2020 Wisconsin Badgers football team

The 2020 Wisconsin Badgers football team represented the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Badgers were led by sixth-year head coach Paul Chryst and competed as members of the West Division of the Big Ten Conference. They played their home games at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin.

2020 Wisconsin Badgers football
Duke's Mayo Bowl champion
Duke's Mayo Bowl, W 42–28 vs. Wake Forest
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Division	West Division
Record	4–3 (3–3 Big Ten)
Head coach	Paul Chryst (6th season)
Offensive coordinator	Joe Rudolph (6th season)
Offensive scheme	Pro-style
Defensive coordinator	Jim Leonhard (4th season)
Base defense	3–4
Captain	Garrett Groshek
Home stadium	Camp Randall Stadium
Uniform
Seasons ← 2019 2021 →

2020 Big Ten Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
East Division
No. 2 Ohio State xy$^		5	–	0					7	–	1
No. 12 Indiana		6	–	1					6	–	2
Penn State		4	–	5					4	–	5
Maryland		2	–	3					2	–	3
Rutgers		3	–	6					3	–	6
Michigan		2	–	4					2	–	4
Michigan State		2	–	5					2	–	5
West Division
No. 10 Northwestern xy		6	–	1					7	–	2
No. 16 Iowa		6	–	2					6	–	2
Wisconsin		3	–	3					4	–	3
Minnesota		3	–	4					3	–	4
Nebraska		3	–	5					3	–	5
Purdue		2	–	4					2	–	4
Illinois		2	–	6					2	–	6
Championship: Ohio State 22, Northwestern 10
^ – College Football Playoff participant $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Note: Due to COVID-19, the Big Ten suspended the season on August 11, but later decided to begin play on October 24. In addition to the title game that was played on December 19, the conference seeded all remaining teams for "championship week" games.[1] Rankings from AP Poll.

On August 11, 2020, the Big Ten Conference suspended all fall sports competitions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[2] However, on September 16, the Big Ten reinstated the season, announcing an eight-game season beginning on October 24.^[3]

Offseason

2020 NFL Draft

See also: 2020 NFL draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL Club
2	41	Jonathan Taylor	RB	Indianapolis Colts
3	74	Zack Baun	LB	New Orleans Saints
4	146	Tyler Biadasz	C	Dallas Cowboys
5	166	Quintez Cephus	WR	Detroit Lions
Undrafted		Chris Orr	LB	Carolina Panthers

Transfers

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Transfer to
Bradrick Shaw	#7	RB	6'1	205	Senior	Hoover, AL	California
Aron Cruickshank	#1	WR	5'9	155	Sophomore	Brooklyn, NY	Rutgers
Seth Currens	#10	ILB	6'3	230	Junior	Pickerington, OH	Miami (OH)
Christian Bell	#49	OLB	6'4	246	Senior	Hoover, AL	South Alabama
Griffin Grady	#47	OLB	6'2	205	Sophomore	Dublin, OH	-

Preseason

Spring game

The Badgers spring scrimmage and practice on April 18, 2020 was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Award watch lists

Listed in the order that they were released

Award	Player	Position	Year
Davey O'Brien Award	Jack Coan	QB	SR
Chuck Bednarik Award	Jack Sanborn	LB	JR
Doak Walker Award	Nakia Watson	RB	SO
John Mackey Award	Jake Ferguson	TE	JR
Butkus Award	Jack Sanborn	LB	JR
Jim Thorpe Award	Eric Burrell	S	SR
Outland Trophy	Cole Van Lanen	OL	SR
Manning Award	Jack Coan	QB	SR
Maxwell Award	Jack Coan	QB	SR
Wuerffel Trophy	Madison Cone	S	SR
Bronko Nagurski Trophy	Eric Burrell	S	SR

Preseason Big Ten poll

Although the Big Ten Conference has not held an official preseason poll since 2010, Cleveland.com has polled sports journalists representing all member schools as a de facto preseason media poll since 2011. For the 2020 poll, Wisconsin was projected to finish first in the West Division.^[4]

