2006 Wisconsin Badgers football team

The 2006 Wisconsin Badgers football team represented the University of Wisconsin–Madison during the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Led by first-year head coach Bret Bielema, the Badgers completed the season with a 12–1 record, including a 7–1 mark in the Big Ten Conference, good for a second-place tie with Michigan.

2006 Wisconsin Badgers football
Capital One Bowl champion
Capital One Bowl, W 17–14 vs. Arkansas
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 5
AP	No. 7
2006 record	12–1 (7–1 Big Ten)
Head coach	Bret Bielema (1st season)
Offensive coordinator	Paul Chryst (2nd season)
Defensive coordinator	Mike Hankwitz (1st season)
Home stadium	Camp Randall Stadium (Capacity: 80,321)

2006 Big Ten Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 2 Ohio State $		8	–	0					12	–	1
No. 7 Wisconsin		7	–	1					12	–	1
No. 8 Michigan %		7	–	1					11	–	2
No. 24 Penn State		5	–	3					9	–	4
Purdue		5	–	3					8	–	6
Minnesota		3	–	5					6	–	7
Indiana		3	–	5					5	–	7
Iowa		2	–	6					6	–	7
Northwestern		2	–	6					4	–	8
Michigan State		1	–	7					4	–	8
Illinois		1	–	7					2	–	10
$ – BCS representative as conference champion % – BCS at-large representative Rankings from AP Poll

The season was one of the most successful in Badgers football history. The 11 regular-season wins and 12 overall wins were both single season records for the Badgers, and the season ended with a second straight victory in the Capital One Bowl, over Arkansas, 17-14. The Badgers, who were not ranked in the preseason and were expected to finish in the middle of the Big Ten, surprised many with their success and ended the season ranked #7 in the AP Poll and #5 in the Coaches' Poll.

Preseason

The Badgers were picked to finish in the middle of the Big Ten conference and were not ranked in the preseason for a number of reasons. Early defections to the National Football League by second-team All-Americans Brandon Williams and Brian Calhoun left the Badger offense with only three returning starters. Additionally, with the departure of Barry Alvarez – who had just completed his final season with 10 wins and a Capital One Bowl victory – the head coaching job was taken over by Bret Bielema, then the youngest head coach in Division I-A football.

Bright spots for the Badgers included returning All-American offensive tackle Joe Thomas, who was coming off an ACL injury. John Stocco resumed the starting position at quarterback for his senior season, and P. J. Hill, Jr. won the starting tailback job. The defense was to be led by senior linebacker Mark Zalewski and senior strong safety Joe Stellmacher. The special teams unit was considered strong, with All-American candidate Ken DeBauche punting the ball.

Some sportswriters felt that the non-conference schedule was fairly weak. Early in the season, the team's non-conference schedule was placed on the "waiting list" of ESPN.com's Bottom 10 rankings.[1]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 2	6:00 p.m.	vs. Bowling Green*		Cleveland Browns Stadium Cleveland, OH	ESPN+	W 35–14	30,307[2]
September 9	2:30 p.m.	Western Illinois*		Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	ESPNU	W 34–10	80,845[2]
September 16	2:30 p.m.	San Diego State*		Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	ESPN+	W 14–0	81,090[2]
September 23	11:00 a.m.	at No. 6 Michigan		Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI	ESPN	L 13–27	111,058[2]
September 30	11:00 a.m.	at Indiana		Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN	ESPN2	W 52–17	32,142[2]
October 7	11:00 a.m.	Northwestern		Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	ESPN360	W 41–9	81,704[2]
October 14	11:00 a.m.	Minnesota	No. 25	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI (Battle for Paul Bunyan's Axe)	ESPN	W 48–12	82,010[2]
October 21	11:00 a.m.	at Purdue	No. 21	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	ESPN	W 24–3	58,111[2]
October 28	11:00 a.m.	Illinois	No. 17	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	ESPN2	W 30–24	81,300[2]
November 4	11:00 a.m.	Penn State	No. 17	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	ABC	W 13–3	81,777[2]
November 11	11:00 a.m.	at Iowa	No. 16	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA (Battle for the Heartland Trophy)	ESPN	W 24–21	70,585[2]
November 18	11:00 a.m.	Buffalo*	No. 12	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	ESPNU	W 35–3	80,850[2]
January 1, 2007	12:00 p.m.	vs. No. 12 Arkansas*	No. 6	Citrus Bowl Orlando, FL (Capital One Bowl)	ABC	W 17–14	60,774[2]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

