| 2008 Wisconsin Badgers football | |
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Champs Sports Bowl, L 13–42 vs. Florida State | |
| Conference | Big Ten Conference |
| Record | 7–6 (3–5 Big Ten) |
| Head coach |
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| Offensive coordinator | Paul Chryst |
| Offensive scheme | Pro-style |
| Defensive coordinator | Dave Doeren |
| Base defense | 4-3 |
| MVP | Allen Langford |
| Captain | DeAndre Levy Mike Newkirk Chris Pressley Kraig Urbik |
| Home stadium | Camp Randall Stadium (80,321, Field Turf) |
Seasons
← 2007
2009 →
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Conf | Overall | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | W | L | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No.8Penn State $+ | 7 | – | 1 | 11 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No.9Ohio State %+ | 7 | – | 1 | 10 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No.24Michigan State | 6 | – | 2 | 9 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northwestern | 5 | – | 3 | 9 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No.20Iowa | 5 | – | 3 | 9 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wisconsin | 3 | – | 5 | 7 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minnesota | 3 | – | 5 | 7 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Illinois | 3 | – | 5 | 5 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Purdue | 2 | – | 6 | 4 | – | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Michigan | 2 | – | 6 | 3 | – | 9 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Indiana | 1 | – | 7 | 3 | – | 9 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 2008 Wisconsin Badgers football team represented the University of Wisconsin–Madison during the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Badgers were coached by Bret Bielema and played their home games at Camp Randall StadiuminMadison, Wisconsin.
The 2007 Wisconsin Badgers football team was not expected to win the Big 10, but with a close loss to Michigan and a 38-7 blowout loss to Penn State, expectations were much lower. However, they finished with only one more loss to Big 10 champ Ohio State and managed to get an Outback Bowl bid, only to lose 21-17 to the Tennessee Volunteers, who lost the previous Outback Bowl 20-10 to the Nittany Lions.
| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 30 | 11:00 a.m.[1] | Akron* | No. 13 |
| BTN[1] | W 38–17 | 80,910[2] |
| September 6 | 11:00 a.m.[1] | Marshall* | No. 11 |
| BTN[1] | W 51–14 | 80,396[2] |
| September 13 | 9:30 p.m.[3] | at No. 21Fresno State* | No. 10 |
| ESPN2[3] | W 13–10 | 42,387[2] |
| September 27 | 2:30 p.m. | atMichigan | No. 9 |
| ABC/ESPN | L 25–27 | 109,833[2] |
| October 4 | 7:00 p.m.[4] | No. 12Ohio State | No. 18 |
| ABC[4] | L 17–20 | 81,608[2] |
| October 11 | 7:00 p.m.[4] | No. 6Penn State |
| ESPN[4] | L 7–48 | 81,524[2] | |
| October 18 | 11:00 a.m. | atIowa |
| BTN | L 16–38 | 70,585[2] | |
| October 25 | 11:00 a.m.[5] | Illinois |
| ESPN2[5] | W 27–17 | 81,241[2] | |
| November 1 | 11:00 a.m. | at No. 22Michigan State |
| ESPN | L 24–25 | 75,121[2] | |
| November 8 | 11:00 a.m. | atIndiana |
| BTN | W 55–20 | 30,618[2] | |
| November 15 | 2:30 p.m. | Minnesota |
| ABC | W 35–32 | 81,228[2] | |
| November 22 | 2:30 p.m. | Cal Poly* |
| BTN | W 36–35 OT | 80,709[2] | |
| December 27 | 3:30 p.m. | vs. Florida State* |
| ESPN | L 13–42 | 52,692[2] | |
Homecoming | |||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zips | 0 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 17 |
| Badgers | 14 | 3 | 14 | 7 | 38 |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thundering Herd | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| Badgers | 0 | 17 | 21 | 13 | 51 |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Badgers | 7 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 13 |
| Bulldogs | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 10 |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Badgers | 6 | 13 | 0 | 6 | 25 |
| Wolverines | 0 | 0 | 7 | 20 | 27 |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buckeyes | 7 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 20 |
| Badgers | 0 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 17 |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nittany Lions | 3 | 21 | 17 | 7 | 48 |
| Badgers | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Badgers | 0 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 16 |
| Hawkeyes | 7 | 7 | 14 | 10 | 38 |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fighting Illini | 0 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 17 |
| Badgers | 3 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 27 |
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| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Badgers | 14 | 10 | 17 | 14 | 55 |
