“…the great state University of Wisconsin should ever encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be found.”

University of Wisconsin-Madison Since 1892 dailycardinal.com Wisconsin vs. Alabamal

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By Jake PowersThe daily cardinal

Corey Clement’s relationship with time is a funny thing. Recruited out of Glassboro, N.J., the now-junior running back didn’t commit to Wisconsin until November of his senior year in high school. Once he sorted through offers from 15 schools and arrived in Madison in 2013, Clement found himself sealed at the bottom of a log jammed depth chart. Operating in the shadows of James White and Melvin Gordon, Clement has shown sparks of the back he can become in his limited time on the field.

Now, after two long years of bid-ing his time on the sidelines, it’s Clement’s show in the Wisconsin backfield, and it’s like someone has hit the fast forward button on a remote.

“It’s starting to feel very real, it’s creeping up on us very fast,” Clement said at Big Ten Media Days in Chicago. “It was just spring time, it was just winter. Time is really

creeping up on us, you know Sept. 5 is going to be here for us before we know it… time is really against us, I would say.”

Clement’s perception of time speeding up is in sharp contrast with his plodding rise to the start-ing running back position for the Badgers. And that’s why it’s not a stretch to believe he is poised to join the fraternity of successful backs in what has been dubbed “Running Back U.”

Clement knew coming out of high school that he wouldn’t walk into a starting role at Wisconsin, but he was still eager to find the field as a freshman. Those expecta-tions were quickly tapered when he caught sight of how White and Gordon practiced.

“It was 110 miles an hour, it’s ridiculous,” Clement said. “As a freshman I had to keep up with that. And I was like, ‘maybe I’m not really fit for this game right now. Maybe I’ve just got to chill out and reset my mind and actually go out

there and say ‘I’m going to compete no matter what.’”

While it was frustrating wait-ing behind two backs who clear-ly possessed next-level talent, Clement learned to draw positives from his less-than-ideal slot on the depth chart. That learning pro-cess involved closely watching the idiosyncrasies which made White and Gordon two of the best backs in the nation. White’s work ethic in practice and Gordon’s 3 a.m. workouts resonated with Clement and opened his eyes in a way that couldn’t have been taught through coaching. With the exception of the witching hour workouts — Clement prefers to hit the practice facil-ity a few hours later — he mirrors Gordon’s preparation habits.

“There’s a lot that goes into it, there’s a lot that Melvin did behind the scenes that nobody saw, but I saw because I was next to him,” Clement said. “He per-formed the way he did because of what he did when nobody

thought he was doing it.”Clement put on 3 pounds in

the offseason and “can’t shed it for nothing,” but his gains extend beyond bicep girth and bench press reps. He’s now the face of the Wisconsin football program and, as such, has had to learn the intricacies of handling the media, embracing the growth of his teammates and catalyzing a frustratingly inconsis-tent offense, all while honing his arsenal of talent that put him in that spot in the first place.

The transition thus far has been smooth, in part because he’s long foreseen himself in this position, starting when he caught word that the athletic department locked up a series with Alabama.

“I knew from the first day on campus, they had announced just previously before I got here that we were playing Alabama in 2015,” Clement said at fall camp. “I couldn’t worry about that yet. I was like ‘damn, that’s my junior year, I feel like I should be the man

that year,’ and it’s here. Very surreal and I’m happy to be in the position I pictured.”

As Wisconsin’s date with the Crimson Tide drawing near, the fact remains that following in the footsteps of some of the greatest running backs in program history has been taxing. While Clement handled himself with elegant com-posure, it was clear when asked repeatedly to draw comparisons between himself and the Wisconsin running backs of old at Big Ten Media Days that such parallels have grown stale. Clement doesn’t want to be defined as the replacement for a Wisconsin football legend; he wants to make his own mark.

“My coaches are allowing for me to excel at and perfect my craft and there’s a lot of things I can do on a daily basis,” Clement said. “[When] I’m not working out, I’m in the film room and I’m just trying to be the best I can be. I’m not going to be Melvin Gordon, I’m going to be Corey Clement.”

