| Year: | 2020 |
| Team: | Wisconsin Badgers |
| Sport: | football |
| Conference: | Big Ten Conference |
| Division: | West Division |
| Short Conf: | Big Ten |
| Record: | 4–3 |
| Conf Record: | 3–3 |
| Head Coach: | Paul Chryst |
| Hc Year: | 6th |
| Off Coach: | Joe Rudolph |
| Oc Year: | 6th |
| Off Scheme: | Pro-style |
| Def Coach: | Jim Leonhard |
| Dc Year: | 4th |
| Def Scheme: | 3–4 |
| Captain: | Garrett Groshek |
| Stadium: | Camp Randall Stadium |
| Champion: | Duke's Mayo Bowl champion |
| Bowl: | Duke's Mayo Bowl |
| Bowl Result: | W 42–28 vs. Wake Forest |
The 2020 Wisconsin Badgers football team represented the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Badgers were led by sixth-year head coach Paul Chryst and competed as members of the West Division of the Big Ten Conference. They played their home games at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin.
On August 11, 2020, the Big Ten Conference suspended all fall sports competitions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[1] However, on September 16, the Big Ten reinstated the season, announcing an eight-game season beginning on October 24.[2]
See also: 2020 NFL draft.
| 2 | 41 | Jonathan Taylor | RB | Indianapolis Colts | |
| 3 | 74 | Zack Baun | LB | New Orleans Saints | |
| 4 | 146 | Tyler Biadasz | C | Dallas Cowboys | |
| 5 | 166 | Quintez Cephus | WR | Detroit Lions | |
| Undrafted | Chris Orr | LB | Carolina Panthers | ||
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Transfer to |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bradrick Shaw |
| RB | 6'1 | 205 | Senior | California | |
| Aron Cruickshank |
| WR | 5'9 | 155 | Sophomore | Rutgers | |
| Seth Currens |
| ILB | 6'3 | 230 | Junior | Miami (OH) | |
| Christian Bell |
| OLB | 6'4 | 246 | Senior | South Alabama | |
| Griffin Grady |
| OLB | 6'2 | 205 | Sophomore | - | |
The Badgers spring scrimmage and practice on April 18, 2020 was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Listed in the order that they were released
| Davey O'Brien Award | Jack Coan | QB | SR | |
| Chuck Bednarik Award | Jack Sanborn | LB | JR | |
| Doak Walker Award | Nakia Watson | RB | SO | |
| John Mackey Award | Jake Ferguson | TE | JR | |
| Butkus Award | Jack Sanborn | LB | JR | |
| Jim Thorpe Award | Eric Burrell | S | SR | |
| Outland Trophy | Cole Van Lanen | OL | SR | |
| Manning Award | Jack Coan | QB | SR | |
| Maxwell Award | Jack Coan | QB | SR | |
| Wuerffel Trophy | Madison Cone | S | SR | |
| Bronko Nagurski Trophy | Eric Burrell | S | SR |
Although the Big Ten Conference has not held an official preseason poll since 2010, Cleveland.com has polled sports journalists representing all member schools as a de facto preseason media poll since 2011. For the 2020 poll, Wisconsin was projected to finish first in the West Division.[3]
| Media poll (West Division) | |||
| 1 | Wisconsin | 221 (19) | |
| 2 | Minnesota | 209.5 (14) | |
| 3 | Iowa | 157 | |
| 4 | Nebraska | 117 | |
| 5 | Purdue | 105 | |
| 6 | Northwestern | 87.5 (1) | |
| 7 | Illinois | 55 | |
The Badgers 2020 schedule originally consisted of six home games, four away games, and two neutral site games. The Badgers would have hosted two of its three non-conference games at Camp Randall; the first on September 12 against Southern Illinois from the Missouri Valley, then the next week on September 19, playing Appalachian State, a member of the Sun Belt Conference. The last non-conference matchup on October 3 was a primetime game guaranteed to air on NBC against Notre Dame as part of the Fighting Irish's neutral-site Shamrock Series at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, with Notre Dame as the designated home team.
The Big Ten Conference canceled all non-conference games on July 9 due to the COVID-19 pandemic;[4] the day before, the November 7 away game at Northwestern was moved from the neutral site Wrigley Field in Chicago back to Ryan Field in Evanston.[5] Both Notre Dame and Wisconsin plan to fulfill their contract and play the Lambeau Field game in a subsequent season.[6]
On November 25, Wisconsin's game vs. Minnesota was canceled, leaving the team with only 5 games maximum and thus making the Badgers no longer eligible for the 2020 Big Ten Football Championship Game.
In Big Ten Conference play, Wisconsin will play all members of the West Division, and draws Indiana, and Michigan from the East Division.
Source:[9]
See also: 2020 Illinois Fighting Illini football team.
See also: 2020 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team.
The Wisconsin at Nebraska game was canceled due to a COVID-19 outbreak at Wisconsin. The game will not be rescheduled. Instead, both teams will have a bye and will play just seven games.[10]
See also: 2020 Purdue Boilermakers football team.
The Purdue at Wisconsin game was canceled due to a COVID-19 outbreak at Wisconsin. The game will not be rescheduled.[11]
See also: 2020 Michigan Wolverines football team.
See also: 2020 Northwestern Wildcats football team.
See also: 2020 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team.
The Minnesota at Wisconsin game was canceled due to a COVID-19 outbreak at Minnesota. The game was rescheduled for December 19 at 3:00 p.m..
See also: 2020 Indiana Hoosiers football team.
See also: 2020 Iowa Hawkeyes football team.
See also: 2020 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team.
See also: 2020 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team and 2020 Duke's Mayo Bowl.
| Graham Mertz | Big Ten Co-offensive Player of the Week | October 23, 2019 | [12] | |
| Graham Mertz | Big Ten Freshman Player of the Week | October 23, 2019 |
| Cole Van Lanen | First Team All-Big Ten Offense (Coaches)/Second Team All-Big Ten Offense (Media) | [13] | |
| Jake Ferguson | First Team All-Big Ten Offense (Media)/Second Team All-Big Ten Offense (Coaches) | ||
| Logan Bruss | Third Team All-Big Ten Offense (Coaches/Media) | ||
| Caesar Williams | Third Team All-Big Ten Defense (Coaches)/Honorable Mention Defense (Media) | ||
| Isaiahh Loudermilk | Third Team All-Big Ten Defense (Media)/Honorable Mention Defense (Coaches) | ||
| Jack Sanborn | Third Team All-Big Ten Defense (Media)/Honorable Mention Defense (Coaches) | ||
| Mason Stokke | Honorable Mention Offense (Coaches) | ||
| Tyler Beach | Honorable Mention Offense (Coaches) | ||
| Leo Chenal | Honorable Mention Defense (Coaches/Media) | ||
| Eric Burrell | Honorable Mention Defense (Coaches/Media) | ||
| Faion Hicks | Honorable Mention Defense (Coaches/Media) | ||
| Andy Vujnovich | Honorable Mention Special Teams (Coaches) |
See also: 2021 NFL draft.
| 5 | 156 | DE | Pittsburgh Steelers | ||
| 6 | 213 | CB | Buffalo Bills | ||
| 6 | 214 | OG | Green Bay Packers |