2012 Wisconsin Badgers football team
The 2012 Wisconsin Badgers football team represent the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Badgers, led by seventh-year head coach Bret Bielema, through December 4, 2012, and Barry Alvarez for the Rose Bowl are members of the Leaders Division of the Big Ten Conference and play their home games at Camp Randall Stadium. The Badgers lost their final game 20-14 in the Rose Bowl to the Stanford Cardinal of the Pac-12 Conference on January 1, 2013.
Recruiting
Watchlists/Preseason awards
- Jared Abbrederis
- Montee Ball
- Chris Borland
- Travis Frederick
- Jacob Pedersen
- Mike Taylor
- Ricky Wagner
- James White
Schedule
Rankings
Regular season
Northern Iowa
Statistical Leaders- Rushing: Montee Ball – 32 Car, 120 Yds, 1 TD
- Passing: Danny O'Brien – 19/23, 219 Yds, 2 TDs
- Receiving: Jared Abbrederis – 6 Rec, 84 Yds, 2 TDs
- Defense: Mike Taylor – 13 Tkls, 2.0 TFL, PBU
at Oregon State
- Rushing: Montee Ball – 15 Car, 61 Yds
- Passing: Danny O'Brien – 20/38, 172 Yds, TD, INT
- Receiving: Jacob Pedersen – 4 Rec, 36 Yds, TD
- Defense: Ethan Armstrong – 10 Tkls
Utah State
Statistical Leaders
- Rushing: Montee Ball – 37 Car, 139 Yds, TD
- Passing: Danny O'Brien – 5/10, 63 Yds
- Receiving: Brian Wozniak – 2 Rec, 24 Yds
- Defense: Mike Taylor – 15 Tkls, TFL
UTEP
- Rushing: James White – 15 Car, 65 Yds, 2 TDs
- Passing: Joel Stave – 12/17, 217 Yds, TD, INT
- Receiving: Jared Abbrederis – 6 Rec, 147 Yds, TD
- Defense: Chris Borland – 12 Tkls, 2 sack, 3.5 TFL, 2 PBU
at Nebraska
- Rushing: Montee Ball – 31 Car, 93 Yds, 3 TDs
- Passing: Joel Stave – 12/23, 214 Yds, TD
- Receiving: Jared Abbrederis – 7 Rec, 142 Yds, TD
- Defense: Mike Taylor – 15 Tkls, 1.0 TFL
Illinois
- Rushing: Montee Ball – 19 Car, 116 Yds, 2 TDs
- Passing: Joel Stave – 16/25, 254 Yds, 2 TDs, INT
- Receiving: Jared Abbrederis – 7 Rec, 117 Yds, TD
- Defense: Mike Taylor – 12 Tkls, 1.5 TFL
at Purdue
- Rushing: Montee Ball – 29 Car, 247 Yds, 3 TDs
- Passing: Joel Stave – 12/21, 178 Yds, TD, INT
- Receiving: Jacob Pedersen – 4 Rec, 77 Yds, TD
- Defense: Chris Borland – 7 Tkls, 2.0 TFL, Sack
Minnesota
- Rushing: James White – 15 Car, 175 Yds, 3 TDs
- Passing: Joel Stave – 7/15, 106 Yds
- Receiving: Jared Abbrederis – 2 Rec, 68 Yds
- Defense: Mike Taylor – 12 Tkls, 1.0 TFL
Michigan State
- Rushing: Montee Ball – 22 Car, 46 Yds
- Passing: Joel Stave – 9/11, 127 Yds, TD
- Receiving: Jacob Pedersen – 3 Rec, 65 Yds, TD
- Defense: Ethan Armstrong – 8 Tkls, 1.0 TFL, QBH
at Indiana
- Rushing: Montee Ball – 27 Car, 208 Yds, 3 TDs
- Passing: Curt Phillips – 4/7, 41 Yds, TD
- Receiving: Sam Arneson – 1 Rec, 2 Yds, TD
- Defense: Chris Borland – 8 Tkls, 0.5 TFL, FR
Ohio State
- Rushing: Montee Ball – 39 Car, 191 Yds, TD
- Passing: Curt Phillips – 14/25, 154 Yds, TD
- Receiving: Jacob Pedersen – 6 Rec, 66 Yds, TD
- Defense: Shelton Johnson – 11 Tkls, PBU
- During the game, there was a ceremony to honor the 1962 Wisconsin Badgers football team on the 50th anniversary of their Big Ten Championship.
