Wisconsin Badgers Football 10-year Review

College Sports Fans reviews the Wisconsin Badgers, one of the NCAA’s top athletic programs

Wisconsin Badgers Football

The past ten years have been a rollercoaster ride for the Wisconsin Badgers; few major programs can relate to the major rises and falls that Wisconsin has gone through. The Badgers closed out the millennium as one of the premier football teams in the country, finishing atop the Big Ten in back to back seasons behind the play of stellar running back Ron Dayne. After Dayne’s graduation Wisconsin fell back towards the pack, never finishing higher than .500 in the Big Ten over the next four seasons. The Badgers have worked their way back into the national spotlight, winning at least ten games in the last two seasons.

Find a great selection of Wisconsin Badgers football apparel & jerseys in our Team Fan Shop!

Wisconsin Badgers Football Records

• 1996: 8-5 overall; 3-5 Big Ten (7th)

• 1997: 8-5 overall; 5-3 Big Ten (5th)

• 1998: 11-1 overall; 7-1 Big Ten (T-1st)

• 1999: 10-2 overall; 7-1 Big Ten (1st)

• 2000: 9-4 overall; 4-4 Big Ten (T-5th)

• 2001: 5-7 overall; 3-5 Big Ten (T-8th)

• 2002: 8-6 overall; 2-6 Big Ten (T-8th)

• 2003: 7-6 overall; 4-4 Big Ten (T-7th)

• 2004: 9-3 overall; 6-2 Big Ten (3rd)

• 2005:10-3 overall; 5-3 Big Ten (T-3rd)

• 2006: 12-1 overall; 7-1 Big Ten (T-2nd)

Wisconsin Badgers Football Bowl Appearances

• 1996 – Copper Bowl: Wisconsin 38 – Utah 10

• 

  1997 – Outback Bowl: Georgia 33 – Wisconsin 6

• 1998 – Rose Bowl: Wisconsin 38 – UCLA 31

• 1999 – Rose Bowl: Wisconsin 17 – Stanford 9

• 2000 – Sun Bowl: Wisconsin 21 – UCLA 20

• 2002 – Alamo Bowl: Wisconsin 31 – Colorado 28

• 2003 – Music City Bowl: Auburn 28 – Wisconsin 14

• 2004 – Outback Bowl: Georgia 24 – Wisconsin 21

• 2005 – Capital One Bowl: Wisconsin 24 – Auburn 10

• 2006 – Capital One Bowl: Wisconsin 17 – Arkansas 14

Wisconsin Badgers Football National Championships

• None

Wisconsin Badgers Football Coaching Records

• Barry Alvarez: 1990-2006 (118-73-4)

• Bret Bielema: 2006-Present (12-1)

Wisconsin Badgers Football All-Americans

• 1998: Tom Burke (DE), Ron Dayne (TB), Aaron Gibson (T),

• 1999: Ron Dayne (TB), Jamar Fletcher (CB), Chris McIntosh (LB)

• 2000: Jamar Fletcher (CB)

• 2004: Erasmus James (DE)

Wisconsin Badgers Football Players Who Went Pro

• 1996: Eric Unverzagt (LB), Jason Maniecki (DT)

• 1997: Jerry Wunsch (G), Pete Monty (MLB), Tarek Saleh (OLB)

• 1998: Tony Simmons (WR), Donald Hayes (WR)

• 1999: Aaron Gibson (T), Tom Burke (DE), Cecil Martin (FB)

• 2000: Ron Dayne (RB), Chris McIntosh (OLB), Bobby Myers (FS), Mark Tauscher (T)

• 2001: Jamar Fletcher (CB), Michael Bennett (RB), Chris Chambers (WR), Casey Rabach (C), Bill Ferrario (G), Rodger Knight (OLB), Jason Doering (FS), Ross Kolodziej (NT)

• 2002: Wendell Bryant (DT), Mike Echols (CB), Nick Greisen (OLB), Mark Anelli (TE)

• 2003: Al Johnson (C), B.J. Tucker (CB), Brooks Bollinger (QB), Ben Johnson (G)

• 2004: Lee Evans (WR), Alex Lewis (OLB), Jim Sorgi (QB)

• 2005: Erasmus James (DE), Scott Starks (CB), Dan Buenning (G), Jonathan Welsh (DE), Anttaj Hawthorne (DT), Jason Jefferson (DT), Anthony Davis (RB)

• 2006: Brian Calhoun (RB), Brandon Williams (WR), Owen Daniels (TE), Jason Pociask (TE), Jonathan Orr (WR)

• 2007: Joe Thomas (T)

Wisconsin Badgers Football Future Outlook

It is going to be an exciting season in Madison come the fall. Wisconsin returns 9 starters on offense, 7 on defense, plus their punter and kicker, from a team that went 12-1 last year. This is a team that averaged nearly 30 points per game last year, while giving up just 12. With the amount of talent returning there is no reason to think that the Badgers can’t post another season over double digits in the win column.

Wisconsin can also look forward to another strong recruiting class. Five of the incoming freshman are ranked in the top 25 nationally at their position, including the nation’s number one offensive tackle, Josh Oglesby.

Don't miss the Wisconsin Badgers basketball 10-year review exclusively on College Sports Fans, and be sure to check out all of the college football 10-year reviews.

The Wisconsin Marching Band has been rated one of the top college marching bands by our staff!

By Joey Whelan, CollegeSports-fans.com Staff Writer
Published June 2007