Wisconsin Badgers Football: End of Season Grades

OFFENSE

Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports

I’ll state the obvious right away. Running backs Melvin Gordon and James White were nothing short of amazing this season. The duo broke the FBS record for most rushing yards by two running backs with 3,053 yards on the season. Those two guys have really been a bright spot on the 2013 season that is for sure. While James White will be graduating and heading to the NFL, we will get at least one more year watching Gordon run at Camp Randall.

The receiving corps wasn’t horrible, but it wasn’t spectacular as well and that goes back to how well the running attack was. Senior Jared Abbrederis had another good season, catching 78 balls for 1,081 yards and hauling in seven touchdowns. The next leading receiver was tight end Jacob Pedersen who reeled in 39 passes and three touchdowns.

This brings me to quarterback Joel Stave who had a mediocre up and down season. Stave finished with 22 touchdowns and 13 interceptions while throwing for 2,494 yards. Not horrible stats but not the greatest either. At times Stave struggled to find his accuracy and the open receiver, sometimes forcing the ball where it didn’t need to go. The running game seemed to bail him out, but the Badgers struggled in the passing game if they had to come back from an early deficit (see Penn State).

Inconsistency in the passing game drags the grade down, but White and Gordon keep it above average.

OFFENSIVE GRADE: B+