in the Outback Bowl, former head coach Gary Andersen departed for Oregon State, bringing Chryst back to his home state and alma mater.

This season, the Badgers have to address questions at quarterback and wide receiver, while Corey Clement fills in for Melvin Gordon at running back behind an offensive line that replaces three starters from last season.

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Defense should be a strength for Wisconsin next season, but will it be able to hold up against the rest of the Big Ten?

Here’s what our three editors think Wisconsin’s record will be in 2015.

Eric Kohlbeck

Overall: 9-3

Big Ten: 6-2

Wins: vs. Miami (OH), vs. Troy, vs. Hawai’i, vs. Iowa, vs. Purdue, at Illinois, vs. Rutgers, at Maryland, vs. Northwestern

Losses: vs. Alabama, at Nebraska, at Minnesota

Playing Alabama at the spaceship known as AT&T Stadium to open up the season is going to be flat out awesome. Going up against perhaps the most storied college football program in the nation on a national stage will be great for Wisconsin.

But, the chances of the Badgers pulling off the upset in week one are slim to none, so chalk that one up as a loss.

After that, however, Wisconsin should roll through the rest of non-conference play unscathed, entering the Big Ten slate with a 3-1 record.

The Badgers open conference play with a tough Iowa team at home. The Hawkeyes knocked off the Badgers the last time they played at Camp Randall, but with Corey Clement leading the charge, Wisconsin should come away with the win.

But after a win over Iowa, Wisconsin travels to Nebraska where the Badgers have yet to win since the Cornhuskers joined the Big Ten. In what should be a raucous environment, Wisconsin will have to throw the ball to beat Nebraska, which doesn’t play in Wisconsin’s hand. The first of two conference losses will come in Lincoln.

The Badgers’ schedule gets fairly easy up until the final game of the season, with home games against Purdue, Rutgers and Northwestern – which will all be wins – and two road games at Illinois and Maryland which should both be wins as well.

The regular season for Wisconsin ends with the usual Border Battle against Minnesota. The Badgers will travel to Minneapolis on Nov. 28 to battle the Gophers who were one win away from winning the Big Ten West Division last season. Redshirt junior quarterback Mitch Leidner will improve upon a solid sophomore season and give the Wisconsin defense some problems as the Gophers come away with Paul Bunyan’s Axe for the first time in 11 seasons.

It will be a 6-2 conference record that should put Wisconsin right in the thick of the Big Ten West Division standings. – E.K.

Chris Bumbaca

Overall: 9-3

Big Ten: 6-2

Wins: vs. Miami (OH), vs. Troy, vs. Hawai’i, vs. Iowa, vs. Purdue, at Illinois, vs. Rutgers, vs. Northwestern, at Minnesota

Losses: vs. Alabama, at Nebraska, at Maryland

While Corey Clement is 100 percent the real deal, the loss of Melvin Gordon is a traumatic blow to this season’s Wisconsin team. Between that knockout shot and subsequent body blows that include the lack of a reliable receiving corps and severe question marks remaining on the offensive line, the 2015 team will be a shell of what we saw in 2014. But, it shouldn’t have a devastating effect given the Badgers’ once again weak schedule.

The defense will carry the team throughout the Big Ten schedule because, yes, they are that good. The defense returns a majority of its secondary, both outside linebackers and lineman that gained valuable experience due to injuries last season are ready to take over full time.

Jason Chan/The Badger Herald

As far as the schedule goes, Alabama will simply be too much to handle. Then, the Badgers will continue their traditional dominance at Camp Randall for the next three games before Big Ten play.

In the conference schedule, the Badgers will lose two games, but not in the way most imagine. The first logical choice is at Nebraska, which I agree with. Then, I see an upset coming at the hands of Maryland, much like the Northwestern game in 2014.

Other than that, the Badgers should roll through the conference schedule and if Nebraska slips up, Wisconsin could find itself in Indianapolis for the second-straight year on Dec. 5. – C.B.

Dan Corcoran

Overall: 7-5

Big Ten: 5-4

Wins: vs. Miami (OH), vs. Troy, vs. Hawai’i, vs. Purdue, at Illinois, vs. Rutgers, vs. Northwestern

Losses: vs. Alabama, vs. Iowa, at Nebraska, at Maryland, at Minnesota

Last season on more than one occasion I thought to myself: “What would happen to this team if Melvin Gordon suddenly got hurt?” Or less sadistically, “What if Gordon simply wasn’t here?”

Enter the 2015 Badgers.

Although Wisconsin lost a few players to graduation, gained some new players and had everyone else mature a year, this is basically the same rather unimpressive team from a year ago sans Gordon. And without Gordon, Wisconsin isn’t going to be very good.

Badger Herald File Photo

Don’t get me wrong, Clement is still fully capable of being the number one back, but Gordon was one of those players that doesn’t come around very often and is going to be next to impossible to replace. But the bigger problem is that for the first time in quite some time, Wisconsin doesn’t have a proven backup behind Clement.

Mix that in with Wisconsin’s inconsistency at quarterback from last season (who’s to say what Joel Stave will show up next fall?) and yet another anemic crowd at wide receiver, and Wisconsin’s offense might not be much to write home about.

The good news is that Wisconsin’s schedule is about as easy as it gets. Well, outside of Alabama. You might not want to watch that one. It will probably be a bloodbath.

After that though, UW plays the little sisters of the poor, which will be three straight wins. But then things get serious with the first two conference games, which will both be losses. Best case scenario, Wisconsin wins one of two. The Badgers will bounce back with a rather large yawn in the middle of schedule, tallying three straight victories against Illinois, Purdue and Rutgers. But then UW will have to go on the road for two of its final three games, and it will lose both contests away from Camp Randall.

Wisconsin will finish its season with a loss in the Music City Bowl to Wyoming. – D.C.

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