1983 Wisconsin Badgers football team

American college football season

1983 Wisconsin Badgers football
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Record7–4 (5–4 Big Ten)
Head coach
  • Dave McClain (6th season)
Offensive coordinatorBill Dudley (4th as OC; 6th overall season)
Offensive schemePro-style
Defensive coordinatorJim Hilles (6th season)
Base defense3–4
MVPAl Toon
CaptainMike Herrington
Brian Marrow
Randy Wright
Home stadiumCamp Randall Stadium
Seasons
← 1982
1984 →
1983 Big Ten Conference football standings
  • v
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 Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 10 Illinois $ 9 – 0 – 0 10 – 2 – 0
No. 8 Michigan 8 – 1 – 0 9 – 3 – 0
No. 14 Iowa 7 – 2 – 0 9 – 3 – 0
No. 9 Ohio State 6 – 3 – 0 9 – 3 – 0
Wisconsin 5 – 4 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
Purdue 3 – 5 – 1 3 – 7 – 1
Michigan State 2 – 6 – 1 4 – 6 – 1
Indiana 2 – 7 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
Northwestern 2 – 7 – 0 2 – 9 – 0
Minnesota 0 – 9 – 0 1 – 10 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1983 Wisconsin Badgers football team represented the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the 1983 NCAA Division I-A football season.

Schedule

DateOpponentSiteResultAttendance
September 10Northern Illinois*W 37–956,941
September 17Missouri*
  • Camp Randall Stadium
  • Madison, WI
W 21–2065,044
September 24No. 17 Michigan
  • Camp Randall Stadium
  • Madison, WI
L 21–3877,708
October 1at NorthwesternW 49–032,180
October 8No. 19 Illinois
  • Camp Randall Stadium
  • Madison, WI
L 15–2778,307
October 15at MinnesotaW 56–1762,689
October 22Indianadagger
  • Camp Randall Stadium
  • Madison, WI
W 45–1478,199
October 29at No. 16 Ohio StateL 27–4589,203
November 5No. 15 Iowa
  • Camp Randall Stadium
  • Madison, WI (rivalry)
L 14–3478,105
November 12at PurdueW 42–3858,342
November 19Michigan State
  • Camp Randall Stadium
  • Madison, WI
W 32–054,204
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[1]

Personnel

1983 Wisconsin Badgers football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
FB 23 Joe Armentrout  Fr
TE 85 Dave Arneson  Jr
OT 75 Kevin Belcher  Jr
FB 31 Brian Bonner Fr
FB 32 Kemal Carr Jr
OT 72 Jeff Dellenbach Jr
RB 41 Gary Ellerson Jr
RB 24 Larry Emery  Fr
WR 47 Steve Fritz Sr
C 54 David Gaatz Jr
FB 34 Marck Harrison  Jr
QB 7 Mike Howard  Fr
WR 4 Michael Jones Jr
QB 10 Bob Kobza Sr
G 66 Bob Landsee So
C 69 Jim Lick Sr
WR 20 Thad McFadden  Jr
OT 67 David Mielke Jr
TE 88 Jeff Nault  Jr
WR 22 Marvin Neal Sr
G 78 Chris Osswald  Jr
TE 86 Bret Pearson Jr
G 57 Bill Schick  So
RB 44 Bobby Taylor Fr
WR 87 Al Toon Jr
C 51 Dan Turk Jr
QB 12 Randy Wright (C) Sr
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
S 17 Richard Baxter  So
S 37 Russ Bellford Sr
DT 92 Scott Bergold  Jr
DT 63 Michael Boykins Fr
NT 68 Lance Branaman  Fr
LB 55 Russ Fields Jr
LB 96 Brad Grabow Jr
LB 99 Rick Graf  Fr
LB 64 Mike Herrington (C) Sr
CB 29 Richard Johnson Jr
LB 95 Tim Jordan Injured So
LB 39 Joe Kelich Sr
DT 54 Jim Kmet  Fr
CB 15 Brian Marrow (C) Sr
LB 33 James Melka  Jr
NT 89 Brad Pierce  Jr
LB 28 Art Price  Jr
LB 53 Craig Raddatz  Fr
LB 52 Michael Reid  Fr
DT 62 Kurt Schlicht  Fr
DT 60 Darryl Sims (I) Jr
S 3 Ken Stills Jr
S 2 Averick Walker Jr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
K 6 Wendell Gladem Sr
K 11 Kevin Rohde Sr
P 5 George Winslow So
Head coach
  • Dave McClain
Coordinators/assistant coaches
  • Bill Dudley – Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks and Running Backs
  • Jim Hilles – Defensive Coordinator/Inside Linebackers
  • Dave Anderson – Outside Linebackers
  • Chuck Heater – Defensive Backs
  • Fred Jackson – Wide Receivers
  • Arnold Jeter – Defensive Line
  • Ron McBride – Offensive Line Tight Side/Tight Ends
  • Mario Russo – Offensive Line Split Side/Special Teams
  • Jerry Fishbain – Recruiting Coordinator
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