Roster

2006 Wisconsin Badgers football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Offensive Line 58 Lenzendorf, Mike – Fr (1V) 58 Thorson, Brad – Fr (HS 66 Watters, Dirk – Fr (1V) 71 Vanden Heuvel, Eric – So (1V) 73 Kasper, Korey - Fr (HS) Pos. # Name Class WR 11 Isaac Anderson Fr RB 24 Josh Balts Jr TE 9 Travis Beckum So WR 29 Niles Brinkley Fr TE 37 Matt Brown Jr OL 78 Jake Bscherer Fr RB 27 Jerry Butler Fr T 68 Gabe Carimi Fr OL 65 Marcus Coleman Jr TE 43 Andy Crooks Jr TE 45 Kirk DeCremer Fr QB 12 Tyler Donovan Jr WR 44 Chris Eernisse Fr RB 38 Dion Foster Fr WR 17 Matt Gifford Fr TE 88 Garrett Graham Fr WR 2 Xavier Harris Fr RB 39 P. J. Hill Fr WR 85 Jeff Holzbauer Fr WR 19 Paul Hubbard Jr WR 22 Diondrae Jenkins Fr OL 64 Danny Kaye Jr OL 75 Andy Kemp So TE 84 Lance Kendricks Fr WR 17 Richard Kirtley Fr OL 60 Luke Knauf Jr WR 20 Derek Konkol Sr TE 82 Sean Lewis So TE 47 Jaevery McFadden Fr WR 88 Jarvis Minton Jr TE 23 Joseph Molenda Fr QB 3 Maurice Moore Fr G 76 Bill Nagy Fr TE 81 Dave Peck So WR 27 Shane Phillips Fr TE 48 Nathan Quist Jr WR 13 Marcus Randle El Jr RB 34 Bill Rentmeester So RB 24 Dywon Rowan Sr WR 8 Jarmal Ruffin Fr QB 18 Dustin Sherer Fr RB 5 Lance Smith Fr QB 7 John Stocco Sr WR 15 Luke Swan Jr WR 86 Elijah Theus Fr T 72 Joe Thomas Sr QB 16 Scott Tolzien Fr TE 36 Mickey Turner Fr G 63 Kraig Urbik So OL 62 Mike Van Someren Jr OL 70 Andrew Weininger Jr RB 48 Dan Wiacek Fr	Defense Defensive Line 59 Hoey, Brandon – Fr (HS) 71 Behnke, Brian – Fr (1V) 79 Stehle, Jeffrey – Fr (1V) 90 Jamison, Terrance – Fr (1V) 98 Cruse Jr., Gino – So (2V) 98 Garner, Richard – Fr (HS) Linebackers 38 Landgraf, Ben – So (2V) 49 Flasch, Ryan – So (2V) 51 Neal, Joshua – So (2V) Defensive Backs 14 St. Jean, Culmer – Fr (HS) 19 Hartmann, William – Fr (1V) 21 Nettles, Josh – Fr (HS) 24 Lyle, Jamathan – Fr (HS) 29 Freeman, Antonio – So (2V) 30 Davis, Jameson – So (2V) 30 Holland, Tyler – Fr (HS) 31 Moody, Prince – Fr (1V) 32 Royston, Kim – Fr (HS) 39 Herman, Brian – Fr (1V) Pos. # Name Class DB 37 Phil Ayeni Fr DB 25 Shane Carter So DL 77 Dan Cascone Fr LB 2 Jonathan Casillas So DL 91 Jason Chapman So DL 5 Jamal Cooper Jr DB 31 Nate Egholm Jr DL 73 Mark Gorman Sr DB 26 Zach Hampton Sr DT 96 Nick Hayden Jr LB 52 Elijah Hodge LB 12 Casey Hogan Jr CB 6 Jack Ikegwuonu Jr LB 23 Paul Joran Sr DB 20 James Kamoku Jr DL 56 Brandon Kelly Jr DB 17 Allen Langford So LB 11 DeAndre Levy So LB 30 Adam Ludovic Fr DL 74 John Moffitt Fr DE 95 Joe Monty Sr DB 46 Tony Morrissey Fr DE 54 Mike Newkirk So DL 99 Justin Ostrowski Jr DB 28 Aubrey Pleasant So DL 55 Adam Purcell Jr DE 50 O'Brien Schofield Fr CB 22 Roderick Rogers Sr DE 92 Matt Shaughnessy So DB 45 Joe Sibley Jr DB 16 Joe Stellmacher Sr DB 3 Ben Strickland Jr DB 15 Jay Valai Fr DL 34 Kurt Ware Jr DB 4 Johnny White Sr DL 94 Derek Yentz Jr LB 41 Mark Zalewski Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class P 94 Ken DeBauche Jr K 96 Matt Fischer Fr K 10 Taylor Mehlhaff Jr K 98 Adam Schober So P 97 Paul Standring Jr	Head coach Bret Bielema Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Game summaries

