Wisconsin enters the 2020 season with a handful of questions that weren't able to be answered in spring practice, but the consistent level of success we've seen from the program in the last decade and the trajectory it's taken under the leadership of Paul Chryst have the Badgers back in the mix as a Big Ten title contender this fall.
Not even the loss of superstar running back Jonathan Taylor can quell the title talk around Madison, as replacing a legend will fall on the responsibility of many. Nakia Watson and Garrett Groshek will share some of the carries early, but what's expected to be a committee approach has opened the door for a number of young players to take a stab at contributing to the Badgers' ground efforts.
Perhaps the confidence comes from the presence of Jack Coan and Graham Mertz, the former coming off a strong season of starting experience at quarterback in 2019 and the latter looking to push for playing time after losing out on the job to the vet a year ago. But more than likely, it's a result of the defense, which should rank among the best in the country in 2020 even after losing star linebackers Zach Baun and Chris Orr.
With the defense taking over as the face of the program, Wisconsin can again fill the role of that one team in the country no one wants to play. I can see it now: the physicality and consistency of effort that we've come to expect from Jim Leonhard's groups becomes a trademark for the entire team, and suddenly everyone's losing 24-14 games in Madison. It's not all turn-key on defense -- or offense, for that matter, -- but there's enough in place to expect more of the same from one of the top programs in the sport.
2019 rewind
Final ranking: No. 11 | Achievements: Big Ten West Champion, lost 28-27 to Oregon in the Rose Bowl
The Badgers started the year as one of the most dominant teams in the country, allowing just 29 combined points in their first six games with four shutouts. A 35-14 win against Michigan in September helped boost the team's standing in the polls, and by mid-October, everyone was circling the midseason date with Ohio State in Columbus as one of the biggest games of the year. However, some of the buzz was dampened when Wisconsin, favored by 31 points in the contest, lost at Illinois the week prior to facing the Buckeyes.
Wisconsin did rally after those back-to-back midseason losses with key wins against Iowa and at Minnesota in the regular-season finale to clinch a share of the division title and a spot in the Big Ten Championship Game. After a strong start, the Badgers were bested by the Buckeyes in Indianapolis and then came up short in a classic edition of the Rose Bowl against Oregon.
Key departures
RB Jonathan Taylor: There's just no easy way to replace a two-time Doak Walker Award winner with more than 6,000 career rushing yards. Taylor is just the seventh player in FBS history to hit the 6,000-yard mark and the first to ever do it in just three years of action. Even at a glory position like Wisconsin running back, Taylor goes down as one of the best to ever do it in a Badgers uniform.
LB Zach Baun: A First Team All-America pick this past season, Baun started all 27 games of his final two seasons and was the key to a school-record 51 team sacks in 2019. In terms of pass rushers, the only player better than Baun in the Big Ten (and maybe the entire country) was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, Chase Young.
OL Tyler Biadasz: The most high profile of three starting offensive lineman that are gone from last year's group, Biadasz was named the Rimington Trophy winner as the nation's best center in 2019. Biadasz started at center for all 41 of his career games, helping pave the way for Taylor's 6,000-plus yard career.
WR Quintez Cephus: The offense definitely ran through Taylor, but when Wisconsin needed a big play in the passing game, Cephus was often the target. Cephus finished last season with a team-high 59 receptions for 901 yards and seven touchdowns, with that 15.3 yards per catch average not only representing his downfield ball skills but ability to extend plays with yards after the catch as well.
LB Chris Orr: While Baun received more buzz in the NFL Draft process, Orr was the heartbeat of the defense. He contributed 11.5 sacks of his own to the record-setting team total of 51, the most in school history by an inside/middle linebacker, was the team captain and carried the responsibility of getting the unit aligned on defense.
Who's back?
QB Jack Coan: One thing that's often lost in the analysis of Coan is that he rated as one of the most accurate quarterbacks in the country last season. His 18-touchdown total or 8.0 yards per attempt paint a far different picture when comparing him against Joe Burrow, Tyler Huntley or Jalen Hurts -- other players also ranking in the top-10 nationally in completion percentage -- but a strong on-target rate backs up the notion that his passing is more than just avoiding mistakes. There is no player who carries more intrigue on offense than Coan who, with another step forward in this his senior season, could become one of the best quarterbacks in the Big Ten.
OL Cole Van Lanen: The loss of an anchor like Biadasz is significant, but there's a ton of talent in the pipeline at Wisconsin and the group is not losing any star power with Van Lanen posted up at left tackle. He decided to return to Madison for another year after earning All-Big Ten honors (second team by the media, honorable mention by the coaches) in 2019.