Game summaries

Michigan

Week 3: Michigan at Wisconsin
1 234Total
• Michigan 7 15106 38
Wisconsin 7 0014 21
  • Date: September 24
  • Location: Madison, WI
  • Game attendance: 77,708
Scoring summary
111:41WISGary Ellerson 9-yard run (Rohde kick)WIS 7–0
11:50MICHRick Rogers 2-yard run (Todd Schlopy kick)TIE 7–7
2MICHRogers 9-yard run (kick failed)MICH 13–7
2MICHBob Bergeron 41-yard field goalMICH 16–7
21:13MICHSim Nelson 7-yard pass from Steve Smith (Smith run failed)MICH 22–7
36:53MICHBergeron 37-yard field goalMICH 25–7
3MICHDan Rice 5-yard run (Bergeron kick)MICH 32–7
412:17WISMarck Harrison 2-yard pass from Randy Wright (Rohde kick)MICH 32–14
47:35WISMike Jones 32-yard pass from Wright (Rohde kick)MICH 32–21
4MICHBrian Mercer 11-yard run (kick by Bergeron blocked)MICH 38–21

On September 24, 1983, Wisconsin lost to Michigan, 38–21, before a crowd of 77,708 at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin.[2]

At Northwestern

1 234Total
• Wisconsin 7 141414 49
Northwestern 0 000 0
  • Source: [1]
Scoring summary
1WISHarrison 1-yard run (Rohde kick)WIS 7-0
2WISEllerson 8-yard run (Rohde kick)WIS 14-0
2WISMcFadden 22-yard pass from Wright (Rohde kick)WIS 21-0
3WISArmentrout 58-yard run (Rohde kick)WIS 28-0
3WISToon 7-yard pass from Wright (Rohde kick)WIS 35-0
4WISArmentrout 7-yard run (Rohde kick)WIS 42-0
4WISEmery 15-yard run (Rohde kick)WIS 49-0

At Ohio State

Wisconsin Badgers (5–2) at #16 Ohio State Buckeyes (5–2)
Period 1 2 34Total
Wisconsin 14 7 6027
Ohio St 7 21 10745

at Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio

  • Date: October 29, 1983
  • Game time: 1:30 p.m. EDT
  • Game weather: Clear, 55 °F (13 °C)
  • Game attendance: 89,203
  • Referee: Jim Kemerling
  • Box Score
Game information

First quarter

  • WIS – Gary Ellerson 2-yard run (Kevin Rohde kick), 11:34. Wisconsin 7–0.
  • OSU – Thad Jemison 19-yard pass from Mike Tomczak (Rich Spangler kick), 5:25. Tie 7–7.
  • WIS – Thad McFadden 20-yard pass from Randy Wright (Kevin Rohde kick), 2:50. Wisconsin 14–7.

