For the first time in what feels like a long time, the Wisconsin football team seems to be entering a period of stability.
It might not feel like it, but it’s only been four years since Bret Bielema left for Arkansas, which put an end to 23 seasons with just two head coaches for UW. The Gary Andersen interregnum that followed lasted less than two full years – and as of December 6th of this year Paul Chryst has occupied the head coach’s office in Madison longer than Andersen did.
The last half-decade should teach Wisconsin fans to be on guard about the business side of college football – the players already had to learn that the hard way. But with two seasons of at least 10 wins already under his belt, Chryst appears to have the Badgers poised for long-term success – no matter how their Cotton Bowl tilt against Western Michigan plays out on Jan. 2.
When athletic director Barry Alvarez hired Chryst to take over for Andersen, it was easy to assume that the Badgers would reap the benefits of having him direct their offense once again, after his successful stint as the team’s offensive coordinator from 2006 to 2011. But with just two years as a head coach under his belt at the time of his move back to Madison there was some uncertainty about how he would handle the recruiting aspect as the program’s new CEO.
Since then Chryst and his staff have put together recruiting classes that are already producing results – with young players like Quintez Cephus, Garrett Rand, and Anthony Lotti already seeing the field from UW’s 2016 signing class, as well as Alex Hornibrook, Bradrick Shaw and Zack Baun from their 2015 group. Chryst and his staff have also sealed the deal and signed six four-star players through two seasons, compared to four for Andersen and his staff while they were in Madison. Four more four-stars are in the pipeline for UW as well, with defensive end Andrew Van Ginkel already signed out of junior college and offensive lineman Kayden Lyles, quarterback Jack Coan, and running back Jonathan Taylor about to join the program in the next calendar year.
The Badgers seem to be ahead of schedule in some ways, too. Most program-watchers assumed that their 2016 campaign would be a rebuilding year, with LSU, Michigan State, Michigan, and Ohio State on the schedule in addition to their normal matchups with their Big Ten West rivals. But the Badgers went 2-2 in those games and beat then-No. 7 Nebraska to finish the regular season with three wins over teams ranked in the Top 8, and hung with then-No. 4 Michigan and No. 2 Ohio State before losing by just a touchdown to each team.
Their loss to Penn State in this year’s conference title game exposed some flaws in their defense, and the Badgers didn’t count those losses to the Wolverines and Buckeyes as moral victories. But they hung with three recruiting juggernauts, and were a play or two away from climbing their way back to the top of the Big Ten despite two major coaching chances in the last four years.
But the good news for the Badgers is that if they made it through this year’s schedule with a 10-2 record in the regular season it should give them a lot of confidence as they head in to 2017. They’re still waiting on NFL decisions from left tackle Ryan Ramczyk and outside linebacker T.J. Watt, but even if both players leave UW and turn pro the Badgers will still return 19 out of 25 players listed on their offensive two-deep, and 18 out of 22 players from their defensive depth chart. That’s a lot of experience coming back from a 10-win team, that will face a non-conference slate of Utah State, Florida Atlantic and BYU, and trade Ohio State and Michigan State for road games against Maryland and Indiana in their cross-division slate.
That’s not to say that it will be easy for the Badgers to stay within striking distance of a Big Ten title and the College Football Playoff – far from it. But with Paul Chryst and his staff looking like they’re in for the long-haul in Madison, combined with a young (and increasingly more talented) and experienced roster, it’s hard not to see the Badgers being Big Ten title contenders for years to come.
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John Veldhuis covers Wisconsin football, basketball and recruiting for BadgerBlitz.com on the Rivals.com network. Follow him on Twitter at @JohnVeldhuis.
