The 2010 Wisconsin Badgers football team represented the
University of Wisconsin–Madison
A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...
in the
2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season
The 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level of college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
The regular season began on September 2, 2010, and ended on ...
. The Badgers, led by fifth-year head coach
Bret Bielema
Bret Arnold Bielema (; born January 13, 1970) is currently the head American football coach at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Bielema served as the head football coach at of the University of Wisconsin–Madison from 2006 to 2012 ...
, were members of the
Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...
and played their home games at
Camp Randall Stadium
Camp Randall Stadium is an outdoor stadium in Madison, Wisconsin, located on the campus of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, University of Wisconsin. It has been the home of the Wisconsin Badgers football team in rudimentary form since 1895 ...
. They finished the season 11–2, 7–1 in the Big Ten to be crowned Big Ten co-champions along with
Michigan State
Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...
. Due to being ranked the highest of the three schools in the
BCS rankings at the end of the season, the Badgers earned the conference's automatic bid to the
Rose Bowl, where they were defeated 21–19 by
TCU.
Schedule
Rankings
Roster
Regular season
UNLV
San Jose State
Arizona State
A blocked PAT was the difference in a crazy game in Camp Randall Stadium. Both Arizona State and Wisconsin were undefeated heading into this game, Arizona State having beaten a pair of FCS teams and Wisconsin having beaten UNLV and San Jose State. The Badgers managed to overcome a sluggish start and fended off an upset bid by the Sun Devils.
Arizona State would be marred by mistakes, committing multiple penalties on offense and defense, and Wisconsin used Arizona State's gaffes to keep themselves in the game. The Sun Devils returned a kick for a touchdown, had a very long runback on a kick to end the half (the returner was tackled inside the one-yard line as time expired), and had a punt return for a touchdown called back due to a pair of illegal blocks. Wisconsin did not commit a single turnover, and that would ultimately help to decide this game.
Wisconsin improved to 3–0 on the season, and faces FCS opponent Austin Peay next week. Arizona State, however, falls to 2–1 and will need to win 5 Pac-10 games to become bowl-eligible.
Austin Peay
Wisconsin broke the all-time record for most points scored with 70, breaking a record from the 1962 season (the Badgers defeated New Mexico State 69–13 that season).
Michigan State
In a matchup between undefeated teams in the Big Ten, Michigan State prevailed over the 9th ranked Badgers. Despite 3 Spartan turnovers, the Badgers were unable to come away with a road win, dropping head coach Bret Bielema to 0–2 in Spartan Stadium and 2–2 against Michigan State overall. The Spartans face their rival, the Michigan Wolverines in a crucial road contest next week, while the Badgers face longtime rival Minnesota in the battle for
Paul Bunyan's Axe
Paul may refer to:
*Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name)
*Paul (surname), a list of people
People
Christianity
* Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...
.
Minnesota
Wisconsin won a school-record 7th straight game over the rival Golden Gophers, dropping
Tim Brewster
Tim Brewster (born October 13, 1960) is an American football coach and former player who is currently the tight ends coach for the University of Colorado. He also served as the tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator for the North Carolina ...
to 0–4 against Wisconsin and improving
Bret Bielema
Bret Arnold Bielema (; born January 13, 1970) is currently the head American football coach at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Bielema served as the head football coach at of the University of Wisconsin–Madison from 2006 to 2012 ...
to 5–0 against Minnesota. Wisconsin did not commit a turnover for the 4th game in a row, and had two running backs with over 100 yards rushing (
James White and
John Clay). Minnesota has now lost 5 straight games after winning their opener against Middle Tennessee State.
Ohio State
Wisconsin stunned the top-ranked Buckeyes 31–18, their first upset of a top-ranked team since a 1981 defeat of #1 ranked Michigan. Wisconsin Senior WR
David Gilreath
David Gilreath (born December 11, 1988) is a former American football wide receiver. Gilreath played college football at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
High school
Gilreath attended high school at Robbinsdale Armstrong in Plymouth, Minne ...
returned the opening kick of the game for a touchdown, RB John Clay became the first running back to go over 100 yards rushing against the Buckeyes since
Joe McKnight
Joseph Nathan McKnight Jr. (April 16, 1988 – December 1, 2016) was an American football running back and return specialist who played in the National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL).
