2008 Wisconsin Badgers football team

American college football season

2008 Wisconsin Badgers football

Champs Sports Bowl, L 13-42 vs. Florida State

Conference| Big Ten Conference
Record| 7-6 (3-5 Big Ten)
Head coach|

* Bret Bielema (3rd season)

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 ->

2008 Big Ten Conference football standings

* v
* t
* e

| Conf |  |  | Overall
Team |  | W |  | L |  |  |  |  | W |  | L |
No. 8 Penn State $+  |  | 7  | - | 1  |  |  |  |  | 11  | - | 2  |
No. 9 Ohio State %+  |  | 7  | - | 1  |  |  |  |  | 10  | - | 3  |
No. 24 Michigan State |  | 6  | - | 2  |  |  |  |  | 9  | - | 4  |
Northwestern |  | 5  | - | 3  |  |  |  |  | 9  | - | 4  |
No. 20 Iowa |  | 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  |

* $ - BCS representative as conference champion
* % - BCS at-large representative
* \+ - Conference co-champions

Rankings from AP Poll

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 Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin.

## Previous season[edit]

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.

## Schedule[edit]

Date| Time| Opponent| Rank| Site| TV| Result| Attendance

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

August 30| 11:00 a.m.[1]| Akron*| No. 13|

* Camp Randall Stadium
* Madison, WI

| BTN[1]| W 38–17| 80,910[2]
September 6| 11:00 a.m.[1]| Marshall*| No. 11|

* Camp Randall Stadium
* Madison, WI

| BTN[1]| W 51–14| 80,396[2]
September 13| 9:30 p.m.[3]| at No. 21 Fresno State*| No. 10|

* Bulldog Stadium
* Fresno, CA

| ESPN2[3]| W 13–10| 42,387[2]
September 27| 2:30 p.m.| at Michigan| No. 9|

* Michigan Stadium
* Ann Arbor, MI

| ABC/ESPN| L 25–27| 109,833[2]
October 4| 7:00 p.m.[4]| No. 12 Ohio State| No. 18|

* Camp Randall Stadium
* Madison, WI

| ABC[4]| L 17–20| 81,608[2]
October 11| 7:00 p.m.[4]| No. 6 Penn State| |

* Camp Randall Stadium
* Madison, WI

| ESPN[4]| L 7–48| 81,524[2]
October 18| 11:00 a.m.| at Iowa| |

* Kinnick Stadium
* Iowa City, IA (Battle for the Heartland Trophy)

| BTN| L 16–38| 70,585[2]
October 25| 11:00 a.m.[5]| Illinois| |

* Camp Randall Stadium
* Madison, WI

| ESPN2[5]| W 27–17| 81,241[2]
November 1| 11:00 a.m.| at No. 22 Michigan State| |

* Spartan Stadium
* East Lansing, MI

| ESPN| L 24–25| 75,121[2]
November 8| 11:00 a.m.| at Indiana| |

* Memorial Stadium
* Bloomington, IN

| BTN| W 55–20| 30,618[2]
November 15| 2:30 p.m.| Minnesota| |

* Camp Randall Stadium
* Madison, WI (Battle for Paul Bunyan's Axe)

| ABC| W 35–32| 81,228[2]
November 22| 2:30 p.m.| Cal Poly*| |

* Camp Randall Stadium
* Madison, WI

| BTN| W 36–35 OT| 80,709[2]
December 27| 3:30 p.m.| vs. Florida State*| |

* Citrus Bowl
* Orlando, FL (Champs Sports Bowl)

| ESPN| L 13–42| 52,692[2]

* *Non-conference game
* Homecoming
* Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
* All times are in Central time

[6]