| Hoosiers | 13 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
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| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mustangs | 7 | 13 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 35 |
| Badgers | 0 | 14 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 36 |
| Week | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Final |
| AP | 13 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 18 | ||||||||||
| Coaches | 12 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 17 | 24 | |||||||||
| Harris | Not released | 16 | Not released | |||||||||||||
| BCS | Not released | Not released | ||||||||||||||
| (as of August 12, 2008)[8] | ||||||
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Fullback
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Jay Valai-Soph
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| Name | Position |
|---|---|
| Bret Bielema | Head coach |
| Paul Chryst | Offensive coordinator/Quarterbacks coach |
| Dave Doeren | Defensive coordinator/Inside linebackers coach |
| Del Alexander | Wide receivers coach |
| Bob Bostad | Offensive line coach/Run game coordinator |
| Kerry Cooks | Defensive backs coach |
| Randall McCray | Outside linebackers coach/Recruiting coordinator |
| Charlie Partridge | Defensive line/Special teams coach |
| Joe Rudolph | Tight ends coach |
| John Settle | Running backs coach |
| Terrance Jamison | Student assistant |
| Name | GP-GS | Year | Att-Cmp-Int | Pct | Yds | TD | Avg/G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allan Evridge | 6-6 | Sr (R) | 132-71-5 | 53.8% | 949 | 5 | 126.3 |
| Dustin Sherer | 11-7 | Jr (R) | 191-104-5 | 54.5% | 1389 | 6 | 158.2 |
| Scott Tolzien | 3-0 | So (R) | 5-8-1 | 62.5% | 107 | 0 | 35.7 |
| Total | 13-13 | N/A | 333-180-11 | 54.1% | 2445 | 11 | 188.2 |
| Opponents | 13-13 | N/A | 404-212-12 | 52.5% | 2545 | 15 | 195.8 |
| Name | Att | Yards | Avg | Long | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P.J. Hill | 226 | 1161 | 5.1 | 13 | |
| John Clay | 155 | 844 | 5.7 | 46 | 9 |
| Zach Brown | 55 | 305 | 5.5 | 23 | 3 |
| David Gilreath | 25 | 285 | 11.4 | 90 (TD) | 2 |
| Bill Rentmeester | 11 | 50 | 4.5 | 9 | 0 |
| Isaac Anderson | 3 | 21 | 7.0 | 19 | 0 |
| Dustin Sherer | 49 | 19 | 0.4 | 30 | 1 |
| Bradie Ewing | 4 | 14 | 3.5 | 8 | 1 |
| Scott Tolzien | 4 | 13 | 3.3 | 8 | 1 |
| Chris Pressley | 3 | 6 | 2.0 | 3 | 0 |
| Allan Evridge | 23 | 4 | 0.2 | 19 | 1 |
| Total | 567 | 2,745 | 4.8 | 90 | 31 |
| Opponents | 450 | 1,733 | 3.8 | 23 |
| Name | GP | No. | Yds | Avg | TD | Long | Avg/G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Garrett Graham | 11 | 40 | 540 | 13.5 | 5 | 49.1 | |
| David Gilreath | 13 | 31 | 520 | 16.7 | 3 | 40.0 | |
| Isaac Anderson | 13 | 21 | 286 | 13.6 | 0 | 22.0 | |
| Travis Beckum | 6 | 23 | 264 | 11.4 | 0 | 44.0 | |
| Nick Toon | 12 | 17 | 257 | 15.1 | 1 | 21.4 | |
| Kyle Jefferson | 11 | 14 | 189 | 13.5 | 0 | 17.2 | |
| Lance Kendricks | 7 | 6 | 141 | 23.5 | 0 | 20.1 | |
| P.J. Hill | 13 | 7 | 72 | 10.3 | 0 | 5.5 | |
| Maurice Moore | 6 | 5 | 61 | 12.2 | 0 | 10.2 | |
| Zach Brown | 12 | 8 | 47 | 5.9 | 0 | 3.9 | |
| Mickey Turner | 13 | 4 | 46 | 11.5 | 0 | 3.5 | |
| Elijah Theus | 5 | 2 | 17 | 8.5 | 1 | 3.4 |
Wisconsin once again got off to a fast start at 3-0. However, a horrible loss to Michigan and awful games against Ohio State, Penn State, and Iowa derailed the Badgers and sent them plunging down to 3-4 overall. An upset over ranked Illinois at home evened Wisconsin's record at 4-4, but an awful loss to Michigan State followed and the Badgers fell to 1-5 in the Big Ten almost before they could blink. Wisconsin won the remainder of its conference slate against Indiana and Minnesota, but the Badgers followed that up with a decidedly below average effort and wild win over Cal Poly the next week. At the end of the season, Wisconsin was destroyed 42-13 in the 2008 Champs Sports Bowl by Florida State.
Overall, this was the worst Wisconsin team since the 2001 Badgers, who missed the postseason entirely after a 5-7 season. The failure of the team to live up to lofty expectations (Wisconsin was ranked 8th in the nation before a terrible loss to Michigan) fueled fan discontent, and Bret Bielema would need a much, much better 2009 season; he could not afford to coast on goodwill from his 2006 and 2007 teams.
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| Player | Position | Round | Overall Selection | NFL Team |
| Matt Shaughnessy | Defensive End | 3 | 71 | Oakland Raiders |
| DeAndre Levy | Linebacker | 3 | 76 | Detroit Lions |
| Kraig Urbik | Guard | 3 | 79 | Pittsburgh Steelers |
| Travis Beckum | Tight End | 3 | 100 | New York Giants |
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