DL Isaiahh Loudermilk: A strong finish to the season set the stage for a breakout in 2020. Loudermilk has been a contributor along the defensive line since he was a freshman, but he saw his most productive season yet in 2019. The 6-foot-7, 293 pound defensive end has put on nearly 30 pounds since showing up on campus as a three-star prospect out of high school, and will be of interest to NFL teams after the season.
DL Garrett Rand: The senior defensive end doesn't put up eye-popping stats as a result of his position while playing the role of people-mover at defensive end in Wisconsin's 3-4 base set. The strength on Rand is impressive and worth your attention when watching the Badgers this fall. Wisconsin linebackers often end up with the sacks and tackles for loss thanks to the play of Rand, Loudermilk and the rest of the defensive line.
Fresh faces
RB Jalen Berger: A four-star prospect out of New Jersey ranked as the No. 15 running back in the country, Berger might not need to be an immediate contributor but he's ready. Wisconsin's coaches have noted his ability to catch passes out of the backfield as a way for him to be utilized as a freshman, but the ability is there for him to contribute on a down-to-down basis if his number is called.
OT Logan Brown: Wisconsin fans are still holding out hope that Brown, the top OT in the class of 2019 and No. 7 overall player, will be able to showcase that five-star potential on the field. Brown suffered a torn labrum in the All-American Bowl, didn't do any full contact work in fall camp and suffered two separate upper body injuries during a season that officially counts as a redshirt year. We'll see if he can stay healthy and crack the rotation up front in 2020.
OT Jack Nelson: One reason to think Brown is not a shoe-in for more playing time is the Badgers' 2020 recruiting class, which included a pair of four-star offensive linemen in Trey Wedig and Jack Nelson, the No. 10 offensive tackle in the country. As an early enrollee, Nelson got settled in the program before missing spring practice with the rest of his teammates.
Critical games
Week 4 at Michigan -- Sept. 26: After a couple of challenging home games in the first month against Indiana and Appalachian State, the Badgers' first road trip will be one of its toughest. Paul Chryst and Jim Harbaugh have split their recent head-to-head series 2-2, each defending home turf and falling on the road. But the early-season test could end up working out for Wisconsin, facing a new Michigan quarterback with a defense that dominated in victory last season in Madison.
Week 5 vs. Notre Dame (Green Bay) -- Oct. 3: This game will come down to Ian Book against Jack Coan, with each staring down an opportunity to tilt the matchup in his team's favor by elevating their game. Both defenses are too solid to expect anything high-scoring or lopsided, so it'll come down to whichever offense can cash in when given the opportunity to score.
Week 13 at Iowa, Nov. 28 -- Any given year in the Big Ten West is going to feature Wisconsin-Iowa as one of the games that will determine the division's representative in the Big Ten Championship Game. This regular-season finale should be no different, unless Iowa's tough cross-division draw knocks it from the race early in the year.
2020 outlook
Where do you rank Wisconsin among the top programs in the country? What about Paul Chryst against his peers as one of the best coaches in the country? Chryst doesn't beat the table for himself often, and maybe it's his demeanor that contributes to his efforts in Madison being one of the most overlooked storylines in college football.
Since the start of 2015, only five Power Five teams have won more games than Wisconsin (52): Clemson, Alabama, Ohio State, Oklahoma and Georgia. Chryst has three Big Ten West title and two Big Ten Coach of the Year honors in his five-year run with the Badgers, going 4-1 in bowl games with a pair of New Year's Bowl wins and top-10 finishes in 2016 and 2017. The floor may be high at Wisconsin as result of Barry Alvarez's program-changing efforts as a head coach and now athletic director, but Chryst has been maximizing those advantages to lead one of the Big Ten's most successful programs.
But a few times a year, usually only once or twice, the distance between Wisconsin and those other top teams on the wins list is laid out when the Badgers go head-to-head against an Ohio State or Penn State. There, a talent gap is made obvious in the game and the results -- eight straight wins for the Buckeyes since 2011, four straight wins for Penn State since 2012 -- contribute to the perception of a ceiling for Wisconsin in the national championship race.
Chryst is looking to change that perception, and in February 2020, he closed out the highest-ranked recruiting class in program history. Instead of cruising comfortably at nine or 10 wins every season, the Badgers have upped their recruiting profile in an effort to close that talent gap with Ohio State and Penn State. Far too often the runner-up in its own league and on the outside looking in on the College Football Playoff, Wisconsin is putting the work to become a perennial playoff contender.
As for expectations in 2020, the team should again be the favorite to win the Big Ten West. But beating Ohio State or Penn State in the Big Ten Championship Game is going to take keeping the game on the Badgers' terms. It's going to be one of the themes for Wisconsin this season: if you get caught playing their game, they will squeeze the life out of you with their front seven and efficient play from Jack Coan. But the lack of proven explosiveness on offense remains a question mark, and the real key to defining whether the Badgers will compete for that coveted playoff appearance in 2020.