Exemplifying a legacy, his own wayKaitlyn VEto/cardinal File PhoTo

gameday2 Wisconsin vs. Alabama dailycardinal.coml

Five things to watchBy Matt TragesserThe DAily CArDinAl

Filling the running back voidLast season, the Badgers had

the luxury of an exceptional running game. Led by Heisman runner-up Melvin Gordon, Wisconsin totaled 4,482 yards on the ground, which ranked third overall in the entire coun-try. Now that Gordon has left

Madison, junior Corey Clement will be handed the keys to spearhead the rushing attack this season.

So far in his two-year career, Clement has proven that he is more than capable of being an excellent back, rushing for 1,496 yards and 16 touchdowns. While it may be hard to repli-cate Gordon’s remarkable statis-tics, Clement is prepared for the starting role and should carry the Badger offense this season.

Third coming of Paul ChrystDespite being on their third

head coach (plus a couple Barry Alvarez cameos) since 2012, Wisconsin believes it has finally found its long-term solution with new head coach Paul Chryst.

Growing up in Madison, play-ing quarterback for the Badgers in the late ’80s, and serving as the offensive coordinator of the team

from 2006-’11, Chryst has deep ties with the city and university. Before landing back in Madison, Chryst was the head coach of the University of Pittsburgh for three seasons, but only accumu-lated a 19-19 overall record.

This mediocre record has made fans wary of his coaching ability, but with a more talented roster and further experience with running a team, Chryst will look to rejuvenate his coaching career.

Receivers making the jumpAlmost any Badger fan can

agree that last season’s receiv-ing game was adequate at best. Without a receiver topping 1,000 yards and none scoring more than five touchdowns, the Badgers were forced to uti-lize their rushing attack more often. This season, the Badgers will look to balance their offense more with a consistent and reli-able receiving game.

Redshirt senior Alex Erickson will be the No. 1 receiver this sea-son after leading the team with 772 receiving yards last year. However, the No. 2 receiver is not as clear. This summer red-shirt senior Tanner McEvoy has taken many reps with the first-team offense, but junior Robert Wheelwright, despite being banged up, has also looked impressive and more experi-enced. Whether it be McEvoy or Wheelright, the wide receiver game must improve this season for the Badgers to have a more balanced offensive attack.

Exploiting raw Bama roster For the past half century,

Alabama football has arguably been the most dominant pow-erhouse football program in the nation. Led by head coach Nick Saban, Alabama comes into the first week of the college football season ranked No. 3 in the country, but is simply not the same type of team

it has been in the past five years. Having lost prolific players such as Amari Cooper, T.J. Yeldon and Landon Collins, Alabama will look to younger, inexperienced players to take on many starting roles.

At the same time, the Crimson Tide has had a very ambiguous quarterback situation this offsea-son. In fact, Alabama has had a five-way quarterback battle this summer and as of right now there is no clear starter. Recent reports have said that Jake Coker, Cooper Bateman and Alec Morris are taking most of the reps, but none-theless, Alabama has no clear cut starter. The inexperience and uncertainty of many new starters could give the Badgers an edge in their season opener.

Clash in the trenches Simply put, the matchup

between the Badger offensive line and the Alabama defensive line will be a crucial factor in the outcome of this game. Over the past few decades, Wisconsin has always had a suitable offen-sive line, but will need to be at their best come Saturday, as Alabama’s defensive line is arguably the best front in the entire nation. Wisconsin brings back redshirt senior Tyler Marz and redshirt junior Dan Voltz on the line, but the rest of the line remains a mystery due to injuries, inexperience and inconsistent play.

The Crimson Tide will look to exploit this weakness, as they return nine of 10 defensive line-men from last season. Linemen A’Shawn Robinson, Jarran Reed, and Jonathan Allen are all poten-tial NFL first-round picks this year and are simply a strong force once again. Last season, the Tide defense was a top-five unit against the run, and this can be attributed to their defensive line. If the Badger offensive line can-not win the matchup against the Bama defensive front and cannot get a passing game going, it could be a long day for Wisconsin.