at Penn State
- Rushing: Montee Ball – 27 Car, 111 Yds, TD
- Passing: Curt Phillips – 12/25, 191 Yds, 2 TDs, INT
- Receiving: Melvin Gordon – 1 Rec, 57 Yds, TD
- Defense: Mike Taylor – 11 Tkls, 2 TFL, Sack, PBU
vs. Nebraska (Big Ten Championship)
- Rushing: Montee Ball – 21 Car, 202 Yds, 3 TDs
- Passing: Curt Phillips – 6/8, 71 Yds
- Receiving: Sam Arneson – 1 Rec, 3 Yds, TD
- Defense: Marcus Cromartie – 7 Tkls, INT, 2 PBUs, TD
Wisconsin had 2 running backs run for over 200 yards and Badgers running backs accounted for 8 rushing touchdowns on the day. The 70 points tied the second-highest mark in Wisconsin history, set against Northwestern in 2010 and Austin Peay in 2010. The Badgers returned their first interception for a touchdown, as senior defensive back Marcus Cromartie returned a deflected Taylor Martinez pass 29 yards to put Wisconsin up 14-0 less than 3 minutes into the game.
A wild rushing touchdown by Taylor Martinez and a Brett Maher field goal narrowed Wisconsin's advantage to 14-10, but the Badgers went 45 yards on two plays to set up another scoring drive, capped off by a 9-yard rushing touchdown by James White. When Nebraska's offense stalled, Wisconsin's offense roared into gear and scored three more touchdowns in the 2nd quarter alone, taking a 42-10 lead at the half with a James White passing touchdown to TE Sam Arneson.
In the second half, Nebraska managed to gain a grand total of 3 yards before Martinez threw his second interception on Nebraska's first drive of the half. Wisconsin scored on the next play, taking a 49-10 lead.
The Badgers secured their third consecutive Big Ten Championship and a third consecutive Rose Bowl berth with the blowout win, improving to 8-5 on the year and snapping their 2-game losing streak.
On December 4, 2012, head coach Bret Bielema announced he would take the head coaching vacancy at the University of Arkansas, ending his career at Wisconsin after 7 seasons. Bielema had a 68-24 overall record in 7 seasons at Wisconsin and his teams went 37-19 in Big Ten conference games. In addition, Bielema won both of the first two Big Ten Conference Championship Games.
vs. Stanford (Rose Bowl)
Statistical Leaders- Rushing: Montee Ball – 24 Car, 100 Yds, TD
- Passing: Curt Phillips – 10/16, 83 Yds, TD, INT
- Receiving: Jared Abbrederis – 3 Rec, 44 Yds
- Defense: Chris Borland – 9 Tkls
Awards
- Jared Abbrederis
- Beau Allen
- Montee Ball
- Chris Borland
- Marcus Cromartie
- Travis Frederick
- David Gilbert
- Ryan Groy
- Ethan Hemer
- Drew Meyer
- Jacob Pedersen
- Devin Smith
- Dezmen Southward
- Mike Taylor
- Ricky Wagner
Roster
2012 statistics
Passing
Note: G = Games played; COMP = Completions; ATT = Attempts; COMP % = Completion percentage; YDS = Passing yards; TD = Passing touchdowns; INT = Interceptions; EFF = Passing efficiency| Pos. | Player | G | COMP | ATT | COMP % | YDS | TD | INT | EFF |
| WR | Jared Abbrederis | 13 | 1 | 1 | 100.0 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 326.8 |
| QB | Danny O'Brien | 7 | 52 | 86 | 60.5 | 523 | 3 | 1 | 120.7 |
| QB | Curt Phillips | 7 | 46 | 81 | 56.8 | 540 | 5 | 2 | 128.2 |
| QB | Joel Stave | 8 | 70 | 119 | 58.8 | 1104 | 6 | 3 | 148.3 |
| RB | James White | 14 | 1 | 2 | 50.0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 227.6 |
Rushing
Note: G = Games played; ATT = Attempts; YDS = Yards; AVG = Average yard per carry; LG = Longest run; TD = Rushing touchdowns| Pos. | Player | G | ATT | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
| WR | Jared Abbrederis | 13 | 8 | 83 | 10.4 | 24 | 0 |
| RB | Montee Ball | 14 | 356 | 1830 | 5.1 | 67 | 22 |
| WR | Kenzel Doe | 14 | 2 | 11 | 5.5 | 12 | 0 |
| RB | Melvin Gordon | 14 | 62 | 621 | 10.0 | 60 | 3 |
| RB | Jeffrey Lewis | 3 | 4 | 13 | 3.2 | 6 | 1 |
| QB | Danny O'Brien | 7 | 15 | -82 | -5.5 | 7 | 0 |
| TE | Jacob Pedersen | 14 | 1 | 10 | 10.0 | 0 | 0 |
| QB | Curt Phillips | 7 | 27 | 99 | 3.7 | 52 | 0 |
| QB | Joel Stave | 8 | 19 | -51 | -2.7 | 16 | 0 |
| FB | Derek Watt | 14 | 2 | 5 | 2.5 | 3 | 0 |
| RB | James White | 14 | 125 | 806 | 6.4 | 69 | 12 |
Receiving