He attended the University of Sout ...
of USC in 2008, and Wisconsin's defense harried Ohio State QB
Terrelle Pryor
Terrelle Pryor Sr. (born June 20, 1989) is a former American football wide receiver and quarterback. Considered the most recruited high school football-basketball athlete in southwestern Pennsylvania since Tom Clements, Pryor was widely regarde ...
all game long. The Badgers ran up 21 unanswered points in the first half before
Devin Barclay
Devin Barclay (born April 9, 1983) is a former American football placekicker for The Ohio State Buckeyes. Prior to that, he was formerly a professional soccer player, of Ohio State answered with a field goal. The Buckeyes managed to get 15 more points (via a pair of
Daniel Herron touchdown runs) but the Badgers iced their incredible upset of the Buckeyes with a TD run by James White and a Philip Welch field goal. The win over Ohio State is Bret Bielema's first; he was 0–3 against the Buckeyes in the previous three meetings (2007, 2008, and 2009). The loss dropped
Jim Tressel
James Patrick Tressel (born December 5, 1952) is an American college football coach and university administrator who is currently the president of Youngstown State University in Youngstown, Ohio. Before becoming an administrator, Tressel was the ...
to 4–4 against Wisconsin and snapped a 3-game Buckeye winning streak over the Badgers.
Iowa
11th ranked Wisconsin won a narrow 31–30 contest over the Iowa Hawkeyes. The Hawkeyes went into the half with a 13–10 lead, but the Badgers chipped away at it and took a 24–20 lead. The Hawkeyes managed a touchdown and field goal of their own to take a 30–24 lead in the 4th quarter. However, the Badgers scored the go-ahead touchdown on an 8-yard run by running back
Montee Ball
Montee Ball Jr. (born December 5, 1990) is a former American football running back. He was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He played college football at Wisconsin, where he was twice recognized as the be ...
. With under a minute remaining, Iowa drove into Wisconsin territory on their final possession, but Iowa RB Adam Robinson was tackled before he could get out of bounds. Unable to stop the clock, Iowa ran out of time, giving Wisconsin head coach Bret Bielema his first-ever road win over a ranked opponent. It was also his 3rd win over Iowa and 2nd in Iowa City, breaking a two-game Hawkeye winning streak.
Purdue
Wisconsin traveled to West Lafayette to play the Purdue Boilermakers. Purdue entered the game on a two-game losing streak (losing 49–0 at Ohio State and 44–10 at Illinois), but managed to take a 10–3 lead on the Badgers before the end of the first half. An interception by Badger QB
Scott Tolzien
Scott Jeffery Tolzien (born September 4, 1987) is a former American football quarterback and coach who is the quarterbacks coach for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Wisconsin. He was signed ...
on Wisconsin's first possession of the game and a missed field goal by Wisconsin K Philip Welch helped the Boilermakers take a 10–6 lead at the half.
From there, Wisconsin took command of the game. Purdue Freshman QB Sean Robinson threw an interception on the first possession of the half that set the Badgers up with excellent field position. Badger QB Scott Tolzien capitalized on the turnover, finding freshman WR
Jared Abbrederis
Jared Ryan Abbrederis (born December 17, 1990) is a former American football wide receiver. He played college football at Wisconsin and was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the fifth round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He was also a member of th ...
on a 7-yard touchdown strike that gave the Badgers their first lead of the game at 13–10. After an exchange of punts, the Badgers again found the end zone on a 31-yard touchdown run by RB Montee Ball, extending their lead to 20–10. Purdue K
Carson Wiggs
Carson Michael Wiggs (born February 20, 1990) is an American football placekicker who is currently a free agent. He was signed by the Seahawks as an undrafted free agent in 2012. Wiggs played college football at Purdue.
Early years
Wiggs atte ...
tightened the game by kicking a field goal to cut the Badger lead 20–13. However, those would be the last points of the game for the Boilermakers. Wisconsin would get another touchdown run from Ball and an interception returned for a touchdown by CB Antonio Fenelus.