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By Andrew TuckertHe dAIly CArdInAl

In the 2014 season, Alabama was one of the four best teams in the country. They made the inau-gural College Football Playoff, and lost to the team that would go on to be the National Champion. Even so, last year’s Alabama team was one of the least successful Crimson Tide squads of the last decade.

Alabama lost a significant amount of talent from last year, with seven players drafted into the NFL, tying them for fourth-most lost by a school this season. That being said, they still have a collec-tion of highly touted players behind last year’s starters that will fill in and cause havoc for the Badgers.

On offense, Alabama returns one starter from last year, soph-omore left tackle Cam Robinson. That doesn’t tell the full story

though, as their two running backs, junior Derrick Henry and senior Kenyan Drake, both got carries last year backing up T.J. Yeldon. Senior quarterback Jake Coker was in a battle to start last season with Blake Sims, so he is still a quality replacement behind center. Two seniors, center Ryan Kelly and tackle Dominick Jackson, will be slotted into starting offensive line roles, further adding to the experi-ence among this year’s starters.

In terms of scheme, the Crimson Tide will look similar to last year’s squad. The clash between head coach Nick Saban’s pro-style, run-heavy offensive scheme and offen-sive coordinator Lane Kiffin’s West Coast spread creates an unparal-leled multi-look system. The play-calling alternates between screen passes that stretch the field and formations that overload the line of

scrimmage with tight ends and full-backs. Last year’s team would favor whichever pole of their spectrum best took into account the oppo-nent’s strengths and weaknesses. For this reason, it would be safe to expect a run-heavy gameplan to capitalize on UW’s relative inexpe-rience in the front seven.

Defensively, Bama returns six of their front seven, as well as two of their four defensive backs. The returns to the front seven will be the key for the Crimson Tide all season due to their reputation as a run-stopping defense that stifles the traditionally run-heavy SEC. In a matchup with Wisconsin, their run-stopping ability will be equally important due to UW’s fondness for running the ball, as well as their inexperienced offensive line that might have growing pains in the first few games of the season.

The Tide also brings back both junior kicker Adam Griffith and sophomore punter J.K. Scott, which seems insignificant at first glance without knowing that Scott was a freshman All-American last year, and will help Alabama win the field position battle.

The Crimson Tide match up incredibly well against the strengths and weaknesses of the Badgers, and it would take an otherwordly per-formance for Wisconsin to come out on top.

Crimson Tide poised to return to Playoff

darius Hillary and the rest of the Wisconsin defense will have their hands full with Alabama’s deep, unpredictable playbook.

BETSy OSTErBErGEr/CArdInAl FIle PHoto

Rapid ‘preactions’ to Wisconsin’s showdown in Dallas

By Bobby EhrlichtHe dAIly CArdInAl

HOLY $%^&, THE #$%*#$% BADGERS WON. THIS DIDN’T ACTUALLY HAPPEN. UW BEAT BAMA. *chugs rest of Miller Lite* *slams on ground.*

I can’t really even think right now because I’m so ham-mered from this all-day rager, but my editor said I have to write about the game, I guess because Wisconsin football beat another SEC team so suck it you NASCAR-loving hillbillies.

Not only do we have these things up here called books that make us smart, we can also whoop you on the gridiron these days. So much for the SEC being the best football conference in the nation. You ain’t seen power football ’til you’ve played a Big Ten school!

Going back to last year, the Big Ten was considered a weaker foot-ball conference, no match for the

big, bad SEC. Of course in bowl season, Ohio State would go on to win the National Championship after beating Bama, the SEC champion, in the semifinal game. Wisconsin drew Auburn, a mid-dle-of-the-road SEC West squad and came out on top after a back and forth barnburner.