## Game summaries[edit]

### Akron[edit]

| 1  | 2  | 3  | 4 | Total

|
|
|
|
|

Zips  | 0  | 10  | 0  | 7 | 17
Badgers | 14  | 3  | 14  | 7 | 38

### Marshall[edit]

| 1  | 2  | 3  | 4 | Total

|
|
|
|
|

Thundering Herd  | 7  | 7  | 0  | 0 | 14
Badgers | 0  | 17  | 21  | 13 | 51

### Fresno State[edit]

See also: 2008 Fresno State Bulldogs football team

| 1  | 2  | 3  | 4 | Total

|
|
|
|
|

Badgers | 7  | 3  | 3  | 0 | 13
Bulldogs  | 0  | 0  | 10  | 0 | 10

### Michigan[edit]

See also: 2008 Michigan Wolverines football team

| 1  | 2  | 3  | 4 | Total

|
|
|
|
|

Badgers  | 6  | 13  | 0  | 6 | 25
Wolverines | 0  | 0  | 7  | 20 | 27

### Ohio State[edit]

See also: 2008 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

| 1  | 2  | 3  | 4 | Total

|
|
|
|
|

Buckeyes | 7  | 0  | 3  | 10 | 20
Badgers  | 0  | 10  | 0  | 7 | 17

### Penn State[edit]

See also: 2008 Penn State Nittany Lions football team

| 1  | 2  | 3  | 4 | Total

|
|
|
|
|

Nittany Lions | 3  | 21  | 17  | 7 | 48
Badgers  | 0  | 7  | 0  | 0 | 7

### Iowa[edit]

See also: 2008 Iowa Hawkeyes football team

| 1  | 2  | 3  | 4 | Total

|
|
|
|
|

Badgers  | 0  | 3  | 6  | 7 | 16
Hawkeyes | 7  | 7  | 14  | 10 | 38

### Illinois[edit]

See also: 2008 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

| 1  | 2  | 3  | 4 | Total

|
|
|
|
|

Fighting Illini  | 0  | 10  | 7  | 0 | 17
Badgers | 3  | 7  | 7  | 10 | 27

### Michigan State[edit]

See also: 2008 Michigan State Spartans football team

|  | 1 | 2| 3| 4| Total

|
|
|
|
|

Badgers | 7 | 3| 7| 7 | 24
• Spartans | 0 | 6| 7| 12 | 25

* Date: November 1
* Location: Spartan Stadium
East Lansing, MI
* Game start: 11:02 a.m. CST
* Elapsed time: 3:34
* Game attendance: 75,121
* Game weather: 48F, Wind: NE 10 MPH, Mostly Sunny
* Referee: Bill LeMonniner
* TV announcers (ESPN): Pam Ward (Play-by-play) & Ray Bentley (Color)

### Indiana[edit]

See also: 2008 Indiana Hoosiers football team

| 1  | 2  | 3  | 4 | Total

|
|
|
|
|

Badgers | 14  | 10  | 17  | 14 | 55
Hoosiers  | 13  | 7  | 0  | 0 | 20

### Minnesota[edit]

See also: 2008 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team and Paul Bunyan's Axe

|  | 1 | 2| 3| 4| Total

|
|
|
|
|

Golden Gophers | 0 | 21| 3| 8 | 32
• Badgers | 7 | 0| 10| 18 | 35

* Date: November 15
* Location: Camp Randall Stadium
Madison, WI
* Game start: 2:35 p.m. CST
* Elapsed time: 3:40
* Game attendance: 81,228
* Game weather: 36F, Wind: NW 10 MPH, Cloudy
* Referee: Bill LeMonnier
* TV announcers (ABC/ESPN): Terry Gannon (Play-by-play) & David Norrie (Color)

| Scoring summary

1| 12:38| WIS| Garrett Graham 2-yard pass from Dustin Sherer (Philip Welch kick)| Wisconsin 7-0
2| 13:30| MINN| Brandon Green 4-yard pass from Adam Weber (Joel Monroe kick)| Tie 7-7
2| 11:14| MINN| Brodrick Smith 43-yard pass from Adam Weber (Joel Monroe kick)| Minnesota 14-7
2| 8:17| MINN| Adam Weber 6-yard run (Joel Monroe kick)| Minnesota 21-7
3| 10:14| WIS| Philip Welch 47-yard field goal| Minnesota 21-10
3| 4:17| WIS| P.J. Hill 1-yard run (Philip Welch kick)| Minnesota 21-17
3| 1:37| MINN| Joel Monroe 30-yard field goal| Minnesota 24-17
4| 13:25| WIS| P.J. Hill 1-yard run (Philip Welch kick)| Tie 24-24
4| 13:16| WIS| Safety, ball fumbled out of end zone| Wisconsin 26-24
4| 10:47| WIS| Safety, Adam Weber tackled by Mike Newkirk in end zone| Wisconsin 28-24
4| 6:59| WIS| John Clay 5-yard run (Philip Welch kick)| Wisconsin 35-24
4| 4:15| MINN| Shady Salamon 13-yard pass from Adam Weber (Shady Salamon run)| Wisconsin 35-32