Bowling Green

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wisconsin	7	14	7	7	35
Bowling Green	7	0	7	0	14

In his debut, P. J. Hill, Jr. had 130 rushing yards and a touchdown to lead the Badgers to a victory over the hometeam Falcons. The Badgers broke a 7–7 tie in the second quarter when Alonso Rojas blocked a punt and Jonathan Casillas returned it for a touchdown. John Stocco finished 9-of-15 for 124 yards and a touchdown, with an interception.

Western Illinois

	1	2	3	4	Total
Western Illinois	3	0	0	7	10
Wisconsin	3	17	0	14	34

P. J. Hill, Jr. ran for over 100 yards for the second game in a row, and the Badgers overcame a rocky first quarter to beat the Leathernecks. After a fumble on the kickoff lead to a WIU field goal, the Badgers reeled off 34 straight points – 17 in the second quarter – to effectively put the game away. John Stocco was 15–25 for 227 yards and another touchdown, and Hill collected three touchdowns on the ground for the Badgers.

San Diego State

	1	2	3	4	Total
San Diego State	0	0	0	0	0
Wisconsin	0	0	7	7	14

P. J. Hill, Jr. ran for 184 yards and a touchdown and the defense shut out the Aztecs in the last game before the start of conference play. The Badgers allowed just 153 yards, but the offense was out of sync for the third straight week as Stocco completed just 12 of his 23 passes for 85 yards. Paul Hubbard registered a six-yard touchdown catch in the fourth quarter to close out the scoring.

Michigan

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wisconsin	7	3	0	3	13
#6 Michigan	0	10	7	10	27

Wisconsin performed admirably in the first half, scoring 10 points, but special teams miscues led to 10 Wolverine points by the break. P. J. Hill, Jr. was held to 54 yards against the stout Michigan run defense, and Mario Manningham had 113 yards and two touchdowns through the air as Michigan raced out to 17 straight points in the second half to beat the Badgers, 27–13. The Badgers intercepted Chad Henne three times, but it was not enough to overcome the Wolverines' powerful offense. Wisconsin, which had beaten Michigan in 2005, had a five-game winning streak snapped. Michigan moved to 4–0 on the season.

Indiana

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wisconsin	14	21	17	0	52
Indiana	0	0	0	17	17

The Badgers bounced back from their first loss of the season, racing out to a 52–0 lead over the hometeam Hoosiers en route to a dominating 52–17 victory. John Stocco threw for 304 yards and had three touchdown strikes by halftime, and P. J. Hill, Jr. had 129 yards and another three touchdowns for the Badgers. The Hoosiers were held to just 147 yards through three quarters. Paul Hubbard caught seven passes for 122 yards and a touchdown for the Badgers.

Northwestern

	1	2	3	4	Total
Northwestern	6	3	0	0	9
Wisconsin	10	7	17	7	41

For the second straight week, the Badger defense stepped up big, holding NU tailback Tyrell Sutton to just 18 yards on the ground. Wisconsin avenged last year's loss to the Wildcats with a punishing ground game, highlighted by P. J. Hill, Jr.'s rumbling 60-yard touchdown in the first quarter. In his best effort to date, Hill piled up 250 of the Badgers' 316 yards on the ground as the Badgers prevailed.