Now, those meddling Badgers, who are too slow and unathletic to compete with the SEC, have yet again knocked off an opponent from football’s premier confer-ence. The victory largely goes to the success of the offensive line, led by redshirt senior Tyler Marz and redshirt junior Dan Voltz. These two combined with redshirt sophomore Hayden Biegel, red-shirt junior Walker Williams and redshirt freshman Michael Deiter to build a devastating front that created plenty of holes for Corey Clement. Once Clement got the space he needed, he ran all over the field, bruising the secondary one

run after another. Even though Clement was

probably the MVP of the game, rushing for two scores and 150 yards, much can be said about Joel Stave’s play. He avoided throwing an interception into the talented Alabama sec-ondary and took pressure off Clement with effective play-action passes. He may have had the biggest play of the game on his deep ball to junior Robert Wheelwright, which set up the go-ahead field goal.

All in all, this was a huge and impressive win for the Badgers and bodes well for the rest of the season. If the offensive line can continue its strong play, despite the inexperi-ence, Wisconsin could be in for a special year. Add successful pass-ing from Stave and the possibil-ity of a regular deep ball threat in Wheelwright and the Badgers may have a legitimate shot at running away with a conference title.

Alabama shakes, breaks, falls to far superior Badgers

BETSy OSTErBErGEr/CArdInAl FIle PHoto

It might be time to party like its March Madness 2015. If Wisconsin shocks everyone, plays a perfect game on both sides of the ball and topples Alabama, Madison might just lose its mind.

easing your elephant-sized woes By Jack BaertHe dAIly CArdInAl

So… yeah. Wisconsin lost to Alabama. Probably in convinc-ing fashion. As most in the college football world predicted.

As it turned out, the new UW offensive line just wasn’t up to the level of its predecessors, especially when slammed by a Crimson tidal wave. Or the front seven didn’t have enough push to really dis-rupt Alabama’s new quarterback. Or Joel Stave did something bad, even though he looked excellent in fall camp. Maybe a combination of those reasons. Maybe something else entirely.

Winning would have been amazing. It would have established Wisconsin as a nationally competi-tive team and a playoff contender. Instead, it seems clear that the three or four best teams in the Big Ten reside in the East Division. Pretty bleak.

But now, the good news: Wisconsin’s schedule. As it turns out, the Alabama game was the football scheduling equivalent of eating your broccoli before the rest of a nice homemade dinner. The unpleasant part is over, it probably made you stronger long-term and now you get to dig into mom’s chewy mac and cheese.

The Badgers will be favored to win every remaining game of their non-conference sched-ule by at least two touchdowns, and then they’ll be walking into quite possibly the easiest confer-ence schedule in the Power 5. No Ohio State. No Michigan State. No Penn State. No Michigan.

And again, no Ohio State.The toughest opponents

on Wisconsin’s remaining schedule at this moment are Nebraska, the team the Badgers have made a habit of gratuitous-ly humiliating, and Minnesota, who the Badgers haven’t lost to since “Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” hit theaters. Wisconsin still figures to be a strong team, and a strong team finishes 9-3 at worst in the regu-lar season with this schedule.

Wisconsin lost to Alabama. Lots of team do that. Lots of good teams do that. If you say losing to the Crimson Tide is a season-ruin-er for the Badgers, you probably had unrealistic expectations from the beginning.

This team still has a lot to offer, especially when you con-sider that UW is coupling a Paul Chryst offense with a Dave Aranda defense, which is basi-cally a dream scenario of past UW coordinators. So lighten up, and get ready to enjoy the season thanks to both a soft schedule and a promising new head coach lead-ing a UW team that still holds an enviable amount of talent.

The hard part is over.

What’s more frustrating: Bobby’s beer-driven overconfi-dence or the fact that Jack is the dark cloud conveniently settled directly above your prime spot at the lake? Let us know if you think you’ll pour one out with Bobby or go for an introspective walk with Jack come Saturday at sports@dailycardinal.com.

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By Lorin Cox The DAily CArDinAl

The college football season is upon us, and it’s never too early to start the Heisman watch. Every performance from all of the top players will be scruti-nized from here on out by fans and media alike as they try to predict and later vote on who will win college football’s most presti-gious award.