[7]

### Cal Poly[edit]

| 1  | 2  | 3  | 4| OT | Total

|
|
|
|
|
|

Mustangs  | 7  | 13  | 3  | 6| 6 | 35
Badgers | 0  | 14  | 7  | 8| 7 | 36

## Rankings[edit]

See also: 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings

Ranking movments
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.| 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

## Roster[edit]

(as of August 12, 2008)[8]

Quarterback

* Allan Evridge \-  Senior
* Bryson Baxley - Freshman(C)
* Dustin Sherer -  Junior
* James Stallons -  Freshman
* Scott Tolzien \-  Sophomore

Wide Receiver

* Isaac Anderson -  Sophomore
* Nate Emanuel -  Sophomore
* David Gilreath \- Sophomore
* Xavier Harris - Junior
* Kyle Jefferson - Sophomore
* Daven Jones - Sophomore
* Richard Kirtley -  Junior
* Eric Kossoris -  Freshman
* Maurice Moore -  Sophomore
* Cody Rose -  Freshman
* Elijah (T.J.) Theus -  Junior
* Nick Toon \-  Freshman
* T.J. Williams - Freshman

Offensive Lineman

* Jordan Bergmann - Freshman
* Jake Bscherer - Junior
* Robert Burge - Freshman
* Gabe Carimi \-  Sophomore
* Chris Cromwell - Freshman
* Jake Current - Freshman
* Andy Kemp - Senior
* John Moffitt \-  Sophomore
* Bill Nagy \-  Sophomore
* Josh Oglesby -  Freshman
* Joe Schafer - Freshman
* Kraig Urbik \-  Senior
* Eric Vandenheuvel - Senior
* Kevin Zeitler \- Freshman

|  |

Fullback

* Chris Pressley \-  Senior
* Bill Rentmeester \-  Senior
* Dan Wiacek - Junior

Running Back

* Zach Brown - Sophomore
* John Clay \-  Freshman
* Bradie Ewing \- Freshman
* P.J. Hill \-  Junior
* Tyler Holland - Junior
* Dex Jones - Freshman
* Mike Preisler -  Freshman
* Erik Smith - Freshman

Tight End

* Travis Beckum \- Senior
* Jake Byrne - Freshman
* Zach Davison - Freshman
* Garrett Graham \-  Junior
* Lance Kendricks \-  Sophomore
* Rob Korslin -  Freshman
* Mickey Turner - Junior
* Ricky Wagner \- Freshman

|  |

Defensive Lineman

* Eriks Briedis - Freshman
* Patrick Butrym -  Freshman
* Dan Cascone -  Junior
* Jason Chapman -  Senior
* Kirk DeCremer -  Sophomore
* Ricky Garner -  Sophomore
* Jasper Grimes -  Freshman
* Jordan Hein -  Junior
* Brandon Hoey -  Sophomore
* Kenny Jones -  Sophomore
* Brendan Kelly - Freshman
* Peter Konz \- Freshman
* Anthony Mains - Freshman
* Dan Moore - Junior
* Mike Newkirk \-  Senior
* Louis Nzegwu -  Freshman
* O'Brien Schofield \-  Junior
* Matt Shaughnessy \- Senior
* Jeff Stehle -  Junior
* J. J. Watt \- Freshman
* Tyler Westphal - Freshman

Linebacker

* Jonathan Casillas \- Senior
* Ryan Flasch -  Senior
* Elijah Hodge -  Junior
* Leonhard Hubbard - Freshman
* DeAndre Levy \- Senior
* Jaevery McFadden -  Junior
* Tony Megna -  Freshman
* Joshua Neal -  Senior
* Erik Prather -  Junior
* Tyrell Rosemeyer - Freshman
* Kevin Rouse -  Freshman
* Blake Sorensen - Sophomore
* Culver St. Jean -  Sophomore
* Mike Taylor \- Freshman

|  |

Defensive Back

* Niles Brinkley -  Sophomore
* Shane Carter -  Junior
* Kevin Claxton - Freshman
* Marcus Cromartie - Freshman
* Antonio Fenelus\- Freshman
* Mario Goins -  Freshman
* Adam Hampton -  Freshman
* William Hartmann -  Junior
* Aaron Henry \- Sophomore
* Shelton Johnson - Freshman
* Allen Langford -  Senior
* Andrew Lukasko -  Freshman
* Chris Maragos \-  Junior
* Otis Merrill -  Freshman
* Prince Moody -  Junior
* Josh Nettles - Junior
* Chukwuma Offor -  Freshman
* Aubrey Pleasant \-  Junior
* Devin Smith - Freshman