Minnesota

Minnesota at #25 Wisconsin

1 2 3 4 Total Minnesota 3 0 2 7 12 • Wisconsin 14 14 13 7 48 Date: October 14 Location: Camp Randall Stadium, Madison, WI Game start: 12:00 p.m. EST Television network: ESPN

Scoring summary Q1 WIS Ikegwuonu 50 yard fumble return (Mehlhaff kick) WIS 7–0 Q1 WIS Hill 5 yard run (Mehlhaff kick) WIS 14–0 Q1 MINN Giannini 37 yard field goal WIS 14–3 Q2 WIS Swann 8 yard pass from Stocco (Mehlhaff kick) WIS 21–3 Q2 WIS Crooks 2 yard pass from Stocco (Mehlhaff kick) WIS 28–3 Q3 WIS Beckum 40 yard pass from Stocco (Mehlhaff kick) WIS 35–3 Q3 WIS Hill 2 yard run (pass failed) WIS 41–3 Q3 MINN Return two-point conversion WIS 41–5 Q4 MINN Pinnix 2 yard run (Giannini kick) WIS 41–12 Q4 WIS Beckum 4 yard pass from Stocco (Mehlhaff kick) WIS 48–12

The Badgers hosted Minnesota in the battle for Paul Bunyan's Axe. The Badgers, who had moved into the AP rankings for the first time this season, prevailed 48–12 behind John Stocco's four touchdown passes, two to Travis Beckum, who also had 118 receiving yards. Stocco finished 12-of-19 for 193 yards. Jack Ikegwuonu opened the scoring by returning Amir Pinnix's first-quarter fumble 50 yards for a touchdown. P. J. Hill, Jr. racked up 164 yards and two more scores as the Badgers defended the Axe.

Purdue

	1	2	3	4	Total
#22 Wisconsin	0	10	7	7	24
Purdue	3	0	0	0	3

The Badgers moved into the Coaches Poll for the first time, ranked #22 going into their showdown against Purdue. The Badger defense figured to get a good test against the Boilermakers offense, which led the Big Ten at over 470 yards a game entering the contest. Purdue managed only 299 yards and a field goal as the Badgers limited Purdue quarterback Curtis Painter to just 187 yards on 20-of-40 passing and an interception. P. J. Hill, Jr. ran for another two touchdowns and 160 yards.

Illinois

	1	2	3	4	Total
Illinois	7	17	0	0	24
#18 Wisconsin	0	10	10	10	30

The visiting Illini gave the #18 Badgers a scare, as Illinois quarterback Juice Williams engineered three scoring drives in the second quarter to give the Illini a 24–10 lead at halftime. P. J. Hill, Jr. suffered a pinched nerve and left the game in the first quarter. Backup Lance Smith scored the Badgers' only touchdown of the first half. John Stocco threw for two touchdowns and Taylor Mehlhaff kicked two field goals in the second half, and the defense held Illinois scoreless throughout the second half to prevail victorious, 30–24.

Penn State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Penn State	0	3	0	0	3
#17 Wisconsin	3	7	3	0	13

The Badger defense stepped up in a huge way against Penn State, yielding only a field goal and 244 yards. Consistent pressure frustrated Nittany Lions quarterback Anthony Morelli, and the offense controlled the clock with 148 yards from P. J. Hill, Jr.. The Badgers won 13–3 to move to 9–1 on the season and their sixth straight victory. John Stocco suffered a shoulder injury in the fourth quarter.

This game drew the ire of Penn State head coach Joe Paterno as the first half came to a close. Under the clock rules introduced at the beginning of the season, the clock began running immediately as the ball was kicked, rather than when it was fielded by the receiving team. Following a Stocco touchdown that gave the Badgers a 10–3 lead with 23 seconds to go, Coach Bielema deliberately ordered his kickoff unit to run offsides before Taylor Mehlhaff kicked off. Because the Badgers were offsides (and thus further downfield), the Penn State special teams were unable to field the ball well, and thus would have had awful field position; they instead elected to rekick. Wisconsin repeated the tactic, essentially running out the clock on the first half. Bielema's strategy was decried by many as unsportsmanlike; others praised him for bringing light to a loophole in the new clock system. After the regular season, the clock rules were reverted to their pre-2006 form.