Even without playing a down of football this fall, there are already some clear favorites. A lot of it comes down to projecting how these players will build off their previous seasons and who will be slightly more outstanding than the rest. As always, there is no shortage of talented players who should all be in the conver-sation when the trophy is handed out in December.

Ezekiel Elliott, RB, Ohio StateA running back hasn’t won the

Heisman since Mark Ingram in 2009, but Elliott has a chance to change that. He might be the most dynamic runner in college football right now, and if his 2014 postsea-son was any indication, he should be in for a monster year.

In those three final games last season, Elliott averaged over nine yards a carry as he racked up 689 of his 1,883 rushing yards. According to Pro Football Focus, 989 of those 1,883 yards came after contact. He gets every yard he can from every single run, and with his offensive line returning four starters, he is in a great position to take his game to the next level on one of the best teams in the nation.

Nick Chubb, RB, GeorgiaChubb began last season behind

a Heisman candidate on the depth chart, and by the end of the year, he looked like a future contender himself. After Todd Gurley was suspended for four games, Chubb stepped into the starting role as a true freshman. Like Elliott, he also finished his season strong, averag-ing 8.32 yards per carry over his last six games.

He may be a slight step below Elliott as a rusher, but Chubb offers a bit more as a receiver. He has soft hands out of the backfield, and is extremely hard to bring down in the open field. His team might not be quite as talented as Elliott’s Buckeyes, but Chubb is right up there with him as one of the top backs in the country.

Trevone Boykin, QB, TCUBoykin finished fourth in the

Heisman voting last year, and the three players that finished ahead of him are all rookies in the NFL now. That opens the door for him to be the sixth-consecutive quarterback to win the award. The last five have all been dual-threat quarterbacks, like Boykin.

He doesn’t have pinpoint accuracy, but he can still make most throws. He amassed over 3,900 passing yards last season and added over 700 more with his legs, putting him behind only Marcus Mariota, the 2014 Heisman winner, for the most total yards in the nation. Boykin thrives in the electrifying TCU offense, and expectations for him are sky high in 2015.

J.T. Barrett, QB, Ohio StateIt says a lot about Barrett that

he’s considered a top candidate despite the fact that we don’t even know for sure if he will be the Buckeyes’ starter this season. That being said, he’s too dynamic of a player to not include him.

Barrett’s campaign was lim-ited to the regular season, as he took over for the injured Braxton Miller before suffer-ing an injury of his own, but he still finished fourth among quarterbacks in rushing yards and fifth in yards per carry. Like Boykin, he is still developing as a passer, but that didn’t keep him from finding the endzone 34 times through the air last season. He finished fifth in the Heisman vote last year, and he has a good chance to crack into the top three at the very least.

Cody Kessler, QB, USCKessler is nowhere near the

explosive athlete that Barrett and Boykin are, but what he lacks in mobility, he more than makes up for with his arm. According to Pro Football Focus, he led all quarterbacks in the country with an 80.3 accuracy percentage on his throws. He has excellent touch on his deep balls, and is very poised in the pocket.

He is at a disadvantage because Heisman voters have tended to favor the mobile quarterbacks, but there is no denying Kessler’s arm talent. If he can maintain his efficiency and build off his experience, he will almost certainly remain in the conversation.

Elliott, Chubb can end Heisman’s QB run

Past five Heisman winners2014: Marcus MariotaQB, RS junior, OregonPassing: 4,454 yards, 42 TDs68.3 completion percent, 4 inTsrushing: 770 yards, 15 TDs2013: Jameis WinstonQB, RS freshman, Florida StatePassing: 4,057 yards, 40 TDs66.9 completion percent, 10 inTsrushing: 219 yards, 4 TDs2012: Johnny ManzielQB, RS freshman, Texas A&MPassing: 3,706 yards, 26 TDs68.0 completion percent, 9 inTsrushing: 1,410 yards, 21 TDs2011: Robert Griffin IIIQB, RS junior, BaylorPassing: 4,293 yards, 37 TDs72.4 completion percent, 6 inTsrushing: 699 yards, 10 TDs2010: Cam NewtonQB, RS junior, AuburnPassing: 2,854 yards, 30 TDs66.1 completion percent, 7 inTsrushing: 1,473 yards, 20 Tds

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ezekiel elliott could become the eighth heisman winner in ohio State history and first since QB Troy Smith in 2006.