Jay Valai-Soph

Long Snapper

* Zach Opsal -  Sophomore
* Dave Peck -  Senior
* Kyle Wojta -  Freshman
* Drew Woodward -  Junior

Punter

* Brad Debauche -  Freshman
* Brad Nortman \- Freshman

Place Kicker

* Matt Fischer -  Junior
* Philip Welch -  Freshman

## Statistics[edit]

### Offense[edit]

#### Passing[edit]

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

#### Rushing[edit]

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

#### Receiving[edit]

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

## Season Summary[edit]

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.

## Regular starters[edit]

| Position  | Player

|

Quarterback  | Dustin Sherer
Running Back  | P.J. Hill
Fullback  | Chris Pressley
Wide Receiver  | Isaac Anderson
Wide Receiver  | David Gilreath
Tight End  | Garrett Graham
Left Tackle  | Gabe Carimi
Left Guard  | Andy Kemp
Center  | John Moffitt
Right Guard  | Kraig Urbik
Right Tackle  | Eric Vanden Heuvel
Kicker  | Philip Welch
| Position  | Player

|

Defensive End  | O'Brien Schofield
Defensive Tackle  | Jason Chapman
Defensive Tackle  | Mike Newkirk
Defensive End  | Matt Shaughnessy
Outside Linebacker  | DeAndre Levy
Middle Linebacker  | Jaevery McFadden
Outside Linebacker  | Jonathan Casillas
Cornerback  | Allen Langford
Strong Safety  | Jay Valai
Free Safety  | Shane Carter
Cornerback  | Niles Brinkley
Punter  | Brad Nortman

## Team players selected in the 2009 NFL Draft[edit]

See also: 2009 NFL Draft

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

[9]

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b c d "Badgers open the season on BTN". University of Wisconsin–Madison Department of Athletics. July 2, 2008. Retrieved July 2, 2008.[dead link]
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Game-by-Game Statistics". University of Wisconsin–Madison Department of Athletics. Archived from the original on 2011-09-09. Retrieved October 12, 2011.
3. ^ a b "More night ball for Badgers". University of Wisconsin–Madison Department of Athletics. May 31, 2008. Retrieved May 31, 2008.[dead link]
4. ^ a b c d "Big Ten Announces Five Prime-Time Football Games to Appear on ABC, ESPN or ESPN2 During 2008 Season". Big Ten Conference. April 16, 2008. Archived from the original on April 20, 2008. Retrieved April 16, 2008.
5. ^ a b "Welcome home:Badgers, Illini kickoff set". University of Wisconsin–Madison Department of Athletics. May 10, 2008. Retrieved May 11, 2008.[dead link]
6. ^ 2008 Schedule Archived February 17, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
7. ^ "Two Safeties Highlight Badgers' Comeback Over Rival Gophers". ESPN. November 15, 2008. Retrieved December 26, 2014.
8. ^ "Football Roster". University of Wisconsin–Madison Department of Athletics. Archived from the original on November 12, 2006. Retrieved August 12, 2008.
9. ^ "2009 NFL Draft Listing | Pro-Football-Reference.com". Archived from the original on 2009-09-19.

* v
* t
* e

Wisconsin Badgers football

Venues|

* Randall Field (1895–1916)
* Camp Randall Stadium (1917–present)

Bowls & rivalries|

* Bowl games
* Iowa
* Minnesota
* Nebraska

Culture & lore|

* Bucky Badger
* "On, Wisconsin!"
* Marching band
* "Jump Around"
* Tall Grass Game
* Crazylegs

People|

* Head coaches
* NFL draftees
* Statistical leaders
* Retired numbers

Seasons|

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*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[Conf]: Conference record
*[W]: Wins
*[L]: Losses
*[No.]: Number