Top 5 Badger Football Games to Watch in 2015
Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
The 2014 season has ended with the Wisconsin Badgers beating the Auburn Tigers in the Outback Bowl. Although this past season was filled with excitement and was a lot of fun to watch, it’s time to take a sneak peek at what lies ahead for Wisconsin. Time to examine the top 5 Badger football games to watch in the 2015 season.
No doubt the marquee game of the 2014 campaign that was circled on everybody’s calendar was finally a non-conference game that people could actually get amped up for when they took on LSU in the season opener. Although it did not turn out how all of us in Badgerland wanted it to, at least it was a game early on in the season that was worth watching all four quarters.
Wisconsin Badgers
In 2014 we also saw the Badgers take on newcomers Maryland and Rutgers for the first time in school history. Wisconsin took care of the Terrapins easily 52-7 at Camp Randall Stadium. The next week they would travel to New Jersey to shut out Rutgers 37-0.
The final three games of this past season were also three games that many circled on their calendars as pivotal games for Wisconsin if they wanted the Big Ten West division title and a spot in the Big Ten championship game. The showdown with Nebraska was supposed to be a slugfest between two Heisman Trophy candidates in Melvin Gordon and Ameer Abdullah. What happened was a Badger 59-24 blowout and Gordon setting the single-game rushing record at the time.
A trip to Iowa the next week would see Wisconsin squeak out a gritty and gutsy 26-24 victory over the Hawkeyes. This game saw Gordon surpass the 2,000 yard mark and really solidify his spot in New York City as a Heisman Trophy candidate. It would also set up a huge matchup against the Minnesota Gophers the following week for the division title and a trip to Indianapolis for the conference championship.
Minnesota had a good team this past season and the Battle for Paul Bunyan’s Axe had more riding on it this year than it has in recent memory. Although the Gophers put up quite the fight, in the end it would be the Badgers coming away with 34-24 victory and a return to the Big Ten championship.
No doubt 2014 had at least a handful of games that once the schedule was released many people were looking forward to. With that said, the 2015 season has plenty to look forward to as well. There’s a new sheriff in town named Paul Chryst that has generated plenty of excitement with the program.
So here we go, the top five Badger football games to watch in 2015.
Next: 5. Heading to Unknown Territory