Iowa

#16 Wisconsin at Iowa

1 2 3 4 Total • Wisconsin 10 7 0 7 24 Iowa 0 14 0 7 21 Date: November 11 Location: Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City, IA Game start: 12:00 p.m. EST Television network: ESPN

Scoring summary Q1 WIS Mehlhaff 31 yard field goal WIS 3–0 Q1 WIS Beckum 3 yard pass from Donovan (Mehlhaff kick) WIS 10–0 Q2 IOWA Moeaki 4 yard pass from Tate (Schlicher kick) WIS 10–7 Q2 IOWA Busch 3 yard pass from Tate (Schlicher kick) IOWA 14–10 Q2 WIS Swan 42 yard pass from Donovan (Mehlhaff kick) WIS 17–14 Q4 WIS Hill 1 yard run (Mehlhaff kick) WIS 24–14 Q4 IOWA Stross 24 yard pass from Tate (Schlicher kick) WIS 24–21

After moving up to #16 in the coaches poll, Wisconsin ended a two-game losing streak to the Hawkeyes with a 24–21 victory in Iowa City. With John Stocco sitting out due to injury, backup Tyler Donovan played an efficient game, going 17-of-24 for 228 yards and two touchdowns. Hawkeyes quarterback Drew Tate threw for Iowa's three touchdowns, but was frustrated all game, completing fewer than a third of his attempts. With the win, the Badgers completed conference play with a 7–1 mark, wrapping up a second place tie in the Big Ten.

Buffalo

	1	2	3	4	Total
Buffalo	3	0	0	0	3
#10 Wisconsin	7	14	7	7	35

On Senior Day, the #10 Badgers started sluggishly, but scored two touchdowns just before halftime and added two more in the second half to win decisively over Buffalo, 35–3. Tyler Donovan once again performed proficiently, throwing for over 300 yards and two touchdowns with an interception on 16-of-26, and the defense forced four turnovers and held Buffalo to just 159 yards. P. J. Hill, Jr. scored a touchdown and picked up 86 yards on the ground.

With the win, the Badgers finished 11–1, the best regular season in school history. There was a minor controversy concerning the Bowl Championship Series, whose rules state that only two teams from one conference may receive bids to BCS bowl games. Ohio State and Michigan were ranked ahead of the Badgers in the final BCS standings, granting those two schools BCS invitations and relegating the Badgers to a lesser bowl. Nevertheless, Wisconsin again accepted an invitation to the Capital One Bowl, where it would defend its championship against Arkansas.

Capital One Bowl – Arkansas

	1	2	3	4	Total
#13 Arkansas	7	0	0	7	14
#5 Wisconsin	10	7	0	0	17

The Badgers returned to Orlando to face the #13 Razorbacks, led by Heisman Trophy runner-up Darren McFadden. McFadden burst for 45 yards on his first carry but was brought down from behind by Jack Ikegwuonu at the 9-yard line, a pivotal play that led to a missed field goal by Arkansas. The Badgers led 17–7 at halftime behind John Stocco's two touchdown passes, and eventually survived a nailbiting second half in which the Razorbacks continually had great field position but failed to capitalize. Despite being held to -5 rushing yards while giving up 232, including 150 from Arkansas' Felix Jones, the Badgers won 17–14. John Stocco, playing in his final collegiate game, was named the game's MVP.

The Badgers finished the season on a nine-game winning streak to reach #5 in the final coaches poll and #7 in the final AP poll. The 12 wins were a new single season record.

Regular starters

Position Player Quarterback John Stocco Running Back P.J. Hill Fullback Andy Crooks/Bill Rentmeester Wide Receiver Luke Swan Wide Receiver Paul Hubbard Tight End Travis Beckum Left Tackle Joe Thomas Left Guard Andy Kemp Center Marcus Coleman Right Guard Kraig Urbik Right Tackle Eric Vanden Heuvel

Position Player Defensive End Joe Monty Defensive Tackle Jason Chapman Defensive Tackle Nick Hayden Defensive End Matt Shaughnessy Outside Linebacker DeAndre Levy Middle Linebacker Mark Zalewski Outside Linebacker Jonathan Casillas Cornerback Allen Langford Strong Safety Joe Stellmacher Free Safety Roderick Rogers Cornerback Jack Ikegwuonu

Team players selected in the 2007 NFL Draft

Player	Position	Round	Overall Selection	NFL Team
Joe Thomas	Offensive Tackle	1	3	Cleveland Browns

[3]

References

1. Hernandez, Rob (September 2, 2006). "Badgering UW's Non-Conference Schedule". Wisconsin State Journal. Madison. Retrieved September 2, 2006.
2. "Game-by-Game Statistics". University of Wisconsin-Madison.
3. https://www.pro-football-reference.com/draft/2007.htm