2019 Wisconsin Badgers football team

2019 Wisconsin Badgers football
Big Ten West Division co-champion
Big Ten Championship Game, L 21–34 vs. Ohio State
Rose Bowl, L 27–28 vs. Oregon
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Division	West Division
Ranking
Coaches	No. 13
AP	No. 11
Record	10–4 (7–2 Big Ten)
Head coach	Paul Chryst (5th season)
Offensive coordinator	Joe Rudolph (5th season)
Offensive scheme	Pro-style
Defensive coordinator	Jim Leonhard (3rd season)
Base defense	3–4
MVP	Jonathan Taylor Chris Orr
Captain	Zack Baun Tyler Biadasz Jack Coan Garrett Groshek Chris Orr Jonathan Taylor
Home stadium	Camp Randall Stadium
Uniform
170px

2019 Big Ten Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
East Division
No. 3 Ohio State xy$^		9	–	0					13	–	1
No. 9 Penn State		7	–	2					11	–	2
No. 18 Michigan		6	–	3					9	–	4
Indiana		5	–	4					8	–	5
Michigan State		4	–	5					7	–	6
Maryland		1	–	8					3	–	9
Rutgers		0	–	9					2	–	10
West Division
No. 11 Wisconsin xy		7	–	2					10	–	4
No. 10 Minnesota x		7	–	2					11	–	2
No. 15 Iowa		6	–	3					10	–	3
Illinois		4	–	5					6	–	7
Purdue		3	–	6					4	–	8
Nebraska		3	–	6					5	–	7
Northwestern		1	–	8					3	–	9
Championship: Ohio State 34, Wisconsin 21
^ – College Football Playoff participant $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll

The 2019 Wisconsin Badgers football team represented the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the 2019 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Badgers were led by fifth-year head coach Paul Chryst and competed as members of the West Division of the Big Ten Conference. They played their home games at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin.

Wisconsin began the year with six dominating victories, including outscoring their three non-conference opponents 158–0, and beating then-No. 11 Michigan 35–14 in the conference opener. The Badgers rose to sixth in the AP Poll, but suffered their first loss to unranked Illinois, who were 32.5-point underdogs. The next week, Wisconsin lost soundly to Ohio State, 38–7. To close out the regular season, the team beat rival and eighth-ranked Minnesota on the road to secure their place in the Big Ten Championship Game. There, Wisconsin fell to Ohio State a second time, 34–21. They were invited to the Rose Bowl to play Pac-12 Conference champion Oregon, where they lost, 28–27, to end the year with a 10–4 record. It was their fourth Rose Bowl loss in a row, after 3 straight from 2011 to 2013.

The Badgers were led on offense by junior running back Jonathan Taylor, who, for the second consecutive year, was the recipient of the Doak Walker Award and was a unanimous All-American. Taylor finished tied atop the Big Ten Conference and third nationally with Ohio State's J. K. Dobbins with 2,003 yards and 21 touchdowns. Center Tyler Biadasz was also a unanimous All-American. Quarterback Jack Coan led the passing game, finishing with 2,727 yards and 18 touchdowns on the year. Defensively, the team was led by first-team all-conference linebacker Zack Baun, who led the team with 12.5 sacks.

Offseason

2019 NFL Draft

See also: 2019 NFL Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL Club
3	78	Michael Deiter	OG	Miami Dolphins
5	143	Ryan Connelly	LB	New York Giants
5	151	Andrew Van Ginkel	LB	Miami Dolphins
5	169	David Edwards	OT	Los Angeles Rams
Undrafted		T. J. Edwards	LB	Philadelphia Eagles
		Alec Ingold	FB	Oakland Raiders

Recruiting

Wisconsin signed a total of 19 recruits in the class of 2019. The class was ranked as the sixth best class in the Big Ten Conference and the 27th best class nationally by the 247Sports Composite, and was headlined by consensus five-star offensive lineman Logan Brown and four-star quarterback Graham Mertz, who was rated as the best pocket passer in the country by ESPN. Mertz was named MVP of the high school all-star game the All-American Bowl.