Media poll (West Division)
Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Wisconsin	221 (19)
2	Minnesota	209.5 (14)
3	Iowa	157
4	Nebraska	117
5	Purdue	105
6	Northwestern	87.5 (1)
7	Illinois	55

Schedule

Games canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic

The Badgers 2020 schedule originally consisted of six home games, four away games, and two neutral site games. The Badgers would have hosted two of its three non-conference games at Camp Randall; the first on September 12 against Southern Illinois from the Missouri Valley, then the next week on September 19, playing Appalachian State, a member of the Sun Belt Conference. The last non-conference matchup on October 3 was a primetime game guaranteed to air on NBC against Notre Dame as part of the Fighting Irish's neutral-site Shamrock Series at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, with Notre Dame as the designated home team.

The Big Ten Conference canceled all non-conference games on July 9 due to the COVID-19 pandemic;^[5] the day before, the November 7 away game at Northwestern was moved from the neutral site Wrigley Field in Chicago back to Ryan Field in Evanston.^[6] Both Notre Dame and Wisconsin plan to fulfill their contract and play the Lambeau Field game in a subsequent season.^[7]

On November 25, Wisconsin's game vs. Minnesota was canceled, leaving the team with only 5 games maximum and thus making the Badgers no longer eligible for the 2020 Big Ten Football Championship Game.

Current schedule

In Big Ten Conference play, Wisconsin will play all members of the West Division, and draws Indiana, and Michigan from the East Division.

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
October 23	7:00 p.m.	Illinois	No. 14	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	BTN	W 45–7	0
October 31	2:30 p.m.	at Nebraska	No. 9	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE (Freedom Trophy)	FS1	No Contest[8]	–
November 7	2:30 p.m.	Purdue	No. 10	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	ABC	No Contest[9]	–
November 14	6:30 p.m.	at Michigan	No. 13	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI	ABC	W 49–11	605
November 21	2:30 p.m.	at No. 19 Northwestern	No. 10	Ryan Field Evanston, IL	ABC	L 7–17	0
November 28	1:00 p.m.	Minnesota	No. 16	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI (Paul Bunyan's Axe)	BTN	Rescheduled[10][11]	–
December 5	2:30 p.m.	No. 12 Indiana	No. 16	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	ABC	L 6–14	0
December 12	2:30 p.m.	at No. 16 Iowa		Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA (Heartland Trophy)	FS1	L 7–28	1,445
December 19	3:00 p.m.	Minnesota		Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI (Paul Bunyan's Axe)	BTN	W 20–17 OT	0
December 30	11:00 a.m.	vs. Wake Forest*		Bank of America Stadium Charlotte, NC (Duke's Mayo Bowl)	ESPN	W 42–28	1,500
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll and CFP Rankings (after November 24) released prior to game All times are in Central time

*Wisconsin's game with Nebraska was canceled due to a COVID-19 outbreak at Wisconsin. The game will not be rescheduled. Instead, both teams will have a bye and will have just seven games.^[8]

*Wisconsin's game with Purdue was cancelled due to a COVID-19 outbreak at Wisconsin. The game will not be rescheduled. Instead, Wisconsin will have a bye and will have just six games, and Purdue will have a bye and will have just seven games.^[9]

*Wisconsin's game with Minnesota was initially cancelled due to a COVID-19 outbreak at Wisconsin. The game was eventually rescheduled for Big Ten Championship weekend.^[10][11]

Source:^[12]

