1983 Wisconsin Badgers football
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	7–4 (5–4 Big Ten)
Head coach	Dave McClain (6th season)
Offensive coordinator	Bill Dudley (4th as OC; 6th overall season)
Offensive scheme	Pro-style
Defensive coordinator	Jim Hilles (6th season)
Base defense	3–4
MVP	Al Toon
Captain	Mike Herrington Brian Marrow Randy Wright
Home stadium	Camp Randall Stadium
Seasons ← 1982 1984 →

1983 Big Ten Conference football standings
v t e	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

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance
September 10	Northern Illinois*	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	W 37–9	56,941
September 17	Missouri*	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	W 21–20	65,044
September 24	No. 17 Michigan	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	L 21–38	77,708
October 1	at Northwestern	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL	W 49–0	32,180
October 8	No. 19 Illinois	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	L 15–27	78,307
October 15	at Minnesota	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Minneapolis, MN (Paul Bunyan's Axe)	W 56–17	62,689
October 22	Indiana	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	W 45–14	78,199
October 29	at No. 16 Ohio State	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	L 27–45	89,203
November 5	No. 15 Iowa	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI (rivalry)	L 14–34	78,105
November 12	at Purdue	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	W 42–38	58,342
November 19	Michigan State	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	W 32–0	54,204
*Non-conference game Homecoming 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	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
Redshirt

Game summaries

Michigan

Week 3: Michigan at Wisconsin

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Michigan	7	15	10	6	38
Wisconsin	7	0	0	14	21

Date: September 24
Location: Madison, WI
Game attendance: 77,708

Scoring summary

1	11:41	WIS	Gary Ellerson 9-yard run (Rohde kick)	WIS 7–0

1	1:50	MICH	Rick Rogers 2-yard run (Todd Schlopy kick)	TIE 7–7

2		MICH	Rogers 9-yard run (kick failed)	MICH 13–7

2		MICH	Bob Bergeron 41-yard field goal	MICH 16–7

2	1:13	MICH	Sim Nelson 7-yard pass from Steve Smith (Smith run failed)	MICH 22–7

3	6:53	MICH	Bergeron 37-yard field goal	MICH 25–7

3		MICH	Dan Rice 5-yard run (Bergeron kick)	MICH 32–7

4	12:17	WIS	Marck Harrison 2-yard pass from Randy Wright (Rohde kick)	MICH 32–14

4	7:35	WIS	Mike Jones 32-yard pass from Wright (Rohde kick)	MICH 32–21

4		MICH	Brian 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	2	3	4	Total
• Wisconsin	7	14	14	14	49
Northwestern	0	0	0	0	0

Date: October 1
Location: Dyche Stadium, Evanston, IL

Source: [1]

Scoring summary

1	WIS	Harrison 1-yard run (Rohde kick)	WIS 7-0

2	WIS	Ellerson 8-yard run (Rohde kick)	WIS 14-0

2	WIS	McFadden 22-yard pass from Wright (Rohde kick)	WIS 21-0

3	WIS	Armentrout 58-yard run (Rohde kick)	WIS 28-0

3	WIS	Toon 7-yard pass from Wright (Rohde kick)	WIS 35-0

4	WIS	Armentrout 7-yard run (Rohde kick)	WIS 42-0

4	WIS	Emery 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	3	4	Total
Wisconsin	14	7	6	0	27
Ohio St	7	21	10	7	45

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

WIS – Randy Wright – 23/39, 319 yards, 3 TD, 4 INT
OSU – Mike Tomczak – 12/14, 162 yards, TD

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
Game highlights

At Purdue

Wisconsin Badgers (5–4) at Purdue Boilermakers (2–6–1)

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Wisconsin	7	14	7	14	42
Purdue	3	20	0	15	38

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
Game film (no sound)

1984 NFL Draft

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

^[5]

References

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

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