The Badgers won their fifth straight game over Purdue, and their 8th game of the season overall. They play Indiana in Camp Randall on November 13. After a 2–0 start to conference play, Purdue has lost their last three games. They play Michigan in West Lafayette, having won their last two games against the Wolverines.
Indiana
Wisconsin did not punt on any of their offensive possessions, tallied a pair of 100-yard running backs (James White and Montee Ball) and overpowered the Indiana Hoosiers. At one point, the score was 10–10, but Wisconsin would score 7 consecutive touchdowns to take a 59–10 lead before Indiana managed to kick a field goal. The Badgers put in their backup players in the 4th Quarter, but their two backup quarterbacks (Jon Budmayr and Nate Tice) managed to score a pair of touchdowns anyway.
Badger QB Scott Tolzien completed 15 passes on 18 attempts with a trio of touchdown strikes. Montee Ball's 167 rushing yards and 3 rushing touchdowns on 22 carries led Wisconsin's ground game, and his teammate James White (who had not played against Purdue with a head injury) ran for 144 yards on 19 carries with two touchdowns of his own. Wisconsin S Aaron Henry returned an interception for a touchdown late in the game to put Wisconsin up by a commanding margin and icing their win over the Hoosiers.
Wisconsin's 83 points against Indiana easily broke their previous record 70 points scored against Austin Peay, which was set earlier this season. They play Michigan in Ann Arbor next week.
Michigan
Wisconsin would lead from start to finish of this game, shutting out the powerful Michigan Wolverine offense in the first half. The Badgers incredibly gained 380 yards of total offense in the first half. Wisconsin would close out the Wolverines from there; Michigan managed to cut Wisconsin's lead to just 10 points with a pair of back to back touchdowns. However, Wisconsin answered with a touchdown of its own. Michigan would score another 3rd-quarter touchdown, but the 4th quarter was where the Badgers took this game, outscoring the Wolverines 17–7 in the final 15:00.
Wisconsin running back Montee Ball ran for 4 touchdowns on 30 carries; his 194 yards paced a powerful Badger rushing attack. Badger QB Scott Tolzien completed 14 passes on 15 attempts for 201 yards as the Badgers diced up Michigan's vulnerable secondary. Wisconsin RB James White would run for 161 yards of his own and a pair of touchdowns; he and Ball combined for 6 rushing touchdowns and well over 300 yards of total offense.
Denard Robinson
Denard Xavier Robinson (born September 22, 1990) is currently the Assistant Director of Player Personnel for the University of Michigan football program. Robinson is also a former American football running back who played for four seasons in th ...
became the first QB to run for over 1,500 yards in a season, but he was unable to spark the Wolverines to a possible upset of a top ten Wisconsin team.
With the 48–28 win, Wisconsin won in Michigan Stadium for the first time since the 1994 season (when they defeated Michigan 31–19). Wisconsin also scored more points in the game than they had ever scored in any single game against the Wolverines prior to this date. The 10–1 Badgers are now looking at a potential Rose Bowl berth and BCS game, but must play a still-dangerous Northwestern Wildcats team in Camp Randall next weekend.
Northwestern
Wisconsin led by double digits just minutes into the game and never let go, blowing out the Wildcats en route to their eleventh victory of the season. Aided by 7 Northwestern turnovers, the Badgers played some of their best football of the season on Senior Day.
![Gabe Carimi ASU](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1e/Gabe_Carimi_ASU.jpg)
Wisconsin QB Scott Tolzien, who led the nation in passing completion percentage (74.3%) in the regular season, had an excellent game in his final home start. He completed 15 passes on 19 attempts for 230 yards with 4 touchdown passes. Tolzien was not sacked once in the game, and left to a standing ovation.
Wisconsin's running back duo of Montee Ball and James White tore apart Northwestern's defense on the ground, with 300+ combined rushing yards. James White eclipsed the 1,000 yards rushing mark for the season. Montee Ball's 4 touchdown runs paced the Badger ground game and he ran 20 times for 178 yards on the day.
The powerful Badger offensive line had one of its best games of the season, opening holes for the running game and protecting Scott Tolzien.
Bill Nagy
Bill Nagy (born October 26, 1987) is a former American football center and guard who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football for the University of Wisconsin. He was also a member of the ...