Roster

2020 Wisconsin Badgers football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB 2 Chase Wolf  So WR 3 Kendric Pryor  Sr QB 5 Graham Mertz  Fr WR 7 Danny Davis III Sr RB 8 Jalen Berger Fr RB 10 Isaac Guerendo  So WR 11 Stephan Bracey  Fr QB 12 Daniel Wright Fr WR 13 Chimere Dike Fr WR 13 Mike Gregoire  So WR 14 Jordan DiBenedetto  Fr QB 15 Danny Vanden Boom  Jr WR 16 Jack Dunn  Sr QB 17 Jack Coan Sr WR 18 Cam Phillips  Fr WR 21 Cooper Nelson  Fr WR 22 Cade Green  Jr WR 24 Haakon Anderson Fr WR 24 Adam Krumholz  Sr WR 25 Isaac Smith Fr RB 25 Nakia Watson  So FB 28 Quan Easterling  Fr RB 29 Brady Schipper  So TE 30 Coy Wanner  Jr RB 32 Julius Davis  Fr FB 34 Mason Stokke  Sr RB 36 Hunter Johnson  Jr RB 37 Garrett Groshek  Sr TE 41 Jack Eschenbach  So TE 43 Hayden Rucci  Fr FB 44 John Chenal Jr TE 46 Gabe Lloyd  Sr TE 47 Clay Cundiff  Fr TE 49 Cam Large Fr OL 50 Logan Brown  Fr OL 59 Andrew Lyons  So OL 60 Logan Bruss  Jr OL 61 Dylan Barrett Fr OL 62 Logan O'Brien  Fr OL 64 Sean Timmis Fr OL 65 Tyler Beach  Jr OL 66 Tanor Bortolini Fr OL 67 Cormac Sampson  So OL 68 Ben Barten Fr OL 69 Aaron Vopal  Jr OL 70 Josh Seltzner  Jr OL 71 Cole Van Lanen  Sr OL 73 Kerry Kodanko Fr OL 73 Alex Fenton  Jr OL 74 Michael Furtney  So OL 75 Joe Tippmann  Fr OL 76 Kayden Lyles  Jr OL 77 Blake Smithback  Jr OL 78 Trey Wedig Fr OL 79 Jack Nelson Fr WR 81 Taj Mustapha  So WR 82 Emmet Perry  Jr TE 84 Jake Ferguson  Jr WR 86 Devin Chandler Fr TE 86 Luke Benzschawel  Sr WR 89 A.J. Abbott  So	Defense Pos. # Name Class CB 1 Faion Hicks  Jr S 2 Reggie Pearson  So CB 4 Donte Burton  So CB 5 Rachad Wildgoose Jr CB 6 Dean Engram  Fr OLB 7 Spencer Lytle  Fr CB 8 Deron Harrell  Jr S 9 Scott Nelson  Jr CB 11 Alexander Smith  So S 12 Titus Toler  Fr CB 16 Amaun Williams Fr CB 17 Max Lofy Fr S 18 Collin Wilder  Sr OLB 19 Nick Herbig Fr S 19 John Torchio  So CB 20 Semar Melvin  Fr CB 21 Caesar Williams  Sr ILB 22 Jacob Heyroth  So CB 24 James Williams  Fr S 25 Eric Burrell  Sr CB 26 Travian Blaylock  So CB 27 Cristian Volpentesta  Sr ILB 29 Jackson Kollath  Fr S 30 Tyler Mais  Jr S 31 Madison Cone Sr ILB 32 Marty Strey  So ILB 34 Ross Gengler Fr CB 36 Kobe Knaak  Sr OLB 37 Riley Nowakowski Fr S 38 Dante Caputo  Fr ILB 39 Tatum Grass  Fr OLB 41 Noah Burks  Sr OLB 42 Jaylan Franklin  So OLB 43 Preston Zachman Fr ILB 45 Leo Chenal So OLB 46 Hegeman Tiedt  Sr OLB 48 Cole Dakovich Fr OLB 50 Izayah Green-May  Jr DE 51 Giovanni Paez  Fr OLB 52 Kaden Johnson Fr OLB 53 Malik Reed Fr ILB 54 Jordan Turner Fr ILB 55 Maema Njongmeta  Fr DE 56 Rodas Johnson  Fr DE 57 Michael Balistreri  Jr ILB 57 Jack Sanborn Jr ILB 58 Mike Maskalunas  Sr DE 59 Aaron Witt Fr DE 90 Isaiah Mullens  So DE 90 James Thompson Jr. Fr NT 91 Bryson Williams Jr DE 92 Matt Henningsen  Jr DE 93 Garrett Rand  Sr DE 94 Boyd Dietzen  So NT 95 Keeanu Benton So DE 96 Cade McDonald Fr DE 97 Isaiahh Loudermilk  Sr DE 98 C.J. Goetz  So	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 19 Collin Larsh  Jr P 26 Jack Van Dyke Fr P 28 Gavin Meyers Fr K 28 Blake Wilcox  Fr P 38 Andy Vujnovich Jr LS 51 Adam Bay Sr LS 52 Josh Bernhagen  Sr LS 63 Peter Bowden  Fr LS 64 Duncan McKinley Fr P 96 Conor Schlichting  Jr	Head coach Paul Chryst (Wisconsin) Coordinators/assistant coaches Joe Rudolph (Wisconsin) Associate head coach, offensive coordinator, offensive line Jim Leonhard (Wisconsin) Defensive coordinator, defensive backs Bobby April (Louisiana-Lafayette) Outside linebackers Bob Bostad (Wisconsin–Stevens Point) Inside linebackers Inoke Breckterfield (Oregon State) Defensive line Jon Budmayr (Wisconsin) Quarterbacks Alvis Whitted (NC State) Wide receivers Chris Haering (West Virginia) Special teams John Settle (Appalachian State) Running backs Mickey Turner (Wisconsin) Tight ends Ross Kolodziej (Wisconsin) Head strength and conditioning coach Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster Last update: November 19, 2019

