| Year: | 2018 |
| Team: | Wisconsin Badgers |
| Sport: | football |
| Conference: | Big Ten Conference |
| Division: | West Division |
| Short Conf: | Big Ten |
| Record: | 8–5 |
| Conf Record: | 5–4 |
| Head Coach: | Paul Chryst |
| Hc Year: | 4th |
| Off Coach: | Joe Rudolph |
| Oc Year: | 4th |
| Off Scheme: | Pro-style |
| Def Coach: | Jim Leonhard |
| Dc Year: | 2nd |
| Def Scheme: | 3–4 |
| Mvp: | Jonathan Taylor |
| Captain: | Ryan Connelly Michael Deiter D'Cota Dixon T. J. Edwards Alex Hornibrook Alec Ingold |
| Stadium: | Camp Randall Stadium |
| Bowl: | Pinstripe Bowl |
| Bowl Result: | W 35–3 vs. Miami (FL) |
| Champion: | Pinstripe Bowl champion |
The 2018 Wisconsin Badgers football team represented University of Wisconsin–Madison in the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Badgers were led by fourth 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.
Returning many key players from their Orange Bowl-winning 2017 team, the 2018 team was expected to compete for a Big Ten title and a spot in the College Football Playoff. They were ranked fourth in the pre-season AP Poll, tied for the highest start in school history.[1] In the third game of the year, the Badgers were upset by unranked BYU. Wisconsin ultimately lost four more games during the season, including a loss to rival Minnesota that snapped a Wisconsin 14-game winning streak in the series dating back to 2004. The Badgers were 5–4 in Big Ten play to finish in a three-way tie for second place in the West Division. They were invited to the Pinstripe Bowl to play Miami (FL) in a rematch of the 2017 Orange Bowl, where they defeated the Hurricanes once again to finish the season at 8–5.
The Badgers were led offensively by sophomore running back Jonathan Taylor, who led FBS in both rushing yards (2,194) and rushing attempts (307), and was awarded the Doak Walker Award as the nation's top running back.[2] He became the third Badger player to eclipse the 2,000 yard mark in a single season after Ron Dayne and Melvin Gordon.[3] Taylor was named a consensus first-team All-American, as was offensive lineman Beau Benzschawel. Four members of the offensive line received first-team all-conference honors: Benzschawel, Tyler Biadasz, Michael Deiter, and David Edwards. Quarterback Alex Hornibrook led the team in passing with 1,532 yards and 13 touchdown passes.
See also: 2018 NFL draft.
| 4 | 110 | Oakland Raiders | Nick Nelson | CB |
| 5 | 156 | Denver Broncos | Troy Fumagalli | TE |
| 5 | 164 | New Orleans Saints | Natrell Jamerson | S |
| 6 | 202 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Jack Cichy | LB |
| 7 | 230 | Jacksonville Jaguars | Leon Jacobs | OLB |
The Badgers signed a total of 20 recruits.
| Lott Trophy[4] | T. J. Edwards | LB | SR | |
| Chuck Bednarik Award[5] | T. J. Edwards | LB | SR | |
| D'Cota Dixon | S | SR | ||
| Maxwell Award[6] | Jonathan Taylor | RB | SO | |
| Davey O'Brien Award[7] | Alex Hornibrook | QB | JR | |
| Doak Walker Award[8] | Jonathan Taylor | RB | SO | |
| John Mackey Award[9] | Zander Neuville | TE | SR | |
| Kyle Penniston | TE | JR | ||
| Butkus Award[10] | Ryan Connelly | LB | SR | |
| T. J. Edwards | LB | JR | ||
| Andrew Van Ginkel | LB | JR | ||
| Jim Thorpe Award[11] | D'Cota Dixon | S | SR | |
| Bronko Nagurski Trophy[12] | D'Cota Dixon | S | SR | |
| T. J. Edwards | LB | SR | ||
| Olive Sagapolu | DT | SR | ||
| Outland Trophy[13] | Beau Benzschawel | OL | SR | |
| Tyler Biadasz | OL | SO | ||
| Michael Deiter | OL | SR | ||
| David Edwards | OL | JR | ||
| Olive Sagapolu | DT | SR | ||
| Lou Groza Award[14] | Rafael Gaglianone | K | SR | |
| Ray Guy Award[15] | Anthony Lotti | P | JR | |
| Wuerffel Trophy[16] | D'Cota Dixon | S | SR | |
| Walter Camp Award[17] | T. J. Edwards | LB | SR | |
| Jonathan Taylor | RB | SO | ||
| Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award[18] | Alex Hornibrook | QB | JR | |
| Manning Award[19] | Alex Hornibrook | QB | JR |
Wisconsin's 2018 schedule consisted of 7 home and 5 away games in the regular season. The Badgers hosted Big Ten opponents Nebraska, Illinois, Rutgers, and Minnesota and traveled to Iowa, Michigan, Northwestern, and Penn State, and Purdue.[20]
The team's three non–conference games were against the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers from Conference USA (C-USA), New Mexico Lobos from the Mountain West Conference (MWC), and the BYU Cougars, who compete independently in football.
Schedule Source:[21]
| Back | B | Center | C | Cornerback | CB | Defensive back | DB | |||
| Defensive end | DE | Defensive lineman | DL | Defensive tackle | DT | End | E | |||
| Fullback | FB | Guard | G | Halfback | HB | Kicker | K | |||
| Kickoff returner | KR | Offensive tackle | OT | Offensive lineman | OL | Linebacker | LB | |||
| Long snapper | LS | Punter | P | Punt returner | PR | Quarterback | QB | |||
| Running back | RB | Safety | S | Tight end | TE | Wide receiver | WR |
See also: 2018 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football team.
See also: 2018 New Mexico Lobos football team.
See also: 2018 BYU Cougars football team.
See also: 2018 Iowa Hawkeyes football team.
See also: 2018 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team.
See also: 2018 Michigan Wolverines football team.
See also: 2018 Illinois Fighting Illini football team.
See also: 2018 Northwestern Wildcats football team.
See also: 2018 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team.
See also: 2018 Penn State Nittany Lions football team.
See also: 2018 Purdue Boilermakers football team.
See also: 2018 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team.
See also: 2018 Miami Hurricanes football team and 2018 Pinstripe Bowl.
| Jake Wood | Dungy - Thompson Humanitarian Award | [22] | |
| Jonathan Taylor | Doak Walker Award Ameche - Dayne Running Back of the Year | [23] | |
| Michael Deiter | Rimington - Pace Offensive Lineman of the Year |
| Jonathan Taylor | RB | 1 | 1 | ||
| Tyler Biadasz | C | 1 | 1 | ||
| Michael Deiter | OG | 1 | 1 | ||
| Beau Benzschawel | OG | 1 | 1 | ||
| David Edwards | OT | 2 | 1 | ||
| T. J. Edwards | LB | 2 | 1 | ||
| D'Cota Dixon | DB | 3 | 3 | ||
| Ryan Connelly | LB | 3 | data-sort-value="4" | Hon. | |
| Jake Ferguson | TE | data-sort-value="4" | Hon. | data-sort-value="4" | Hon. |
| Rafael Gaglianone | K | data-sort-value="4" | Hon. | data-sort-value="5" | - |
| Andrew Van Ginkel | LB | data-sort-value="5" | - | data-sort-value="4" | Hon. |
| Hon. = Honorable mention. Reference: | |||||
See also: 2019 NFL draft.
| 3 | 78 | G | Miami Dolphins | ||
| 5 | 143 | LB | New York Giants | ||
| 5 | 151 | LB | Miami Dolphins | ||
| 5 | 169 | OL | Los Angeles Rams |