Preseason

Award watch lists

Listed in the order that they were released

Award	Player	Position	Year
Lott Trophy	Chris Orr	LB	SR
Maxwell Award	Jonathan Taylor	RB	JR
John Mackey Award	Jake Ferguson	TE	SO
Rimington Trophy	Tyler Biadasz	OL	JR
Butkus Award	Zack Baun	OLB	SR
Outland Trophy	Tyler Biadasz	OL	JR
Doak Walker Award	Jonathan Taylor	RB	JR
Walter Camp Award	Jonathan Taylor	RB	JR
Manning Award	Jack Coan	QB	JR

Preseason Big Ten poll

Although the Big Ten Conference has not held an official preseason poll since 2010, Cleveland.com has polled sports journalists representing all member schools as a de facto preseason media poll since 2011. For the 2019 poll, Wisconsin was projected to finish in third in the West Division.

Media poll (West Division)
Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Nebraska	198 (14)
2	Iowa	194.5 (14)
3	Wisconsin	172.5 (4)
4	Northwestern	142.5 (1)
5	Purdue	110.5
6	Minnesota	100 (1)
7	Illinois	34

Schedule

Wisconsin's 2019 schedule began with two non-conference home games, first against South Florida of the American Athletic Conference, and then against Central Michigan of the Mid-American Conference. Wisconsin's third non-conference game, against Kent State, also of the Mid-American Conference, was played in October.

In Big Ten Conference play, Wisconsin played all members of the West Division, and drew Michigan, Michigan State, and Ohio State from the East Division.

The Badgers started the season with two shutouts over South Florida and Central Michigan. However, their signature game came against then-No. 11 Michigan in their Big Ten opener, where the Badgers scored 35 unanswered points to start the game before resting the team's starters and allowing two touchdowns from the Wolverines. The team's dominance continued over the next three games, including a shutout victory over Michigan State. In the first six games, Wisconsin only allowed three combined points from the first half (a field goal by Northwestern). Several analysts saw the Badgers as contenders for a spot in the College Football Playoff.

However, a week before the Ohio State game, the Badgers suffered their first loss, as a 31-point favorite, at Illinois on a game-winning field goal. Several experts marked this moment as a downward turning point for the Badgers, as they were not able to recover in time tor the Ohio State game, losing in Columbus as well.

The Badgers would bounce back, however, with a narrow home victory versus a ranked Iowa, and a blowout win on the road against a top-ten Minnesota. They would then rematch against Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship game, leading for the first three quarters but falling to a late rally from the Buckeyes.

As Big Ten runner up, Wisconsin was invited to the 2020 Rose Bowl to play Pac-12 Champion Oregon. The Badgers lost the game by one point.

Source:

Roster

2019 Wisconsin Badgers football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class WR 1 Aron Cruickshank So QB 1 Bryson Baxley  Fr WR 3 Kendric Pryor  Jr WR 4 A.J. Taylor Sr QB 5 Graham Mertz Fr WR 6 Danny Davis III Jr RB 7 Bradrick Shaw  Sr RB 10 Isaac Guerendo  Fr WR 11 Stephan Bracey Fr WR 13 Mike Gregoire  Fr WR 14 Jordan DiBenedetto Fr QB 15 Danny Vanden Boom  So WR 16 Jack Dunn  Jr QB 17 Jack Coan (C) Jr WR 18 Cam Phillips Fr WR 21 Cooper Nelson Fr WR 22 Cade Green   So RB 23 Jonathan Taylor (C) Jr WR 24 Adam Krumholz  Jr RB 25 Nakia Watson  Fr FB 28 Quan Easterling Fr RB 29 Brady Schipper  Fr TE 30 Coy Wanner   So RB 32 Julius Davis Fr FB 34 Mason Stokke  Jr RB 36 Hunter Johnson  So RB 37 Garrett Groshek (C)  Jr TE 41 Jack Eschenbach  Fr TE 43 Hayden Rucci Fr FB 44 John Chenal So TE 46 Gabe Lloyd   Jr TE 47 Clay Cundiff Fr OL 50 Logan Brown Fr OL 59 Andrew Lyons  Fr OL 60 Logan Bruss  So OL 61 Tyler Biadasz (C)  Jr OL 62 Logan O'Brien Fr OL 65 Tyler Beach  So OL 67 Cormac Sampson  Fr OL 68 David Moorman  Sr OL 69 Aaron Vopal  So OL 70 Josh Seltzner  So OL 71 Cole Van Lanen  Jr OL 73 Alex Fenton  So OL 74 Michael Furtney  Fr OL 75 Joe Tippmann  Fr OL 76 Kayden Lyles  So OL 77 Blake Smithback  So OL 78 Jason Erdmann  Sr WR 81 Taj Mustapha  Fr WR 82 Emmet Perry  So TE 84 Jake Ferguson  So TE 85 Zander Neuville  Sr TE 86 Luke Benzschawel   Jr WR 87 Quintez Cephus  Jr WR 89 A.J. Abbott  Fr	Defense Pos. # Name Class CB 1 Faion Hicks  So S 2 Reggie Pearson  Fr CB 4 Donte Burton  Fr CB 5 Rachad Wildgoose So CB 6 Dean Engram Fr OLB 7 Spencer Lytle Fr CB 8 Deron Harrell  So S 9 Scott Nelson   So ILB 10 Seth Currens  Jr CB 11 Alexander Smith  Fr S 12 Titus Toler Fr S 18 Collin Wilder  Jr S 19 John Torchio  Fr CB 20 Semar Melvin Fr CB 21 Caesar Williams  Jr ILB 22 Jacob Heyroth  Fr CB 24 James Williams Fr S 25 Eric Burrell  Jr CB 26 Travian Blaylock  Fr CB 27 Cristian Volpentesta  Jr ILB 29 Jackson Kollath Fr S 30 Tyler Mais  So S 31 Madison Cone Jr ILB 32 Marty Strey  Fr CB 36 Kobe Knaak  Jr S 38 Dante Caputo Fr ILB 39 Tatum Grass Fr OLB 41 Noah Burks  Jr OLB 42 Jaylan Franklin  Fr ILB 45 Leo Chenal Fr OLB 46 Hegeman Tiedt  Jr ILB 48 Travis Wiltjer Sr OLB 49 Christian Bell  Jr OLB 50 Izayah Green-May  So DE 51 Giovanni Paez Fr DE 52 David Pfaff  Sr ILB 54 Chris Orr (C)  Sr ILB 55 Maema Njongmeta Fr OLB 56 Zack Baun (C)  Sr DE 56 Rodas Johnson Fr DE 57 Michael Balistreri  So ILB 57 Jack Sanborn So ILB 58 Mike Maskalunas  Jr OLB 59 Tyler Johnson  Sr NT 74 Gunnar Roberge  Sr DE 90 Isaiah Mullens  Fr NT 91 Bryson Williams So DE 92 Matt Henningsen  So DE 93 Garrett Rand  Jr DE 94 Boyd Dietzen  Fr NT 95 Keeanu Benton Fr DE 97 Isaiahh Loudermilk  Jr DE 98 C.J. Goetz  Fr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class P 15 Anthony Lotti Sr K 19 Collin Larsh  So K 28 Blake Wilcox Fr K 39 Zach Hintze  Sr LS 51 Adam Bay Jr LS 52 Josh Bernhagen   Jr LS 63 Peter Bowden Fr P 90 Connor Allen  Sr P 96 Conor Schlichting  So	Head coach Paul Chryst (Wisconsin) Coordinators/assistant coaches Joe Rudolph (Wisconsin) Associate head coach, offensive coordinator, offensive line Jim Leonhard (Wisconsin) Defensive coordinator, defensive backs Bobby April (Louisiana-Lafayette) Outside linebackers Bob Bostad (Wisconsin–Stevens Point) Inside linebackers Inoke Breckterfield (Oregon State) Defensive line Jon Budmayr (Wisconsin) Quarterbacks Ted Gilmore (Wyoming) Offensive pass game coordinator, wide receivers Chris Haering (West Virginia) Special teams John Settle (Appalachian State) Running backs Mickey Turner (Wisconsin) Tight ends Ross Kolodziej (Wisconsin) Head strength and conditioning coach Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster Last update: November 19, 2019

Rankings

Further information: 2019 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. ( ) = First place votes.

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	Final
AP	19	17	14	13-T	8	8	8	6	13	18	16	15	14	13	10	11	11
Coaches'	17–T	16	14	14	9	9	8	6	13	17	16	15	14	14	10	11	13
CFP	Not released										13	14	12	12	8	8	Not released

Game summaries

At South Florida

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 19 Badgers	7	21	14	7	49
Bulls	0	0	0	0	0

See also: 2019 South Florida Bulls football team

Central Michigan

	1	2	3	4	Total
Chippewas	0	0	0	0	0
No. 17 Badgers	16	28	10	7	61

See also: 2019 Central Michigan Chippewas football team

Michigan

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 11 Wolverines	0	0	8	6	14
No. 13 Badgers	14	14	7	0	35

See also: 2019 Michigan Wolverines football team

Northwestern

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wildcats	3	0	0	12	15
No. 8 Badgers	7	0	7	10	24

See also: 2019 Northwestern Wildcats football team

This was the first game of the season where the Badgers allowed an opponent to score points in the first half.

