Wisconsin enters this week riding the success of a five-game winning streak that has rejuvenated its 2021 season. What once was a bleak 1-3 start, including two losses to Big Ten East opponents, now has shifted drastically in the past handful of weeks.

UW now sits atop the West division heading into the final three conference contests after facing hard times. That adversity over the course of the season also has come in the form of attrition in the program.

Since Aug. 31, seven Badgers have departed the program. UW dismissed two players -- tailbacks Loyal Crawford and Jalen Berger -- while the program announced in the same Crawford release that another back, true freshman Antwan Roberts, was suspended.

Roberts eventually entered the transfer portal weeks after his initial suspension on Sept. 19. Then four others decided to leave the team since Oct. 18: wide receiver Devin Chandler, offensive lineman Kayden Lyles, fullback Quan Easterling and cornerback Donte Burton.

Collin Wilder's thoughts on his former teammates' decisions have already been written about by many. Those words from the sixth-year safety came from postgame interview availability after Wisconsin's win over Iowa on Oct. 30 when questions about the topic were brought up a few times. One reporter asked what its like, with this being "a very different time" in the college game, to see those players departing during the middle of the season and what his opinion is of the transfer portal [writer's note: his full answer is seen below].