Rankings

Further information: 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Final
AP	12	12*	—	—	19	16	9	10	13	10	18	18	18	18	25	—
Coaches	12	12*	—	17	18	14	11	11	14	12	20	19	20	19	25	—
CFP	Not released												16	16	—	—		Not released

Game summaries

Illinois

	1	2	3	4	Total
Fighting Illini	0	7	0	0	7
No. 14 Badgers	7	21	0	17	45

See also: 2020 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

At Nebraska (Cancelled)

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 9 Badgers	0	0	0	0	0
Cornhuskers	0	0	0	0	0

See also: 2020 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team

The Wisconsin at Nebraska game was canceled due to a COVID-19 outbreak at Wisconsin. The game will not be rescheduled. Instead, both teams will have a bye and will play just seven games.^[8]

Purdue (Cancelled)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Boilermakers	0	0	0	0	0
No. 10 Badgers	0	0	0	0	0

See also: 2020 Purdue Boilermakers football team

The Purdue at Wisconsin game was canceled due to a COVID-19 outbreak at Wisconsin. The game will not be rescheduled.^[9]

At Michigan

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 13 Badgers	14	14	7	14	49
Wolverines	0	0	11	0	11

See also: 2020 Michigan Wolverines football team

At Northwestern

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 10 Badgers	7	0	0	0	7
No. 19 Wildcats	7	7	0	3	17

See also: 2020 Northwestern Wildcats football team

Minnesota (Rescheduled)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Golden Gophers	0	0	0	0	0
No. 16 Badgers	0	0	0	0	0

See also: 2020 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team

The Minnesota at Wisconsin game was canceled due to a COVID-19 outbreak at Minnesota. The game was rescheduled for December 19 at 3:00 p.m..

