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No. 2 Wisconsin               2006 record- 12-1, 7-1 Big Ten

Projected Finish in 2007- 10-2, 6-2 Big Ten

Bret Bielema enters his second season as the head man of the Wisconsin program after going 12-1 in his first season as the Badger's head coach following in the footsteps of Barry Alvarez. Despite the lone loss of the season in Ann Arbor to Michigan, the Badgers were able to rebound and win out the rest of the way, including a 17-14 win over Arkansas in the Capital One Bowl in Orlando, Fla., last season.

The Badgers will have to break in a new quarterback with the graduation of John Stocco. Fifth-year senior Tyler Donovan has been announced as the starting quarterback and will be backed up by Allan Evridge who tranferred to Wisconsin from Kansas State prior to the 2006 season. Donovan is the prototypical dropback passer and will provide the Badgers with at least some experience after starting the last two regular season games last season leading the Badgers to wins at Iowa and against Buffalo.

The defense returns the majority of the starters from last season and will be the likely strength of the team again this season after ranking first in the conference in total defense in 2006. Wisconsin allowed just 12.1 points per game last season, which also ranked first in the Big Ten, and used blend of physicalness and speed to wear down the opponent throughout the season. With the quarterback position being the only real major question going into the season, the Badgers should compete for a Big Ten title once again in 2007.

Quarterback

John Stocco will enter his first year as a starter on the Badger offense as a fifth-year senior. In many ways his style of play is indicative of the way Bret Bielema leads his team: in a calm and somewhat conservative manner. Back up Allan Evridge gives the Badgers a legitimate double threat as he can beat defenses with his arm and his feet which will serve Bielema well if Stocco happens to fall victim to injury or does not appear to be getting the job done well into the season. Much like Ohio State, the schedule is kind to the Badgers as they start out facing Washington State before traveling to UNLV and hosting The Citadel. The non-conference schedule will give Bielema plenty of opportunities to evalaute the quarterback position and the progress of Stocco without having to worry too much about the game being in jeopardy.

Running Back

The loss of All-Big Ten lineman Joe Thomas to the NFL hurts the running game more than anything, but the return of sophomore P.J. Hill immediately makes the running game a real positive for the Badger's offense. There was some worry last season about Hill wearing down toward the end of the year as he failed to rush for more than 86 yards in four of his last five games including the bowl game in which he rushed for just 36 yards. Hill slimmed down a bit from his 227 pounds last season and has reportedly looked a bit faster and more elusive while still being a physical back this fall. While coming off a total of 1533 yards rushing and 15 touchdowns last season as a fresman, Hill's numbers may go down a bit this season as it will be difficult to sneak up on anyone with the success that he had last year and the attention that he will receive this year. However, his value to the offense will be immeasurable this season in helping Donovan develop as a starting quarterback by giving him plenty of support as a productable running back that he can rely on.

Wide Receivers

Seniors Paul Hubbard and Luke Swan were the second and third leading receivers, respectively, last season as they totaled around 600 yards receiving as well as each tallying 5 touchdowns. With Donovan getting some experience last season, there shouldn't be much of a dropoff in terms of being able to deliver the football. However, what will affect the passing game is the decisions of Donovan in reading the defense and getting the ball to the right guy. If Donovan can progress early against a rather soft schedule, he should hit stride with his receivers when the Big Ten schedule arrives. With Hubbard and Swan, the most experienced receivers last season, returning the transitions and reads should be easier for Donovan to make.

Tight End

Junior tight end Travis Beckum is perhaps the best tight end in the conference, and very well might be one of the best tight ends in the country. Beckum led the Badgers in receiving last year after racking up 903 yards and five touchdowns for the offense. Beckum's value to the Badgers is so great, in fact, that he has been named to the preseason Maxwell Award, Wlater Campt Award and John Mackey Award watch lists for the 2007 season. In addition to having two experienced wide receivers, Donovan will have the advantage of having an additional weapon in the form of Beckum who could inch closer to the 1000 yard mark this season as a tight end, something that is truly impressive.

Offensive Line

With the loss of Joe Thomas to graduation and the NFL, the Badgers are expected to take a bit of a downward dip in production along the offensive line. However, with the return of two honorable mention All-Big Ten players from 2006 and another that has started 26 straight games for Wisconsin. Tackle Eric Vandenheuval and center Marcus Coleman were both named honorable mention All-Big Ten selections last season while guard Kraig Urbick, who moved from right tackle to right guard last year, has started 26 consecutive games on the line. Left guard Andy Kemp returns after starting all 13 games last season and tackle Gabe Carimi is expected to take the remaining position along the line after redshirting in 2006. So while the loss of Thomas still looms large, the Badgers do have some experience up front and should allow P.J. Hill to have another successful season rushing the football. The one problem the Badgers did have last year was allowing the defense to get to the quarterback, giving up 29 sacks for the season- second worst in the Big Ten. With having to replace the coveted left tackle spot with the departure of Thomas, Wisconsin could be in a world of hurt if they don't give better protection this season.

Defensive Line

Last year the Badgers ranked fourth in the Big Ten in rush defense last year, giving up just 114.8 yards per game on the ground, and much of that was thanks to a defensive line that was, for the most part, solid. Much is expected out of defensive tackles Jason Chapman and Nick Hayden who both had respectable years in 2006 with Chapman registering five sacks, good for second on the team. Defensive ends Kurt Ware and Matt Shaughnessy will hold up the outsides as Ware enters his first season as a starter while Shaughnessy contributed eight tackles for loss and four sacks last season for the defense. Wisconsin was fifth in the conference last season with 29 sacks and will look for more production in that category with another year of experience along the defensive front.

Linebackers

The linebackers showed marked improvement last season and will expect more improvement this season, especially from junior defensive leader Jonathan Casillas. Casillas totaled 83 tackles last season while also racking up 12.5 tackles for loss on the year as a starter. DeAndre Levy finished right behind Casillas on the team in tackles, tallying 50 of them and led the team with six sacks. Elijah Hodge will enter the season as the third linebacker for the Badgers after playing in all 13 games last season. The linebackers should be strong for the Badgers as they have plenty of athleticism and speed to stick with any offense as evidenced last year in their win against Arkansas in the bowl game.

Defensive Backs

Junior Jack Ikegwuonu will compete to make the first team All-Big Ten roster this season as another shutdown corner in the conference. Last season, Ikegwuonu recorded 41 tackles and had two interceptions while serving as the stopper in the pass defense for the Badgers. He is not often overmatched by receivers because of his good size at 6'1, 201, and can hang with most any wide receiver in the country. Allen Langford will start at the other corner position after holding the team lead in interceptions last season with three. Aubrey Pleasant and Shane Carter are the projected starters at the safety positions. If there is a concern in the defense, it would have to be the back end of the secondary as Pleasant and Carter eached played in just three games last season and registered just five tackles combined. Without the experience in game situations, the safeties might be prone to giving up a big play or two with mixups in coverage and miscommunications in the defensive backfield.

Special Teams

A pair of senior kickers will take on the kicking duties this season as Ken DeBauche will do the punting after averaging 41.8 yards per kick in 2006. Taylor Mehlhaff, on the other hand, will do the placekicking where he went 15 of 20 from last season while going 10 of 11 from 39 yards and closer. Mehlhaff will have to work on his accuracy from further distance, though, as he went just 5 of 9 from 40 yards or more. Luke Swan is listed as the leading candidate to return punts after recording just one last season while defensive back Josh Nettles is set to return kicks once again this season after returning just six kicks last season for an average of 14.7 yards per return.

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