Scouting the Badgers

Offense
The team is led at quarterback by senior Tyler Donovan with 1855 yards, completing 59% with 12 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. Sophomore running back PJ Hill had a sensational year last year with 1569 yards as a true freshman. This year he is not getting yards at the same pace, as he has had a nagging injury, so far this season he has 1066 yards, but he only has one touchdown. At the time this was written, Hill's playing status was not confirmed, as he recovers from a bruise that pulled him out of the game at Indiana. If Hill is not available, backup running back Lance Smith is not allowed to travel to away games, due to a punishment, so the team would rely on freshman Zach Brown. At receiver are Travis Beckum and Luke Swan, who have 625 and 451 yards consecutively.

This Season
Wisconsin had high hopes entering this season, being picked second in the Big Ten, behind Michigan, and was considered a possible National Title contender. They started the season 5-0 with wins over Washington State, UNLV, the Citadel, Iowa and Michigan State. When the Badgers hit the road for the first time in conference play, they lost twice in a row at Illinois and at Penn State. Wisconsin is back in the rankings after two victories at home against Northern Illinois and Indiana.
Wisconsin has been a bit of a disappointment this season, and is one of the reasons critics are saying the Big Ten is weak. Add in the fact that Michigan started the season with two losses, one being quite an embarrassment, and you can see the reason behind some of the criticism. That being said, both teams have a chance at the Big Ten title, and a great bowl game. Wisconsin could conceivably win the conference if they won the rest of their games, and Michigan lost to another team.

Scouting the Badgers
Wisconsin has trouble on the road, squeaking out a win at UNLV, with the winning touchdown in the last two minutes. UNLV by the way is 2-5 and headed for an oddball matchup in my weekly Guest Panel picks. At Illinois, Wisconsin had 519 yards, yet they had no touchdowns until the second half and at that point Illinois had control of the game. At Penn State Wisconsin only had one touchdown and committed three turnovers. I believe this team could knock off a highly ranked team, but it all depends on the team that decides to show up at the game. They do not have a convincing win over a quality opponent yet this season, but if they play like they have in the last two games against Northern Illinois and Indiana, they will get that quality win. Their biggest win was probably at home against Michigan State, but they barely won that 37-34, and they won with a field goal in the fourth quarter.

Coach
Brett Bielema is in his second year as a head coach, and is 19-3. He lead Wisconsin to a 12-1 last season, including a victory over Arkansas in Citrus Bowl. Bielema earned Big Ten Coach of the Year in his first season and was a finalist for national coach of year awards.