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By Zach RastallThe dAily CArdinAl

Another year, another chance to argue which team is the best in the Big Ten. We polled 10 members of our staff and made the surprising dis-covery that it’s really not much of an argument nowadays.

1. Ohio State, 50 pointsThe defending national

champions are the clear favorites to win the Big Ten and poten-tially make a return appearance to the College Football Playoff. Joey Bosa anchors the defense, J.T. Barrett and/or Cardale Jones leads the way under center, Ezekiel Elliott returns as a domi-nant run threat, former quarter-back Braxton Miller moves to wide receiver and almost every key player is back from last year’s team.

The Buckeyes have all the pieces in place to make a run at another national title, even if they lose to Virginia Tech in their sea-son opener, a game they will play without the Bosa and three addi-tional contributors, all serving suspensions. Head coach Urban Meyer has rebuilt Ohio State into a Big Ten powerhouse, further cementing its status as the pro-gram the conference loves to hate.

2. Michigan State, 40 pointsThough the very thought of

Michigan State asserting its grid-iron dominance over Michigan would’ve seemed laughable and nearly impossible once upon a time, the Spartans’ superiority over the Wolverines has been evi-dent throughout much of head coach Mark Dantonio’s tenure.

There are a few questions on

defense due to the departure of long-time defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi and a season-end-ing injury suffered by linebacker Ed Davis during training camp. Still, the Spartans return seven starters each on both offense and defense, including quarterback Connor Cook, who’s expected to be one of the best signal callers in the country.

Michigan State will pose the biggest threat to Ohio State in the East division, and all eyes will be on those two teams when they meet in Columbus in late November.

3. Wisconsin, 26 pointsThe prodigal son Paul Chryst

has returned to Madison, giving Wisconsin fans hope that they’ve found a head coach that won’t take off and leave Barry Alvarez to coach in the TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl two years from now. Chryst will inherit a team that should be strong on defense, especially with defensive coordinator Dave Aranda returning despite Gary Andersen’s departure.

Most of the questions for the Badgers come on offense, where Corey Clement replaces Melvin Gordon and the offensive line lacks in depth and experi-ence. Joel Stave will also need to improve on his consistency, but the good news is Chryst has a stellar track record with quar-terbacks and could help alleviate some of Stave’s issues.

With a favorable conference schedule, Wisconsin is in prime position to capture a second consecutive Big Ten West title and earn a return trip to Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis come December.

4. Penn State, 15 pointsThe Nittany Lions may be

on the cusp of a breakthrough in 2015, though whether they can solve the issues that plagued them on offense last season will dic-tate just how high they can fly this year. The Penn State defense was stout in 2014 and shouldn’t regress much in 2015, but head coach James Franklin and his coaching staff desperately need to fix an offensive line that held about as well as a snowman in the Bahamas last season.

The poor play of the inex-perienced line was a major fac-tor in quarterback Christian Hackenberg’s sophomore slump. If the line can provide Hackenberg with enough protec-tion to allow him to flourish, a 10-win season is a real possibility for the Nittany Lions.

5. Michigan, 9 pointsIf Jesus Christ ever does in

fact return to Earth, he’d prob-ably love to receive the kind of reception that Jim Harbaugh has gotten since his return to Ann Arbor. Michigan shot for the moon in its coaching search and landed the top choice of just about every Wolverine fan to replace Brady Hoke.