Note: G = Games played; REC = Receptions; YDS = Yards; AVG = Average yard per catch; LG = Longest catch; TD = Receiving touchdowns| Pos. | Player | G | REC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
| TE | Sam Arneson | 13 | 4 | 19 | 4.8 | 9 | 2 |
| WR | Jared Abbrederis | 13 | 49 | 837 | 17.1 | 60 | 5 |
| RB | Montee Ball | 14 | 10 | 72 | 7.2 | 16 | 0 |
| WR | Kenzel Doe | 14 | 16 | 121 | 7.6 | 19 | 0 |
| WR | Jeff Duckworth | 13 | 9 | 60 | 6.7 | 10 | 1 |
| WR | Jordan Fredrick | 14 | 17 | 196 | 11.5 | 20 | 1 |
| RB | Melvin Gordon | 14 | 2 | 65 | 32.5 | 57 | 1 |
| WR | Chase Hammond | 12 | 5 | 50 | 10.0 | 30 | 0 |
| WR | Reggie Love | 5 | 1 | 19 | 19.0 | 19 | 0 |
| TE | Jacob Pedersen | 14 | 27 | 355 | 13.1 | 31 | 4 |
| QB | Curt Phillips | 7 | 1 | 27 | 27.0 | 27 | 0 |
| FB | Derek Watt | 14 | 12 | 150 | 12.5 | 33 | 0 |
| RB | James White | 14 | 8 | 132 | 16.5 | 62 | 1 |
| TE | Brian Wozniak | 14 | 9 | 94 | 10.4 | 21 | 0 |
Kick and punt returning
Note: G = Games played; PR = Punt returns; PYDS = Punt return yards; PLG = Punt return long; KR = Kick returns; KYDS = Kick return yards; KLG = Kick return long; TD = Total return touchdowns| Pos. | Player | G | PR | PYDS | PLG | KR | KYDS | KLG | Total Return TDs |
| WR | Jared Abbrederis | 13 | 17 | 111 | 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| DT | Beau Allen | 14 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| WR | Kenzel Doe | 13 | 8 | 99 | 82 | 7 | 195 | 47 | 1 |
| RB | Melvin Gordon | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 151 | 32 | 0 |
| RB | James White | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 114 | 26 | 0 |
| RB | Kyle Zulegar | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 29 | 20 | 0 |
Kicking
Note: G = Games played; FGM = Field goals made; FGA = Field goals attempted; LG = Field goal long; XPT = Extra points made; XPT ATT = XPT attempted; TP = Total points| Pos. | Player | G | FGM | FGA | LG | XPT | XPT ATT | TP |
| K | Kyle French | 13 | 10 | 16 | 46 | 38 | 40 | 68 |
| K | Jack Russell | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 15 | 14 |
Punting
Note: G = Games played; P = Punts; YDS = Yards; AVG = Average per punt; LG = Punt long; In20 = Punts inside the 20; TB = Touchbacks| Pos. | Player | G | P | YDS | AVG | LG | In20 | TB |
| P | Drew Meyer | 14 | 80 | 3323 | 41.5 | 61 | 36 | 5 |
Defensive
Note: G = Games played; Solo = Solo tackles; Ast = Assisted tackles; Total = Total tackles; TFL-Yds = Tackles for loss-yards lost; Sack = Sacks; INT = Interceptions; PDef = Passes defended ; FF = Forced fumbles; FR = Forced recoveries| Pos. | Player | G | Solo | Ast | Total | TFL-Yds | Sack | INT | PDef | FF | FR |
| LB | Mike Taylor | 14 | 69 | 54 | 123 | 15.0-59 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| LB | Chris Borland | 12 | 56 | 48 | 104 | 10.0-40 | 4.5 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 3 |
| LB | Ethan Armstrong | 14 | 54 | 39 | 93 | 2.0-6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| S | Dezmen Southward | 14 | 44 | 25 | 69 | 8.0-18 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| CB | Marcus Cromartie | 14 | 38 | 24 | 62 | 0.0-0 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 1 | 0 |
| CB | Devin Smith | 14 | 35 | 22 | 57 | 1.0-4 | 1 | 4 | 17 | 1 | 0 |
| S | Shelton Johnson | 11 | 30 | 26 | 56 | 0.5-0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| DE | David Gilbert | 14 | 21 | 21 | 42 | 9.5-46 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| DT | Beau Allen | 14 | 18 | 19 | 37 | 7.5-31 | 2.5 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| DE | Brendon Kelly | 11 | 17 | 11 | 28 | 6.0-29 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| LB | Derek Landisch | 14 | 15 | 13 | 28 | 1.0-1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| DT | Ethan Hemer | 14 | 14 | 10 | 24 | 2.5-12 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| S | Michael Trotter | 13 | 14 | 10 | 24 | 1.0-8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| CB | Darius Hillary | 14 | 16 | 7 | 23 | 0.0-0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| DE | Tyler Dippel | 13 | 10 | 10 | 20 | 5.5-34 