Wisconsin Football: Can Badgers reclaim Big Ten West in 2019?
By Kyle Grondin
After losing the Big Ten West crown to Northwestern in 2018, can Wisconsin football reclaim what it believes rightfully belongs in Madison once again?
A year with many expectations, ended in major letdown for Wisconsin football in 2018.
They came into last season with a No. 4 ranking in the country, many thinking they could compete for a playoff spot and an elusive Big Ten Championship in Paul Chryst’s tenure. Instead, Wisconsin struggled with injuries, inconsistencies and finished the season 8-5, losing their Big Ten West stranglehold to Northwestern.
In 2019, there’s reason to believe that Wisconsin could be a bounce-back candidate.
The team was very unlucky with injuries last season. Quarterback Alex Hornibrook was dealing with concussion seemingly all season, and the team lost starting tackle Jon Dietzen, who stepped away from injuries as well. With the younger players stepping in their place and getting valuable experience, the Badgers may recover quicker than expected.
Standing in Wisconsin’s way is a tough schedule and still question marks on both sides of the ball, including the quarterback position.