The 1982 Wisconsin Badgers football team represented the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the 1982 Big Ten Conference football season. Led by fifth-year head coach Dave McClain, the Badgers compiled an overall record of 7–5 with a mark of 5–4 in conference play, placing fifth in the Big Ten. Wisconsin was invited to the Independence Bowl, where the Badgers defeated Kansas State. The team played home games at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin.

The Badgers won the program's first bowl game after losing the previous four. The game was the first live college football game televised by ESPN.

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 11	at No. 12 Michigan	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI	L 9–20	104,932	[1]
September 18	No. 14 UCLA*	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	L 26–51	77,974	[2]
September 25	Toledo*	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	W 36–27	73,713	[3]
October 2	at Purdue	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	W 35–31	69,132	[4]
October 9	at Ohio State	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	W 6–0	88,234	[5]
October 16	Michigan State	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	W 24–23	78,187	[6]
October 23	Illinois	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	L 28–29	78,406	[7]
October 30	Northwestern	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	W 54–20	64,388	[8]
November 6	Indiana	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	L 17–20	65,355	[9]
November 13	at Iowa	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA (rivalry)	L 14–28	58,500	[10]
November 20	Minnesota	Madison, WI (Paul Bunyan's Axe; rivalry)	W 24–0	59,792	[11]
December 11	vs. Kansas State*	Independence Stadium Shreveport, LA (Independence Bowl)	W 14–3	49,523	[12]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

During the opening series, the Ohio State Buckeyes marched the length of the field to the Wisconsin 8 yard line only to watch freshman Rich Spangler miss a 25-yard field goal attempt. Wisconsin responded by driving 80 yards in 14 plays for the only score of the game when Badger tailback John Williams ran the ball from the 1 yard line for the touchdown. Mark Doran's conversion attempt was blocked by Buckeye defensive tackle Jerome Foster. Key plays in the scoring drive included the following: a 15-yard run by Chucky Davis, a 12-yard run by David Keeling, and three passes from quarterback Randy Wright to Tim Stracka, Jeff Nault, and Al Toon, the last pass covering 12 yards to the Ohio State 1. Early in the second quarter, the Buckeyes moved the ball to the Wisconsin 33 only to have Spangler's 50 yard field goal attempt bounce off the crossbar. The Badgers were offside on the play. Spangler's second attempt of 45 yards then sailed wide to the left. Midway through the third quarter, the Badger offense stalled on the Ohio State 13 where Doran missed a 30-yard field goal attempt. The Buckeyes were unable to stop the Badger running backs during the final eight 8 minutes of the game resulting in a Badger shutout.

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1982 Wisconsin Badgers football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class TE 85 Dave Arneson So OT 75 Kevin Belcher  So OT 70 Bob Budde Sr QB 10 Jess Cole Jr RB 23 Chucky Davis Jr OT 72 Jeff Dellenbach So FB 41 Gary Ellerson So RB 24 Larry Emery Fr FB 36 Gerald Green Sr FB 34 Marck Harrison  So WR 82 Michael Jones So WR 48 David Keeling So G 66 Bob Landsee So QB 14 John Lonchar So WR 20 Thad McFadden (I) Jr TE 88 Jeff Nault Sr WR 22 Marvin Neal Sr TE 86 Bret Pearson Jr G 52 Pete Severson Sr OT 60 Brian Smith Sr WR 42 Tim Stracka Sr G 53 Mark Subach Sr OT 73 Melvin Terrell  So WR 87 Al Toon So C 58 Ron Versnik Sr RB 1 John Williams (C) Sr OT 79 Bob Winckler Sr QB 12 Randy Wright  Jr	Defense Pos. # Name Class CB 26 Brett Armstrong Jr CB 17 Richard Baxter  Fr DT 92 Scott Bergold  So LB 97 Tom Booker  Jr LB 32 Kyle Borland Sr LB 96 Brad Grabow So LB 99 Rick Graf Fr S/P 31 David Greenwood Sr LB 64 Mike Herrington  Jr CB 29 Richard Johnson So LB 95 Tim Jordan So S 13 John Josten  Sr LB 39 Joe Kelich Jr NT 50 Tim Krumrie (C) Sr LB 77 Wally Malone  Jr CB 15 Brian Marrow Jr LB 33 James Melka  So LB 44 Jody O'Donnell Sr DT 78 Chris Osswald   So LB 76 Mark Shumate Sr CB 9 Clint Sims Sr DT 60 Darryl Sims So CB 21 Mike Stassi Sr S 27 Vaughn Thomas Sr S 39 Matt Vanden Boom (C) Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 24 Mark Doran Jr K 6 Wendell Gladem Jr K 3 Pat Hady Sr K 11 Kevin Rohde Jr P 5 George Winslow Fr	Head coach Dave McClain Coordinators/assistant coaches Bill Dudley – Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks and receivers Jim Hilles – Defensive coordinator/linebackers Chuck Heater – Defensive backs Arnold Jeter – Defensive line Cliff Knox – Running backs Mike Nelson – Defensive ends Mario Russo – Centers and guards/special teams Dick Scesniak – Tackles and tight ends Jerry Fishbain – Recruiting coordinator Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

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