,
John Moffitt, and
Gabe Carimi
Gabriel Andrew Carimi ( ; born June 13, 1988) is a former American football guard. Carimi had 49 starts at left tackle in his four-year Wisconsin Badgers college career, which culminated at the 2011 Rose Bowl. He was awarded the 2010 Outland Tr ...
put together fantastic games in their final home start. Badger TE
Lance Kendricks
Lance Ronnie Kendricks (born January 30, 1988) is a former American football tight end. He played college football at Wisconsin, where he was recognized as a consensus All-American. He was drafted by the St. Louis Rams in the second round of t ...
caught 4 passes for 80 yards with an acrobatic touchdown catch, and WR David Gilreath scored his only receiving touchdown in the regular season on an 18-yard strike from Tolzien.
Nick Toon
Nicholas Adam Toon (born November 4, 1988) is a former American football wide receiver. He played college football at Wisconsin and was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the fourth round of the 2012 NFL Draft. He is the son of former New Yo ...
caught a pair of touchdown passes as well.
Due to wins by Ohio State (over Michigan) and Michigan State (over Penn State), Wisconsin's win over Northwestern resulted in a tie between the teams with a 7–1 overall record. The Big Ten championship is thus split amongst the three teams, with the highest ranked team in the BCS going to the
Rose Bowl.
TCU–Rose Bowl
Both teams scored double digit points in the first quarter, a Rose Bowl record. The game was close throughout, and was not decided until Wisconsin failed to convert a two-point conversion late in the fourth quarter to tie the game. It was the second time the game was decided by two points, joining the
1966 game (UCLA 14, Michigan State 12).
Regular starters
2010 stats
Passing
''Note: G = Games played; COMP = Completions; ATT = Attempts; COMP % = Completion percentage; YDS = Passing yards; TD = Passing touchdowns; INT = Interceptions; EFF = Passing efficiency''
Rushing
''Note: G = Games played; ATT = Attempts; YDS = Yards; AVG = Average yard per carry; LG = Longest run; TD = Rushing touchdowns''
Receiving
''Note: G = Games played; REC = Receptions; YDS = Yards; AVG = Average yard per catch; LG = Longest catch; TD = Receiving touchdowns''
Kick and punt returning
''Note: G = Games played; PR = Punt returns; PYDS = Punt return yards; PLG = Punt return long; KR = Kick returns; KYDS = Kick return yards; KLG = Kick return long; TD = Total return touchdowns''
Kicking
''Note: G = Games played; FGM = Field goals made; FGA = Field goals attempted; LG = Field goal long; XPT = Extra points made; XPT ATT = XPT attempted; TP = Total points''
Punting
''Note: G = Games played; P = Punts; YDS = Yards; AVG = Average per punt; LG = Punt long; In20 = Punts inside the 20; TB = Touchbacks''
Defensive
''Note: G = Games played; Solo = Solo tackles; Ast = Assisted tackles; Total = Total tackles; TFL-Yds = Tackles for loss-yards lost; Sack = Sacks; INT = Interceptions; PD = Passes defended; FF = Forced fumbles; FR = Forced recoveries''
2011 NFL Draft
2011 NFL Draft class
Signed undrafted free agents
* DB
Niles Brinkley,
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...
* RB
John Clay,
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...
* WR
David Gilreath
David Gilreath (born December 11, 1988) is a former American football wide receiver. Gilreath played college football at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
High school
Gilreath attended high school at Robbinsdale Armstrong in Plymouth, Minne ...
,
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...
* LB
Blake Sorensen
Blake is a surname which originated from Old English. Its derivation is uncertain; it could come from "blac", a nickname for someone who had dark hair or skin, or from "blaac", a nickname for someone with pale hair or skin. Another theory, presuma ...
,
Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...
* QB
Scott Tolzien
Scott Jeffery Tolzien (born September 4, 1987) is a former American football quarterback and coach who is the quarterbacks coach for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Wisconsin. He was signed ...
,
San Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...
References
{{Big Ten Conference football champions
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
Wisconsin Badgers football seasons
Big Ten Conference football champion seasons
Wisconsin Badgers football
The Wisconsin Badgers football program represents the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the sport of American football. Wisconsin competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the W ...