BYU football: Scouting the Wisconsin Badgers

After two very difficult games against SEC powerhouse LSU and rival Utah, BYU football will host the physical Wisconsin Badgers

No team in the country has a harder first half of the season than BYU football. Having already played No. 12 LSU and No. 25 rival Utah, the Cougars will for the third straight week have to prepare for a top 25 opponent.  If you missed the scouting reports for either LSU or Utah then click LSU or UTAH.

The last time that BYU football played three top 25 teams in a row, BYU football seemed not to have enough energy or strength to stay competitive in the third game (No. 20 Boise State, No. 10 UCLA and future No. 22 Michigan 2015). BYU football fans and players hope that history doesn’t repeat itself in 2017.

As we continue this 13 part series I would like to remind you that this is not primarily about game projections or how BYU football will do against them. These articles are more about getting to know who the other team is. I am not a fan of these other teams, therefore if I make a mistake on a player or playing style, I apologize ahead of time. I spend time watching film and researching these teams, however I still may make a mistake. These articles will help you to know the other team, and help you enjoy more BYU football.

In the next few weeks, we will be covering every opponent on BYU football’s schedule. We will go into the top players, returning starters, playing style and how BYU can do well against them. This 13 part series continues with the fourth game of the season when the Cougars host Big 10 powerhouse Wisconsin in Provo for the first time.

Wisconsin Badgers

Head Coach: Paul Chryst (21-6 in two seasons)

2016 Record: 11-3 (7-3 Big 10)

Best Game: 16-14 Win vs No. 5 LSU or 23-17 win vs No. 7 Nebraska

Worst Game: 14-7 Loss to No. 4 Michigan

2016 Season Summary: Wisconsin had the three best losses in the country.  Losing by only one touchdown three times, the Badgers were a physical and strong team. Throughout the season, the Badgers were consistent and never seemed to be down. For the most part they did what they were expected to do by playing close to teams who were very good and blowing out teams that were not very good. They ended the season by losing in the Big 10 Championship to No. 7 Penn State 38-31 and then going on to win the Cotton Bowl against undefeated No. 15 Western Michigan 24-16.

If there was one down side to the Wisconsin football team last year it would be the fact that they struggled to pull away from teams who were also ranked. Against teams that had winning records last season (eight), Wisconsin was only able to win by more than a touchdown against Northwestern.

Fun Fact: When thinking of all the great football rivalries, Wisconsin vs Minnesota normally does not come to mind. However, they actually have the longest rivalry in college football going back to 1890. Even crazier than this however is that the series is currently tied 59-59-8.  To put into perspective of how long that is, the stop sign was also invented in 1890.