Kent State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Golden Flashes	0	0	0	0	0
No. 8 Badgers	7	21	13	7	48

See also: 2019 Kent State Golden Flashes football team

Michigan State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Spartans	0	0	0	0	0
No. 8 Badgers	7	10	0	21	38

See also: 2019 Michigan State Spartans football team

Wisconsin became the first FBS team since Oklahoma in 1967 to put up 4 shutouts in its first 6 games after their game against Michigan State.

At Illinois

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 6 Badgers	7	6	7	3	23
Fighting Illini	0	7	7	10	24

See also: 2019 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

No. 6 Wisconsin was upset on the road by unranked Illinois, who took the lead for the first time in the entire game as the clock ran out, with a 39-yard field goal. The loss, along with the loss to Ohio State in the following week, all but ended Wisconsin's national championship hopes.

At Ohio State (regular season)

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 13 Badgers	0	0	7	0	7
No. 3 Buckeyes	0	10	14	14	38

See also: 2019 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

Iowa

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 18 Hawkeyes	3	3	0	16	22
No. 16 Badgers	0	14	7	3	24

See also: 2019 Iowa Hawkeyes football team

At Nebraska

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 14 Badgers	7	20	7	3	37
Cornhuskers	7	7	7	0	21

See also: 2019 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team

Purdue

	1	2	3	4	Total
Boilermakers	3	14	7	0	24
No. 12 Badgers	14	10	14	7	45

See also: 2019 Purdue Boilermakers football team

At Minnesota

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 12 Badgers	0	10	14	14	38
No. 8 Golden Gophers	7	0	3	7	17

See also: 2019 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team

Vs. Ohio State (Big Ten Championship game)

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 1 Buckeyes	0	7	17	10	34
No. 8 Badgers	7	14	0	0	21

See also: 2019 Ohio State Buckeyes football team and 2019 Big Ten Football Championship Game

This was Wisconsin 3rd rematch in a Big Ten Championship Game. Previously the Badgers played and beat Michigan State in 2011 and Nebraska in 2012 after losing to them in their regular season matchup.

Vs. Oregon (Rose Bowl)

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 8 Badgers	10	7	7	3	27
No. 6 Ducks	7	7	7	7	28

See also: 2019 Oregon Ducks football team and 2020 Rose Bowl

Awards and honors

Weekly Awards

Player	Award	Date awarded	Ref.
Jonathan Taylor	Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week	September 2, 2019
Jonathan Taylor	Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week	September 23, 2019
Chris Orr	Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week	September 30, 2019
Jonathan Taylor	Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week	October 7, 2019
Jonathan Taylor	Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week	November 18, 2019
Aron Cruickshank	Big Ten Co-Special Teams Player of the Week	November 18, 2019

Individual Awards

Player	Award	Ref.
Jonathan Taylor	Doak Walker Award
Tyler Biadasz	Rimington Trophy
Jonathan Taylor	Ameche—Dayne Running Back of the Year
Jonathan Taylor	First Team All-Big Ten Offense (Coaches/Media)
Tyler Biadasz	First Team All-Big Ten Offense (Coaches/Media)
Zack Baun	First Team All-Big Ten Defense (Coaches/Media)
Chris Orr	Second Team All-Big Ten Defense (Coaches/Media)
Aron Cruickshank	Second Team All-Big Ten Special Teams (Coaches/Media)
Cole Van Lanen	Second Team All-Big Ten Offense (Media) / Honorable Mention (Coaches)
Logan Bruss	Honorable Mention Offense (Coaches/Media)
Quintez Cephus	Honorable Mention Offense (Coaches/Media)
Jake Ferguson	Honorable Mention Offense (Coaches/Media)
Eric Burrell	Honorable Mention Defense (Coaches/Media)
Faion Hicks	Honorable Mention Defense (Coaches/Media)
Isaiahh Loudermilk	Honorable Mention Defense (Coaches/Media)
Jack Coan	Honorable Mention Offense (Media)
Matt Henningsen	Honorable Mention Offense (Coaches)
Rachad Wildgoose	Honorable Mention Defense (Media)

Players drafted into the NFL

See also: 2020 NFL Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL Club
2	41	Jonathan Taylor	RB	Indianapolis Colts
3	74	Zack Baun	OLB	New Orleans Saints
4	146	Tyler Biadasz	C	Dallas Cowboys
5	166	Quintez Cephus	WR	Detroit Lions