Harbaugh inherits a team that will return eight starters on offense and seven on defense from last year’s 5-7 squad. Among the new coach’s biggest concerns is finding a viable starter under center from a pool of what feels like 50 quarterbacks on the roster. Harbaugh won’t return Michigan to its former glory overnight, but you certainly expect to see the program take major strides as soon as this season.

Ohio State returns cast of champions

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penn State’s Christian hackenberg’s bounceback year could be a force to be reckoned with.

WeeK 1’s BiG GAMeSMichigan at Utah

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No. 2 TCU at Minnesota8 p.m. Thursday

Minneapolis, Minn.ESPN

Washington at No. 23 Boise State9:15 p.m. Friday

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Louisville vs. No. 6 Auburn2:30 p.m. Saturday

Atlanta, Ga.CBS

No. 15 Arizona St. vs. Texas A&M6 p.m. SaturdayHouston, Texas

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Texas at No. 11 Notre Dame6:30 p.m. SaturdaySouth Bend, Ind.

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No. 20 Wisconsin vs. No. 3 Alabama7 p.m. Saturday

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No. 1 Ohio State at Virginia Tech7 p.m. MondayBlacksburg, Va.

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By Thomas Valtin-Erwinthe dAily cArdinAl

The Ohio State Buckeyes wrapped up last season with 13 straight wins and won the inau-gural College Football Playoff. As the first ever unanimous No. 1 in the preseason AP poll, they don’t show any signs of slowing down. Everyone and their moth-er is predicting that they are a shoo-in for the Playoff this sea-son as well. Prediction, though, is a fickle beast.

It’s never easy to make sub-stantiated predictions in sports, even with an abundance of sta-tistics to back that prediction up. To make matters worse, the College Football Playoff provides us with a resounding dearth of statistics. We really don’t know what Playoff teams look like, sim-ply because there have only been four of them.

Here’s what we know, or at least what we think we know: Teams that make the Playoff have to win a lot of games and lose very few. Not a single team from last year’s Playoff had lost multiple games heading into the postseason. Those teams went a combined 49-3 in the regular season. Any team that wants to make the Playoff will need a pris-tine record.

While a stellar win-loss record won’t guarantee a spot, the most obvious characteristic of Playoff teams is that they are really, really good. That might seem like it goes hand-in-hand with a good winning percentage, but that’s not always the case. ESPN pegs Boise State as having an 11.3 percent chance of going

undefeated (second only to the mighty Buckeyes, 31.2 percent), but would that put them in the Playoff? Likely not, as they cur-rently have only the 35th-best Football Power Index, a measure of overall team efficiency in com-parison to the rest of the nation, which isn’t Playoff material.

Charted are the 50 teams with the highest FPI graphed against their projected winning per-centage. Expect the four Playoff teams to be found somewhere in the top-right quadrant. Five teams stick out here: Ohio State, Baylor, TCU, Georgia and LSU.

Much was made last year about whether Playoff teams should be required to win their conference to earn a spot. The Big 12’s lack of a championship game severely hurts the chanc-es of Baylor and TCU, as there could be a tie atop the confer-ence, which happened last year, and likely kept both teams out of the Playoff.

The bar graph shows each of the same 50 teams’ chances of winning their conference. You can prob-ably disregard Louisiana Tech and Cincinnati, as no Conference USA or American Athletic Conference team will make the Playoff this year. Boise State would really need to do something special as well. The top-five here are Ohio State, TCU, Baylor, Georgia, and Oregon.

All signs point to Ohio State returning to the College Football Playoffs, but the other three spots remain shrouded in mys-tery. There’s a lot of football to be played between now and Jan. 11, and all there is to do is sit back and watch.

