No recruiting class works out perfectly. But the five-man linebacker group that Wisconsin signed in February 2005—shortly after Bret Bielema finished his first season as the Badgers' defensive coordinator—has turned out to be a grand-slam group.

Travis Beckum, the only four-star recruit (according to Rivals.com) of the crew, is a rookie tight end with the New York Giants who has played in every game. DeAndre Levy, a three-star recruit who started 39 games at outside linebacker for Wisconsin, owns 31 tackles and one interception as a part-time rookie starter for the Detroit Lions. Jonathan Casillas, a two-star recruit who started 34 games at outside linebacker for UW, plays special teams for the New Orleans Saints.

Elijah Hodge, a four-star recruit who started...]]> Tue, 03 Nov 2009 22:16:10 PST ncaaf urn:newsml:sports.yahoo,sportsxchange:20080101:ncaaf,article,teamreports-2009-ncaaf-wwo:1 No. 24 Wisconsin cracked the Top 25 this week and has a remaining schedule that sets up nicely for a strong push to the finish. The Badgers (6-2, 3-2 Big Ten) won four of their first five games by eight points or less and were the only FBS team to be undefeated and unranked a month ago. Losses to Ohio State and Iowa followed and took the luster off the fast start, but Wisconsin routed Purdue 37-0 on... Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:06:52 PST ncaaf urn:newsml:sports.yahoo,ap:20050301:ncaaf,article,ap-t25-wisconsin-fastfinish:1 AP

John Clay ran for 123 yards and three touchdowns and Wisconsin shut out a Big Ten opponent for the first time since 1999 to snap a two-game losing streak with a 37-0 victory over Purdue on Saturday. Freshman David Gilbert added a leaping blocked punt that was returned for a touchdown, putting an emphatic exclamation point on a dominant first half in the win that made the Badgers bowl-eligible for...