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Gold and Black Illustrated, Vol 26, Digital 6

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GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 26, ISSUE 6 100 14 Going on 15? W isconsin has won at least eight games each season since 2008, but extending that streak could be a challenge this season. The Badgers not only have a brutal schedule — along with a non-conference game against LSU, their league crossover games are Michigan State, Michigan and Ohio State — but they're also replacing a four-year starting quarterback and a defensive coordinator who built a fierce, rock-solid unit. "I think they'll be a better football team overall this year, but I really doubt their record will show it," said John Veld- huis, who covers Wisconsin for Badger- Blitz.com. The past two seasons, including Wis- consin's surprising 10-win season in 2015, were aided by getting Big Ten new- comers Maryland and Rutgers as cross- over opponents. This schedule, though, is about as tough as it can get to start league play: Wisconsin plays at Michigan State, at Michigan, home against Ohio State and at Iowa in consecutive weeks. "That's going to be a really interesting measuring stick," Veldhuis said. "People always talk about how the Big Ten East has these great football powers, but if the Badgers have their defense clicking the same way and the running game gets back to where they expect it to be and you can get some solid quarterback play, it'll be really interesting to see where the Badgers stack up. "I really don't know how many games they're going to win out of that, but if you can 2-2 in that stretch, I think they'd be pretty happy." To do that, Wisconsin's going to need to settle on a QB who can be dependable and mistake-free because the running game should be in a good place with Co- 2015 Results (10-3) 9/5 ALABAMA. . . . . . . . . . L, 17-35 9/12 MIAMI (OH) . . . . . . . . . W, 58-0 9/19 TROY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . W, 28-3 9/26 HAWAII. . . . . . . . . . . . . W, 28-0 10/3 IOWA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . L, 6-10 10/10 at Nebraska . . . . . . . . W, 23-21 10/17 PURDUE . . . . . . . . . . . . W, 24-7 10/24 at Illinois . . . . . . . . . . W, 24-13 10/31 RUTGERS . . . . . . . . . . W, 48-10 11/7 at Maryland . . . . . . . . W, 31-28 11/21 NORTHWESTERN. . . . . L, 7-13 11/28 at Minnesota . . . . . . . W, 31-21 12/30 vs. USC . . . . . . . . . . . W, 23-21 Wisconsin Badgers NOV. 19 ROSS-ADE STADIUM TIME: TBA • TV: TBA COACH: PAUL CHRYST RECORD AT WISCONSIN: 10-3 (ONE SEASON) RECORD VS. PURDUE: 1-0 2016 Schedule 9/3 LSU 9/10 AKRON 9/17 GEORGIA STATE 9/24 at Michigan State 10/1 at Michigan 10/15 OHIO STATE 10/22 at Iowa 10/29 NEBRASKA 11/5 at Northwestern 11/12 ILLINOIS 11/19 at Purdue 11/26 MINNESOTA G O L D A N D B L AC K 'S E A R LY L I N E : W I S C O N S I N - 5 Wisconsin has been to bowl games in 14 consecutive seasons, the seventh-longest current streak in college football. Here's the list: For the second year in a row, Wisconsin and LSU will be opening the season with a nationally televised game. This year's game is scheduled at Green Bay's Lambeau Field after opening the 2015 season in Dallas's AT&T Stadium. Base ticket prices range from $91 to $118. 2016 Opponent Preview Florida State 34 Virginia Tech 23 Georgia 19 Oklahoma 17 LSU 16 Boise State 14 WISCONSIN 14 Clayton Thorson's growth at QB but cer- tainly meant more attention by defenses to try to slow Northwestern's run game. "If the wideouts are more consistent and productive, it should open things up considerably," Vaccher said. Could that mean an even more mon- ster season for back Justin Jackson? Last season, Jackson rushed for 1,418 yards and five touchdowns as a work- horse back. He had 312 carries last sea- son, more than all but two backs in the nation. That includes a whopping 72 in the Wildcats' last two regular-season games — despite being only a 5-foot-11, 190-pounder. He'll keep getting the ball, though, because he's proven he can han- dle the load. "Jackson is just a special player who can do it all," Vaccher said. "He can make people miss in a phone booth, he is strong enough to lower his shoulder and move the pile, he is a weapon in the passing game, and he even blocks well. The only thing he lacks is elite speed — but if he had that, he may not have land- ed in Evanston." The Wildcats will have to navigate a much tougher schedule in 2016. In a five-week span starting in Octo- ber, the Wildcats play at Iowa, at Mich- igan State, home against Indiana, at Ohio State and home against Wisconsin. They avoided the Spartans and Buckeyes on last season's schedule. "I think Northwestern will be a much more balanced team in 2016, as the of- fense has nowhere to go but up. They may also be a better team overall. How- ever, I can't see them replicating 10 wins considering their schedule," Vaccher said. —Stacy Clardie

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