The 2011 Wisconsin Badgers football team was an American football team that represented the University of Wisconsin–Madison as a member of the Leaders Division of the Big Ten Conference during the 2011 NCAA Division I FBS football season. In their sixth season under head coach Bret Bielema, the Badgers compiled an 11–3 record (7–2 in conference games), won the Big Ten championship, and outscored opponents by a total of 618 to 266.
In games against ranked opponents, the Badgers defeated No. 8 Nebraska, lost to No. 15 Michigan State (regular season), and defeated No. 20 Penn State. They also lost to unranked Ohio State. They tied with Penn State for the Leaders Division championship and advanced to the inaugural Big Ten Championship Game having beaten Penn State during the regular season. In the Big Ten Championship Game, the Badgers defeated Legends Division champion Michigan State. They concluded the season in the Rose Bowl for the second consecutive year, losing to No. 6 Oregon,45–38. The Badgers were ranked No. 10 and No. 11, respectively in the final AP and Coaches polls.
The team's statistical leaders included quarterback Russell Wilson (3,175 passing yards, 33 touchdown passes, 191.78 passer rating), running back Montee Ball (1,923 rushing yards, 6.3 yards per carry, 236 points scored), and wide receivers Jared Abbrederis (55 receptions for 933 yards) and Nick Toon (64 receptions for 926 yards). Ball and guard Kevin Zeitler were consensus first-team picks on the 2011 All-America college football team, and center Peter Konz also received first-team All-America honors from multiple selectors.
The team played its home games at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin.
Schedule
Rankings
Game summaries UNLV
Wisconsin kicked off the 2011 season with a bang, recording 499 yards of total offense en route to a 51–17 pounding of visiting UNLV. The Badgers, and in particular, QB Russell Wilson, received the opening kick and drove 65 yards in 3:11, taking a 7–0 lead on Wilson's first touchdown pass as a Wisconsin Badger to RB Montee Ball. The Badgers forced a three and out on UNLV's first possession, and WR Jared Abbrederis returned the UNLV punt 30 yards to put the Badgers in excellent field position. Wilson and the Badgers capitalized; as Montee Ball broke several tackles on a 20-yard touchdown run. With K Philip Welch sidelined to a leg injury, backup K Kyle French missed the PAT, leaving Wisconsin ahead only 13–0. But that wouldn't be all for Wisconsin in the first quarter: after UNLV missed a 34-yard field goal, Wisconsin drove 80 yards in 8 plays and extended their advantage to 20–0 on a 1-yard touchdown run by James White.
The Rebels were able to drive to Wisconsin's 35, but Nolan Kohorst missed his second field goal attempt of the game wide left from 52 yards. The Badgers wasted no time in capitalizing; Wilson dropped a short pass to Montee Ball, who proceeded to take it 63 yards to the UNLV three-yard line. Two plays later, Ball scored his third touchdown of the first half from a yard out, giving Wisconsin a 27–0 lead. But the pesky Rebels answered with a 13-play, 64-yard drive to the Wisconsin 20, scoring for the first time after Kohorst banked in a 37-yard attempt off the left upright.
Whatever hopes this may have raised on the UNLV sideline were quickly squashed as Wisconsin answered with a 3 play, 56-yard drive. Russell Wilson himself scored on a 46-yard touchdown run in which he accelerated past several defenders and scampered almost untouched into the endzone. UNLV managed to lose 8 yards and go three and out on their next drive, and after UNLV's punt gave Wisconsin excellent field position, the Badgers tacked on another field goal to take a 37–3 lead at the half.
The Badgers then scored on their first two possessions of the second half. An 8-yard pass to tight end Jacob Pedersen from Wilson and a 1-yard touchdown run by Ball (his 4th touchdown of the game). That would spell the end for the starting offense for the Badgers as they scored on all 8 possessions they had. UNLV would then score a touchdown with 2:53 left in the 3rd quarter and the scoring was closed out by UNLV with a touchdown pass with 11:41 remaining in the game.
Statistical leaders Rushing: Montee Ball – 10 Car, 63 Yds, 3 TDs Passing: Russell Wilson – 10/13, 255 Yds, 2 TDs Receiving: Montee Ball – 2 Rec, 67 Yds, 1 TD Defense: Louis Nzegwu – 4 Tkls, 2.0 TFL, 2 Sacks
Oregon State
The Badgers posted their first shutout since a 37–0 victory on October 31, 2009 against the Purdue Boilermakers. The Badgers out gained the Beavers 397 yards (208 rushing, 189 passing) to 284 yards (23 rushing, 261 passing). The scoring got started at the 8:35 mark in the first quarter with a 17-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jacob Pedersen from Wilson. The extra point was good by kicker Kyle French who is still filling in for the injured Philip Welch. With 7:42 in the 2nd quarter, Wilson connected with Nick Toon on a 10-yard TD pass. Then with 27 seconds left in the half, Wilson hit Pedersen again with a 6-yard TD pass. The Badgers led 21–0 at the half. Oregon State had done a nice job containing the Badgers powerful rushing attack but Wilson was able to pick apart the Beavers secondary. The Badgers got back on track with the running game in the second half and at the 12:09 mark in the 3rd quarter, Montee Ball scored on a 19-yard touchdown run. The scoring was closed out in the 4th quarter at 14:55 with a 1-yard TD run by Ball.