Indiana

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hoosiers	0	7	7	0	14
Badgers	0	3	3	0	6

See also: 2020 Indiana Hoosiers football team

At Iowa

	1	2	3	4	Total
Badgers	0	0	7	0	7
Hawkeyes	3	3	15	7	28

See also: 2020 Iowa Hawkeyes football team

Minnesota

	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Golden Gophers	7	0	3	7	0	17
Badgers	0	7	7	3	3	20

See also: 2020 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team

Vs. Wake Forest (Duke's Mayo Bowl)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Demon Deacons	14	0	7	7	28
Badgers	0	14	14	14	42

See also: 2020 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team and 2020 Duke's Mayo Bowl

Awards and honors

Weekly Awards

Player	Award	Date awarded	Ref.
Graham Mertz	Big Ten Co-offensive Player of the Week	October 23, 2019	[13]
Graham Mertz	Big Ten Freshman Player of the Week	October 23, 2019	[13]

Individual Awards

Player	Award	Ref.
Cole Van Lanen	First Team All-Big Ten Offense (Coaches)/Second Team All-Big Ten Offense (Media)	[14]
Jake Ferguson	First Team All-Big Ten Offense (Media)/Second Team All-Big Ten Offense (Coaches)	[14]
Logan Bruss	Third Team All-Big Ten Offense (Coaches/Media)	[14]
Caesar Williams	Third Team All-Big Ten Defense (Coaches)/Honorable Mention Defense (Media)	[14]
Isaiahh Loudermilk	Third Team All-Big Ten Defense (Media)/Honorable Mention Defense (Coaches)	[14]
Jack Sanborn	Third Team All-Big Ten Defense (Media)/Honorable Mention Defense (Coaches)	[14]
Mason Stokke	Honorable Mention Offense (Coaches)	[14]
Tyler Beach	Honorable Mention Offense (Coaches)	[14]
Leo Chenal	Honorable Mention Defense (Coaches/Media)	[14]
Eric Burrell	Honorable Mention Defense (Coaches/Media)	[14]
Faion Hicks	Honorable Mention Defense (Coaches/Media)	[14]
Andy Vujnovich	Honorable Mention Special Teams (Coaches)	[14]

Players drafted into the NFL

See also: 2021 NFL draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL Club
5	156	Isaiahh Loudermilk	DE	Pittsburgh Steelers
6	213	Rachad Wildgoose	CB	Buffalo Bills
6	214	Cole Van Lanen	OG	Green Bay Packers

References

1. Stevens, Matthew. "Big Ten To Play A "Championship Weekend" 9th Game Of 2020 Season". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
2. "Big Ten Statement on 2020-21 Fall Season". Big Ten Conference. August 11, 2020. Archived from the original on August 11, 2020. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
3. "The Big Ten Conference Adopts Stringent Medical Protocols; Football Season to Resume October 23-24, 2020". Big Ten Conference. September 16, 2020. Archived from the original on September 16, 2020. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
4. Baird, Nathan (July 31, 2020). "Ohio State voted 2020 Big Ten favorite in cleveland.com Preseason Poll". The Plain Dealer.
5. Myerberg, Paul. "Big Ten football reduces season schedule to only conference games, maybe setting stage for others to follow". USA TODAY. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
6. "Badgers' Wrigley Field game moved back to Northwestern's Ryan Field". Associated Press. WKOW. July 8, 2020. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
7. Vitovitch, Frank (July 10, 2020). "A Notre Dame – Wisconsin at Lambeau Reschedule Not Likely Until At least 2026". UHND.com. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
8. "Wisconsin Football pauses team activities". uwbadgers.com. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
9. "Wisconsin vs. Purdue game canceled as Badgers continue to deal with COVID-19 outbreak within program". CBSSports.com. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
10. "Minnesota cancels football game vs Wisconsin amid positive test for COVID-19". espn.com. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
11. Potrykus, Jeff (December 13, 2020). "Try it again: UW is set to host Minnesota on Saturday as part of the Big Ten's Champions Week". jsonline.com. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
12. "2020 Wisconsin Football Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
13. "Big Ten Football Players of the Week". Big Ten Conference. Big Ten Conference. October 23, 2020. Archived from the original on October 29, 2020. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
14. "Big Ten Unveils Football All-Conference Teams for defense and Select Individual Honors". Big Ten Conference. Big Ten Conference. December 26, 2020. Archived from the original on December 16, 2020. Retrieved December 26, 2020.