Spring Opponent Review: Wisconsin

With spring practices now wrapped up around the country, HuskerOnline.com will take a look at where each of Nebraska’s 12 opponents in 2019 currently stands coming out of spring ball and heading into the summer.

We continue today by checking in on Big Ten West rival Wisconsin, which comes to Lincoln on Nov. 16.

The Badgers fell short of some lofty expectations last season, finishing 8-5 and going 5-4 in the conference before capping the year with a blowout win over Miami in the Pinstripe Bowl. Now head coach Paul Chryst is tasked with filling some major holes on both sides of the ball in order to make another run at a division title.

We caught up with Jake Kocorowski of BadgerBlitz.com to learn more about what the Huskers can expect from UW this fall.

Related: South Alabama | Colorado | Northern Illinois | Illinois | Ohio State | Northwestern | Minnesota | Indiana | Purdue

After losing four starters to the NFL Draft and three others as undrafted rookie free agents, Wisconsin had plenty to address this spring in terms of reloading on both sides of the ball.

But no position battle took on more attention than quarterback, as the Badgers began their search for a new starter following the transfer of Alex Hornibrook to Florida State this offseason.

The most experienced candidate is Jack Coan, who played in five games took over as the starter for the final four contests of last season and went 2-2 during that stretch. The junior worked exclusively with the first-team offense during spring ball and more than held his own.

However, UW also welcomed into the mix former four-star recruit Graham Mertz, who was rated the nation's No. 2 pro-style quarterback in the 2019 class. Mertz lived up to the hype in the reps he got this spring.

Then there's redshirt freshman Chase Wolf, who many think is the most dynamic dual-threat quarterback on the roster.

Whoever wins the job will have a revamped offensive line in front of him, as Wisconsin must replace four starters up front. The Badgers have a strong track record of replacing talent with talent on the o-line, and they do return first-team All-Big Ten center Tyler Biadasz.

On defense, UW loses five members of its starting front seven as well as strong safety D'Cota Dixon. Three of those are linebackers, as Ryan Connelly and Andrew Van Ginkel were NFL draft picks and TJ Edwards was picked up as an undrafted free agent.

It's no secret that the offensive line is the hallmark of Wisconsin football, and while four starters have moved on from last season, the hope is the unit will once again see a relatively seamless transition.

With Biadasz anchoring the group at center, Cole Van Lanen and Logan Bruss also return with starting experience at left and right tackle, respectively. The question will be who takes over at the guard spots.

Kayden Lyles is a former four-star who moved across the line to become a starting defensive end last year, but he's back on offense and pushing for a starting role at guard.

Also in the mix are Jason Erdmann (who played in 13 games with one start last year) and David Moorman, who offensive coordinator Joe Rudolph said may have been the team's best lineman during spring ball.

On defense, the Badgers must replace two starters on the defensive line, three at linebacker, and Dixon at safety. Van Ginkel's shoes might be some of the biggest to fill as the team's primary pass rusher. Zack Baun returns at the other outside linebacker spot, but Noah Burkes and Izayah Green-May are still battling to replace Van Ginkel on the other side.

The good news is UW returns the majority of its top secondary. Replacing Dixon is key, but the Badgers saw six cornerbacks go down with injuries last season, meaning numerous young players vaulted up the depth chart and gained valuable game experience, including Rachad Wildgoose, who led the team in PBUs.

Taylor is not only the best returning running back in the Big Ten this season, but he's also got a strong case to be considered the top rusher in all of college football.

He led the nation with 2,194 rushing yards on 307 carries (7.1 ypc, 168.8 ypg) with 16 touchdowns and won the Doak Walker Award as the nation's top running back.

Other accolades included being a unanimous first-team All-American; a semifinalist for the Maxwell Award and Walter Camp Player of the Year; winning the Ameche-Dayne Big Ten Running Back of the Year, and being a consensus first-team All-Big Ten selection.

The challenges for Taylor entering his junior season will be running behind a retooled offensive line and trying to improve his all-around game as a receiver and blocker. Assuming he can make gains in those areas, there's no reason why Taylor can't make a strong push for the NCAA's all-time rushing record before all is said and done.

San Diego State's Donnell Pumphrey holds the record with 6,405 yards. Taylor has 4,171 through two seasons in Madison.

Wisconsin lost a ton of production at linebacker this offseason, but Orr looks ready to step in and take the reigns as the leader of the unit in 2019.

Orr played in all 13 games with one start last year, finishing with 27 tackles. He saved his best for last in his lone start against Miami in the Pinstripe Bowl, though, racking up eight tackles, a TFL, and an interception.

Orr started eight games as a sophomore in 2017 before eventually losing the job to Connelly, a fifth-round pick by the New York Giants this year. With Connelly and All-Big Ten selection Edwards moving on, this season should be Orr's time to shine.

Quarterback and offensive line obviously garnered most of the attention this spring, but maybe the biggest unknown right now is who will make up the depth chart at nose tackle.

Wisconsin loses its monster in the middle with the departure of Olive Sagapolu (6-2, 342), and the returning experience this spring was limited, to say the least.

Former Lincoln (Neb.) Southeast standout Bryson Williams is the clear frontrunner to take over as the starter. He played in all 13 games and made three starts after Sagapolu went down with an injury.

But the issue is who will step up behind Williams? Walk-on Gunnar Roberge is the only other nose tackle listed on UW's roster right now, and the drop-off after Williams looks to be pretty significant at this point.

There's a good chance that incoming freshmen Keeanu Benton and Gio Paez will have ample opportunity to work their way into the rotation right away this fall.

Kocorowski: "I think it's going to be tight. It's Scott Frost's second year in the program with a more experienced Adrian Martinez, and Wisconsin is down several key starters on defense. So I think it's going to be a tough matchup for Wisconsin. If Nebraska can stop the running game, I think that's going to be huge.

"With that game being in Lincoln, I wouldn't be surprised if Nebraska pulled off the win. I have them high on my list in terms of Big Ten West Division contenders. I think it's going to be a tight one, and I wouldn't be surprised if the Huskers came away with the win."

Kocorowski: "It's anywhere between seven and nine wins, in my opinion. They play at Ohio State in late October, but they do have cross-divisional games at home against Michigan and Michigan State. So getting those two games at Camp Randall could be to their advantage. But with Wisconsin, they're replacing so many key starters on defense; they need that offensive line to gel, and then there's the question at quarterback.

"I'll go 8-4, just right down the middle, because I think they'll need at least two of those cross-division games, and the Big Ten West is just wide open. There are four teams there that always give each other trouble. I think they could win the division, but I just feel like there will be a stumble here and there that will keep it from happening."