Wisconsin hoping
for happier ending

Coach Barry Alvarez heads into his last season with Wisconsin hoping for a much better end to the schedule than the previous campaign, when the Badgers started out 8-0 and ranked No. 4 only to lose to Michigan State, Iowa, and then Georgia in the Outback Bowl.

The Big Ten championship and a national title shot at the Rose Bowl may be too much to ask for from this team, considering it lost most of its top players. There is an influx of new talent joining a small but solid core of returnees that could help keep the Badgers in the upper echelon of the league, though.

Junior tailback Brian Calhoun, a transfer from Colorado, has been compared to USC's Reggie Bush because of his all-around proficiency with the ball.

Calhoun will run behind a line led by senior center Donovan Raiola, a 6-foot-3, 294-pound Kamehameha graduate. Left tackle Joe Thomas (6-8, 303) is also a huge force.

If that's not enough, fullback Matt Bernstein (6-2, 266) can take care of any leftover linebackers going through the hole ahead of Calhoun. Bernstein is also more than capable of churning out yardage himself. He rumbled for 300 yards on 83 carries last season.

Junior John Stocco returns to start at quarterback, and hopes to improve on his 9-7 touchdown-to-interception rate.

Senior wide receiver Brandon Williams had 42 catches for 517 yards last year, both team-highs, and looked good in fall camp. Williams is also the primary kick and punt returner.

Jonathan Orr, another senior, is at the other wideout. Three of his 13 catches went for touchdowns last fall. Owen Daniels (6-3, 247) is a good pass-catching tight end.

On defense, Wisconsin is inexperienced up front and in the secondary.

Nick Hayden, a 6-foot-5, 302-pound space-eater is expected to anchor an all new front four as one of the tackles. A second-year freshman, Jason Chapman (6-4, 280), replaces injured Justin Ostrowski at the other tackle. Sophomore Jamal Cooper (6-4, 217) and junior Joe Monty (6-2, 250) are also new starters at the ends.

Junior linebacker Mark Zalewski moved to the middle. He was in on 55 stops last season. Senior Dontez Sanders, the leading tackler last season with 76, returns at weakside.

Senior cornerback Brett Bell (6-0, 200), the lone returning starter in the secondary, is iffy coming off of ACL surgery.

True freshman defensive back Shane Carter is the half brother of former NFL star and ex-Hawaii and NBA basketball player Butch Carter. He is talented and could play right away in pass-defense packages.

Sophomore safety James Kamoku from Kealakehe High School played in spots in 11 games as a freshman and could be seeing more significant downs by the time Wisconsin visits Hawaii on Nov. 25.

Sophomore Taylor Mehlhaff appears to be the new kicker, and Ken DeBauche is back to punt after an impressive freshman season (41.7 yards per kick).

Wisconsin Badgers Basic Offense: Pro set Basic Defense: Multiple 2004 Record: 9-3 (6-2 Big Ten) Starters Returning: 11 Head coach: Barry Alvarez (108-70-4) 2004 Results Date Opponent Result Sept. 4 Central Florida W, 34-6 Sept. 11 UNLV W, 18-3 Sept. 18 Arizona W, 9-7 Sept. 25 Penn State W, 16-3 Oct. 2 Illinois W, 24-7 Oct. 9 Ohio State W, 24-13 Oct. 16 Purdue W, 20-17 Oct. 23 Northwestern W, 24-12 Nov. 6 Minnesota W, 38-14 Nov. 13 Michigan State L, 49-14 Nov. 20 Iowa L, 30-7 Jan. 1 Georgia L, 24-21 2005 Schedule Date Opponent Sept. 3 Bowling Green Sept. 10 Temple Sept. 17 at North Carolina Sept. 24 Michigan Oct. 1 Indiana Oct. 8 at Northwestern Oct. 15 at Minnesota Oct. 22 Purdue Oct. 29 at Illinois Nov. 5 at Penn State Nov. 12 Iowa Nov. 25 AT HAWAII