Big Ten Football: Projecting The West Division

1. Wisconsin

Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Gary Andersen’s first season as head coach of the Badgers went pretty well. Moving from Utah State to the Big Ten’s a bit of a culture shock, but he has a team that’s ready to raise the bar beyond 9-4.

In what seems to be a Wisconsin tradition, another dynamic duo of running backs will be featured. Melvin Gordon and Corey Clement will likely be used in a similar fashion as Nebraska does Abdullah and Cross. With the departures of Jared Abbrederis and Jacob Pederson, the receiving corps needs some retooling.

On defense, what was another powerful unit only returns three starters in safety Michael Caputo, Sojourn Shelton and Darius Hillary. While there’ll be massive work necessary to get even close to the output of last season, defensive end Chikwe Obasih may be able to help.

It’s unlikely the Badgers beat LSU, but even if they don’t, the Big Ten best watch out as the defense becomes battle tested.

Final Record: 11-1 (8-0)

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