Statistical leaders Rushing: Montee Ball – 18 Car, 118 Yds, 2 TDs Passing: Russell Wilson – 17/21, 189 Yds, 3 TDs Receiving: Jacob Pedersen – 6 Rec, 80 Yds, 2 TDs Defense: Mike Taylor – 9 Tkls, 1.5 TFL, Sack, FF
Vs. Northern Illinois
It was an unwelcome "homecoming" for the Northern Illinois coach Dave Doeren, who spent the last five years in Madison as the Badgers' defensive coordinator. The Badgers rolled up 621 yards of offense (355 passing and 266 rushing) at Soldier Field. The scoring started early by the Badgers in the 1st quarter at the 12:55 mark with a 12-yard TD pass to Nick Toon from Russell Wilson. Northern Illinois did answer with a 3-yard TD run by Jasmin Hopkins with less than 2 minutes to go in the first quarter. Wisconsin did not waste anytime after the Huskies touchdown as they needed only 3 plays to go 49 yards and score on a 16-yard pass to Toon from Wilson. In the second quarter, Wisconsin scored twice. First was a Montee Ball 1-yard TD run and then a 20-yard TD run by James White. The Badgers lead the Huskies 28–7 at the half. The 3rd quarter was much of the same from the Badgers. Another 1-yard TD run by Ball and a 9-yard TD pass to Jacob Pedersen from Wilson. The only blemish for the Badgers was an interception by Russell Wilson in the 3rd quarter, the first turnover of the season for Wisconsin. The scoring was closed out in the 4th quarter with all the Badger backups in the game, backup quarterback Joe Brennan scored on a 6-yard TD run for his first touchdown of his young career. Russell Wilson passed for 347 yards which was the seventh best total in UW history. Wilson's 384 total yards in the game, was the fifth highest total offense in school annals. The defense was led by sophomore linebacker Chris Borland who totaled a game-high 11 tackles, including a pair of tackles-for-loss. Montee Ball has now scored in nine straight games, and has 22 touchdowns since last October 23.
Statistical leaders Rushing: Montee Ball – 20 Car, 91 Yds, 2 TDs Passing: Russell Wilson – 23/32, 347 Yds, 3 TDs Receiving: Nick Toon – 5 Rec, 75 Yds, 2 TDs Defense: Chris Borland – 11 Tkls, 2.0 TFL
South Dakota
The Badgers dominated South Dakota from the FCS in their final "tune-up" game before the start of the Big Ten season. Wisconsin rolled up 612 yards on offense, 345 through the air and 267 on the ground, and only yielded 173 offensive yards to the Coyotes (124 rushing and 49 passing).
The Badgers started a bit slow on offense but got on the board first with a 5-yard touchdown run by Montee Ball. The Badgers got their first defensive turnover of the season with an interception by safety Shelton Johnson and then their second on the next Coyotes drive with another interception this time by linebacker Chris Borland. The Badgers managed only three points off the two turnovers, a 25-yard field goal by Kyle French. French also missed a 50-yard attempt. The Coyotes drove to a first and goal but were then forced to settle on a 24-yard field goal by Kevin Robb to cut the Wisconsin lead to 10–3 with 6:34 left in the second quarter. Then Wisconsin took over, scoring three touchdowns in the final six minutes of the half. First, it was James White on a 49-yard touchdown run. Then, Nick Toon caught a short pass from Russell Wilson and tip-toed down the sideline for a 59-yard touchdown. The Badgers got the ball back in the final two minutes of the half, and facing a third-and-goal on the 2, Wilson found Toon in the back of the end zone for a touchdown. Wisconsin went into the half leading 31–3.
The Badgers then scored twice in the third quarter to put the game out of reach for South Dakota. The first score of the third quarter was a 51-yard touchdown pass to Jared Abbrederis from Wilson. Then with 5:57 left in the third quarter, Montee Ball scored his second touchdown of the game on a 2-yard run. In the fourth quarter, most of the Badgers starters were done for the day. Wisconsin scored again at the beginning of the 4th quarter with a 4-yard touchdown run by a true freshman running back Melvin Gordon, his first career touchdown. After an interception was thrown by the Badgers backup QB Joe Brennen, South Dakota scored their first and only touchdown of the game, a 4-yard pass from the Coyotes backup QB. The scoring was closed out by Wisconsin on a 41-yard touchdown run by redshirt freshman running back Jeffrey Lewis, also his first career touchdown.
After the game, an unidentified Badgers player was involved in an incident at a local bar which he entered threatening to "whoop on everyone" for not giving him respect. He fled the bar after a physical altercation with a South Dakota fan.
Statistical leaders Rushing: Montee Ball – 15 Car, 88 Yds, 2 TDs Passing: Russell Wilson – 19/25, 345 Yds, 3 TDs Receiving: Nick Toon – 7 Rec, 155 Yds, 2 TDs Defense: Chris Borland – 8 Tkls, 2.0 TFL, INT
Nebraska
Nebraska's Big Ten debut was very unwelcoming. #7 Wisconsin out gained #8 Nebraska, 486 yards (255 passing, 231 rushing) to 335 yards (176 passing, 159 rushing). The Badgers also held a commanding advantage in the time of possession battle, 35:15 to 24:45. Penalties and turnovers doomed Nebraska during this game. The Cornhuskers committed 9 penalties which cost them 80 yards. Taylor Martinez also threw 3 interceptions which the Badgers capitalized by scoring 21 points on all three of the turnovers. Between Russell Wilson's ability to pass and elude passing rushers, and Montee Ball running the ball, the Cornhuskers could not stop the potent Badgers attack. The Badgers also matched largest-ever margin of victory over a top-10 team (31 points).