2016 The Top-10 Year

Wisconsin finished 2016 inside the final AP top-10. The top-10 is the tier the program calibrates annual expectation against.

Record 11-3
Final Result 11-win season
AP Final #8 post-bowls
SP+ +6.7 last-week
Era
The Shape — week-by-week · cumulative W–L below
W vs LSU 16-14 W vs Akron 54-10 W vs Geor Sta 23-17 W @ Mich St 30-6 L @ Michigan 7-14 L vs Ohio St 23-30 W @ Iowa 17-9 W vs Nebraska 23-17 W @ Northw 21-7 W vs Illinois 48-3 W @ Purdue 49-20 W vs Minnes 31-17 L @ Penn St 31-38 W vs West Mic 24-16 CFP

Who carried it

Season leaders, 2016.

Defining Moments
The Statement

The 2016 season's largest margin: Wisconsin 48, Illinois 3. A 45-point win — the year's high-water mark.

The Setback

The season's deepest loss: Wisconsin 7, Michigan 14. A 7-point margin the season is remembered by.

The Postseason

The season's last act: Wisconsin beat Western Michigan 24-16 in the postseason.

"On Wisconsin"
— Wisconsin fanbase voice · 2016· synthesized
What It Meant

2016 is a middle chapter for Wisconsin — neither a crown year nor a crisis. It is the kind of season that fills the ledger between the named ones and gives the arc its shape.