Wisconsin
Wisconsin is 6-3 and No. 31 of 138 in the machine's ratings, 10.5 points better than an average FBS team. Last game: won 31-10 vs Rutgers in Week 10. The machine gives Wisconsin a 2% chance to make the playoff.
Week 11: at Maryland, Saturday, Nov 14: the matchup, unit by unit
Why Wisconsin is No. 31
- Wisconsin's rating is 10.5: the machine's estimate that Wisconsin is 10.5 points better than an average FBS team on a neutral field. That is No. 31 of 138. For scale, 0 is an average FBS team: right now the closest to it is No. 68 Arizona State (0.2).
- It started the season at 4.8, ESPN's preseason Football Power Index from July. Its results since have moved it up 5.7.
- The biggest weekly moves: +3.8 after Week 4 (W 24-20 at Penn State) and +2.8 after Week 3 (W 54-10 vs Eastern Michigan).
- Its record is 6-3. The 3 losses were to No. 5 Notre Dame, No. 17 Iowa, No. 40 UCLA, by 22.7 points on average. The 6 wins came by 23.5 points on average; the best was over No. 19 USC. The rating weighs how much a team won or lost by and against whom, not just the win-loss count.
- Its FBS opponents so far average No. 49 in the machine's ratings.
- Just above is No. 30 North Carolina (10.5); just below is No. 32 Florida State (10.3).
The rating, week by week
Strengths and weak spots
Head coach
Luke Fickell is in his 5th season at Wisconsin (since 2022). This season: 6-3. At Wisconsin overall: 23-24, counting this season.
Data provided by CollegeFootballData.com.
Team stats
Season totals and averages over 9 games, each with its national rank among 138 FBS teams (No. 1 = best). The game-by-game story is in the season, week by week.
Passing
| Completions-attempts | 130-224 |
|---|---|
| Passing yards | 1680 |
| Touchdowns-interceptions | 14-6 |
| Yards per attempt* | 7.3No. 81 of 138 |
| Explosive pass rate | 11.2%No. 52 of 138 |
| Sacks allowed (rate) | 4.7%No. 54 of 138 |
Rushing
| Carries-yards | 291-1229 |
|---|---|
| Yards per carry | 4.2No. 84 of 138 |
| 10-plus-yard runs (rate) | 10.9%No. 120 of 138 |
| Stuffed at or behind the line (rate) | 15.0%No. 31 of 138 |
Scoring
| Points per game | 24.4No. 95 of 138 |
|---|---|
| Yards per play | 5.74No. 85 of 138 |
| Third-down rate | 41.6%No. 53 of 138 |
| Red-zone TD rate | 44.0%No. 128 of 138 |
| Giveaways | 10No. 57 of 138 |
Defense
| Points allowed per game | 16.3No. 16 of 138 |
|---|---|
| Yards per play allowed | 4.36No. 7 of 138 |
| Yards per pass attempt allowed | 6.0No. 18 of 138 |
| Yards per carry allowed | 2.8No. 10 of 138 |
| Sack rate | 5.5%No. 83 of 138 |
| Takeaways | 9No. 111 of 138 |
| Third-down rate allowed | 40.0%No. 88 of 138 |
Totals are the official box score. * Yards per attempt and the rates come from the play-by-play, where passing yards count on completions only, so they can differ from the box score by a play or two.
Data provided by CollegeFootballData.com.
Player leaders
The top 3 in each category over the same games. Passing yards count every completion (official box score).
Passing
- Colton Joseph104-187, 1346 yds, 11 TD, 5 INT
- Ryan Hopkins26-37, 334 yds, 3 TD, 1 INT
Rushing
- Colton Joseph91 carries, 371 yds, 4 TD
- Abu Sama III66 carries, 353 yds, 1 TD
- Darrion Dupree58 carries, 249 yds, 2 TD
Receiving
- Tyrell Henry33 catches, 410 yds, 1 TD
- Jacob Harris19 catches, 334 yds, 4 TD
- Chris Brooks Jr.15 catches, 252 yds, 3 TD
Tackles
- Cooper Catalano90
- Mason Posa73
- Matthew Jung61
Sacks
- Sebastian Cheeks7
- Hammond Russell IV2.5
- Charles Perkins2
Interceptions
- Marvin Burks Jr.2
- Bryce West1
- Cairo Skanes1
Data provided by CollegeFootballData.com.
Who's playing
Based on who has actually played this season, from the box scores, not the team's published depth chart. Each bar is that player's share of the team's attempts, carries (quarterbacks left out), catches or tackles. The box score lists no positions, so there is no offensive line here.
Throwing
- Colton Joseph8 games187 attempts83%
- Ryan HopkinsMost passes in the last game2 games37 attempts17%
Carrying
- Abu Sama III7 games66 carries35%
- Darrion Dupree8 games58 carries31%
- Bryan Jackson6 games39 carries21%
- Nate Palmer3 games9 carries5%
Catching
- Tyrell Henry9 games33 catches25%
- Jacob Harris9 games19 catches15%
- Eugene Hilton Jr.8 games18 catches14%
- Chris Brooks Jr.8 games15 catches12%
Tackling
- Cooper Catalano9 games90 tackles16%
- Mason Posa9 games73 tackles13%
- Matthew Jung9 games61 tackles11%
- Sebastian Cheeks9 games34 tackles6%
Data provided by CollegeFootballData.com.
The season, week by week
- Week 1 L 13–41 vs Notre Dame (neutral site). The run defense was the strength: Notre Dame got 3.5 yards a carry, 1.6 under what it usually gains. Lost the turnover battle by 2.
- Week 2 W 36–9 vs Western Illinois. Western Illinois is an FCS team, so there is no FBS baseline to grade this one against.
- Week 3 W 54–10 vs Eastern Michigan. The passing game was the strength: 11.0 yards an attempt, 3.2 more than Eastern Michigan usually allows. Won the turnover battle by 2.
- Week 4 W 24–20 at Penn State. The pass defense was the strength: Penn State got 3.9 yards an attempt, 4.4 under what it usually gains. The machine had Penn State by 13.8 (81%), so this was a win it did not see coming; Wisconsin lost the turnover battle by 2.
- Week 5 W 31–3 vs Michigan State. The pass defense was the strength: Michigan State got 3.1 yards an attempt, 3.8 under what it usually gains. Its most yards a carry of the season.
- Week 7 L 7–17 at UCLA. The run defense was the strength: UCLA got 3.2 yards a carry, 2.3 under what it usually gains. Won the turnover battle by 2.
- Week 8 W 24–7 vs USC. The run defense was the strength: USC got -0.7 yards a carry, 5.0 under what it usually gains. The machine had USC by 0.7 (51%), so this was a win it did not see coming; Wisconsin won the turnover battle by 2.
- Week 9 L 0–30 at Iowa. The pass defense gave ground: Iowa got 9.3 yards an attempt, 2.9 over what it usually gains. Lost the turnover battle by 2.
- Week 10 W 31–10 vs Rutgers. The run game struggled: 4.2 yards a carry, 1.4 less than Rutgers usually allows. The defense had 5 sacks.