Race for the Playoff: by the numbers

Associated Press Top 251. Ohio State (61)2. TCU3. Alabama 4. Baylor5. Michigan State6. Auburn7. Oregon8. USC 9. Georgia10. Florida State11. Notre Dame12. Clemson13. UCLA14. LSU15. Arizona State 16. Georgia Tech17. Ole Miss18. Arkansas19. Oklahoma 20. Wisconsin 21. Stanford22. Arizona23. Boise State24. Missouri25. Tennessee

USA Today Coaches Poll1. Ohio State (62) 2. TCU (1) 3. Alabama (1)4. Baylor5. Oregon6. Michigan State7. Auburn8. Florida State9. Georgia10. USC11. Notre Dame12. Clemson13. LSU14. UCLA15. Ole Miss16. Arizona State17. Georgia Tech18. Wisconsin19. Oklahoma20. Arkansas21. Stanford22. Arizona23. Missouri24. Boise State25. Tennessee

Preseason Polls

Football Power index

conference Winning chances

GRaPhic By Thomas ValTin-ERwin ThRouGh TaBlEau PuBlic

GRaPhic By Thomas ValTin-ERwin ThRouGh TaBlEau PuBlic

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101 N Mills Street

By Bobby EhrlichThe DAily CArDinAl

Outside linebacker Vince Biegel became one of the Badgers’ biggest defensive stars last sea-son, making one impact play after another each weekend. He’s well known in Madison for his big hits, but before he was crush-ing opponents in the backfield, he was mowing them down on the other side of the ball.

The 6-foot, 4-inch Wisconsin Rapids native played running back up until his freshman year of high school, when he began focusing on his defensive abil-ity. Although he claims he scored quite a few touchdowns at the position, he did say he does not miss running back.

“I like getting after it, tackling guys and being the aggressor a little more than being the receiv-er,” Biegel said.

His excellent instincts on the field may have to do with the fact that football has been a part of his life for as long as he can remember. He grew up in a football family: His grandfather played football at BYU and his dad was a high school coach at Wisconsin Rapids and later at BYU. Hayden Biegel, his younger brother who is a redshirt sophomore for the Badgers and has a shot at starting on the offen-sive line this year, used to throw on football helmets with Vince and their dad in the backyard before they began any organized foot-ball. Now playing together at UW,

Vince highlighted the importance of this experience with his younger brother, saying, “that is what it’s all about. For Hayden to come to the university with me has been by far the biggest blessing,” Vince said. “He’s a great competitor, he’s on the offense, I’m on the defense, so we’re always knocking heads together. It’s a special thing to have when you have a guy who knows your background, knows who you are as a person and always has your back.”

While Biegel looks to compile another strong season for the Badgers, his athletic drive doesn’t stop once he leaves the football field. In fact, sometimes he takes it to the ice. The menacing line-backer is a true Wisconsinite

who started playing hockey at six years old, before he began play-ing football. He is not a diehard fan of any NHL team but is rather torn between the Minnesota Wild and the Chicago Blackhawks, a dilemma countless UW students can relate to.

“I love playing hockey and I still will to this day strap on some skates for some recreational time and to see if I still got it,” Biegel said.

And Biegel won’t stop there. This summer, Nigel Hayes, star forward for the Men’s basketball team, said that the basketball team could beat any other UW athletic team in any sport. Biegel’s response to Hayes’ assertion was that he “wouldn’t throw bulletin board material” but he was willing

to take on the challenge.“I’ll just say that there are

sports we can definitely beat them at, one being obviously here, and I’d also like to challenge them in the hockey arena. We got some guys that can definitely play hockey here with Eric Steffes, and Derek Strauss is another one,” Biegel said.

And his role in the game? “If need be, I’ll strap on the

goalie pads. If they wanted to go a little five-on-five hockey, I would definitely pick the Badger football team.”

Madison students may be waiting anxiously for that hockey game, but in the meantime they can get excited about watching Biegel fly into the backfield.

Badger bio: Biegel never slows downVince Biegel is the unquestioned emotional leader of Wisconsin’s defense, but little to Badger fans’ knowledge, he also brings the intensity in the hockey rink.

Vince Biegel’s favorite...Madison restaurant: Wando’sHobby: Hunting whitetail in Iowa Pregame playlist: Mellow tunes, NOT rap

BEtsy ostErBErgEr/CArDinAl file phoTo

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Wisconsin Badgersteam roster