Second quarter

  • OSU – Mike Tomczak 28-yard run (Rich Spangler kick), 13:19. Tie 14–14.
  • OSU – Keith Byars 13-yard run (Rich Spangler kick), 7:16. Ohio St 21–14.
  • OSU – Vaughn Broadnax 1-yard run (Rich Spangler kick), 2:07. Ohio St 28–14.
  • WIS – Nick Toon 22-yard pass from Randy Wright (Kevin Rohde kick), 0:57. Ohio St 28–21.

Third quarter

  • WIS – Brett Pearson 7-yard pass from Randy Wright (kick failed), 11:36. Ohio St 28–27.
  • OSU – Rich Spangler 36-yard field goal, 4:41. Ohio St 31–27.
  • OSU – Keith Byars 3-yard run (Rich Spangler kick), 1:36. Ohio St 38–27.

Fourth quarter

  • OSU – Roman Bates 14-yard run (Rich Spangler kick), 12:48. Ohio St 45–27.
Top passers
Top rushers
  • WIS – Joe Armentrout – 10 rushes, 40 yards
  • OSU – Keith Byars – 29 rushes, 174 yards, 2 TD
Top receivers
  • WIS – Thad McFadden – 3 receptions, 108 yards, TD
  • OSU – Cedric Anderson – 4 receptions, 70 yards

[3]

External videos
video icon Game highlights

At Purdue

Wisconsin Badgers (5–4) at Purdue Boilermakers (2–6–1)
Period 1 2 34Total
Wisconsin 7 14 71442
Purdue 3 20 01538

at Ross–Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, Indiana

  • Date: November 12, 1983
  • Game attendance: 58,342
  • [4]
Game information

First quarter

  • WIS – Gary Ellerson 2-yard run (Kevin Rodhe kick). Wisconsin 7–0.
  • PUR – Tim Clark 20-yard field goal. Wisconsin 7–3.

Second quarter

  • WIS – Randy Wright 1-yard run (Kevin Rohde kick). Wisconsin 14–3.
  • PUR – Cliff Benson 18-yard pass from Scott Campbell (Tim Clark kick). Wisconsin 14–10.
  • PUR – Cliff Benson 1-yard pass from Scott Campbell (Tim Clark kick). Purdue 17–14.
  • WIS – Al Toon 73-yard pass from Randy Wright (Kevin Rohde kick). Wisconsin 21–17.
  • PUR – Lloyd Hawthorne 1-yard run (kick failed). Purdue 23–21.

Third quarter

  • WIS – Randy Wright 2-yard run (Kevin Rohde kick). Wisconsin 28–23.

Fourth quarter

  • PUR – Bruce King 17-yard run (pass good). Purdue 31–28.
  • WIS – Randy Wright 8-yard run (Kevin Rohde kick). Wisconsin 35–31.
  • PUR – Lloyd Hawthorne 3-yard run (Tim Clark kick), 2:35. Purdue 38–35.
  • WIS – Brett Pearson 13-yard pass from Randy Wright (Kevin Rohde kick), 0:32. Wisconsin 42–35.
Top passers
  • WIS – Randy Wright – 16/33, 317 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT
  • PUR – Scott Campbell – 17/30, 181 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT
Top rushers
  • WIS – Gary Ellerson – 21 rushes, 93 yards, TD
  • PUR – Mel Gray – 24 rushes, 106 yards
Top receivers
  • WIS – Al Toon – 8 receptions, 252 yards, TD
  • PUR – Jeff Price – 3 receptions, 66 yards

External videos
video icon Game film (no sound)

1984 NFL Draft

Player Position Round Pick NFL club
Randy Wright Quarterback 6 153 Green Bay Packers

[5]

References

  1. ^ "Wisconsin Badgers Index". sports-reference.com. Retrieved July 28, 2011.
  2. ^ Joe Lapointe (September 25, 1983). "U-M outlasts Badger rally". Detroit Free Press. pp. 1H, 9H – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ Gainesville Sun. 1983 Oct 30.
  4. ^ Gainesville Sun. 1983 Nov 13. Retrieved 2022-Nov-25.
  5. ^ "1984 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on December 21, 2007.
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