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| DE | Pat Muldoon | 11 | 9 | 7 | 16 | 5.5-18 | 2.5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| LB | Conor O'Neill | 14 | 10 | 5 | 15 | 0.0-0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| DT | Warren Herring | 14 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 1.0-6 | 0.5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| FB | Derek Watt | 14 | 10 | 3 | 13 | 0.0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| CB | Michael Caputo | 13 | 8 | 2 | 10 | 0.0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| DT | Bryce Gilbert | 13 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 0.0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| RB | Kyle Zulegar | 14 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 0.0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| WR | Lance Baretz | 12 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 0.0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| LB | Marcus Trotter | 4 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0.0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| DT | Konrad Zagezebski | 13 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0.0-0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| LB | Jake Keefer | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0.0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| CB | Deven Gaulden | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0.0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| LS | James McGuire | 14 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0.0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| CB | Jerry Ponio | 10 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0.0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| WR | Kenzel Doe | 14 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0.0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| DE | Jacob Ninneman | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| DE | James Adeyanju | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| CB | Peniel Jean | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.0-0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| WR | Jake Stengel | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| CB | Terrance Floyd | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| RB | Derek Straus | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| DE | Josh Harrison | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1.0-4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| G | Ryan Groy | 14 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| C | Travis Frederick | 14 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| TE | Jacob Pedersen | 14 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0.0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| RB | Melvin Gordon | 14 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| P | Drew Meyer | 14 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0.0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| RB | Montee Ball | 14 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0.0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Regular starters
| Position | Player |
| Quarterback | Joel Stave |
| Running Back | Montee Ball |
| Fullback | Derek Watt |
| Wide Receiver | Jared Abbrederis |
| Wide Receiver | Jordan Fredrick |
| Tight End | Jacob Pedersen Brian Wozniak |
| Left Tackle | Ricky Wagner |
| Left Guard | Ryan Groy |
| Center | Travis Frederick |
| Right Guard | Kyle Costigan |
| Right Tackle | Rob Havenstein |
| Position | Player |
| Defensive End | David Gilbert |
| Defensive Tackle | Beau Allen |
| Defensive Tackle | Ethan Hemer |
| Defensive End | Pat Muldoon |
| Outside Linebacker | Mike Taylor |
| Middle Linebacker | Chris Borland |
| Outside Linebacker | Ethan Armstrong |
| Cornerback | Devin Smith |
| Strong Safety | Dezmen Southward |
| Free Safety | Shelton Johnson |
| Cornerback | Marcus Cromartie |
2013 NFL Draft class
Signed undrafted free agents
- CB Marcus Cromartie, San Diego Chargers
- CB Devin Smith, Dallas Cowboys