Nobody would deny that the Wisconsin Badgers’ 2020 football season did not live up to expectations. Especially after the team throttled Illinois 45-7 in Week 1, it appeared they would return to the Big Ten title game and be a longshot to make the College Football Playoff.
We all know what happened next, with the program experiencing a COVID-19 outbreak and three straight losses against Northwestern, Indiana and Iowa respectively.
The two-game win streak to end the season was an inkling of positivity, though, and ESPN’s way-too-early SP+ projections for the 2021 season completely agree.
🔥🔥 2021 SP+ PROJECTIONS 🔥🔥
* That upstart from Tuscaloosa starts out on top
* Returning production = a great year for the Pac-12 (6 teams in the top 25)?
* Buy: Oregon, Wisconsin, PSU, (gulp) Miami
* Sell, maybe: ND, USC, Texas A&M, (sigh) Indianahttps://t.co/8XgAVNgQnB— Bill Connelly (@ESPN_BillC) February 9, 2021
With the Ohio State Buckeyes understandably ranked at No. 4, the Wisconsin Badgers in at No. 9 are the only other Big Ten team in the top-10 of the ranking.
Specifically, ESPN’s Bill Connelly’s rankings give the team the No. 36-ranked offense in the country and the No. 2-ranked defense.
A lot will change before the 2021 college football season kicks off including depth chart moves, possible injuries and under-the-radar players emerging into significant roles.
But with Wisconsin retaining Jim Leonhard as defensive coordinator, Jack Sanborn at inside linebacker, Jake Ferguson at tight end, Graham Mertz at quarterback and the program welcoming in their best recruiting class of all time, it makes sense why their outlook is a positive one.
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