Like many teams in this wild and wacky college football season, things didn't exactly go as planned for the Wisconsin Badgers or their starting junior fullback, Chris Pressley.

The Badgers were coming off a 12-1 season where they finished tied for second in the Big Ten and ranked No. 7 in the year-end Associated Press top-25 poll. Everything looked in order for Wisconsin to contend in 2007 for its first Big Ten title since 1999.

Then came a 31-26 loss at Illinois on Oct. 6 that severely hampered their Big Ten title hopes. As the Badgers were preparing for what was sure to be a tough contest at Penn State, tragedy struck Pressley in a deadly one-two punch.

Both his uncle and his grandmother died at the same time, causing Pressley to leave the team to attend their dual funeral back in Camden, N.J. While he was home, Pressley's brother was attacked and stabbed multiple times in the leg, neck and chest.

But with his brother in intensive care and on life support, Pressley returned to the team in time for the Penn State game, which the Badgers lost 38-7.

Unfortunately for Pressley, coping with death was nothing new for him.

"That that kind of stuff happens all the time to me. I go home, and different things are always going on," said Pressley. "That one was publicized because I had to travel home for the funeral. Some funerals I haven't been able to attend. I have had other family members that have died and friends that have passed on that I was close to, but you just can't leave every month to go home just because things like that happen."

Pressley wasn't happy with how much play his tragedy got in the papers around Madison. It made for easy double entendre headlines like, "Pressley Runs Through Personal Tragedy," and he didn't want any extra attention because playing through personal loss was a routine experience for him.

"I have been dealing with things like that all the time," said Pressley. "But it was a thing where we had lost some games, and I had lost some family, and there were some different things going on, so, that felt kind of blended in with the message that they were trying to get across, the media."

Pressley said his brother is doing "much better" and is now walking on crutches.

Following the crushing loss to Penn State, the Badgers' Big Ten title hopes were over and they fell out of the national rankings. Then, in their next game against Indiana, the starting tailback P.J. Hill suffered a severe bruise to his lower leg over an area where he had a plate surgically installed after breaking his leg in 2005.

The injury caused Hill, who led the Big Ten in rushing in 2006, to sit out 13 of the team's last 15 quarters of the regular season. While the loss was Hill hampered the Badgers, the team found new life in the legs of freshman running back Zach Brown.

With Pressley leading the way, Brown rushed for 108 yards on 27 carries in Wisconsin's 37-21 upset over No. 12 Michigan. Brown then busted out for 250 yards in a 41-34 win at Minnesota to close out the regular season with a 9-3 overall record and 5-3 in the Big Ten.

The wins secured a New Years Day Outback Bowl bid against No. 16 Tennessee and returned the Badgers to the national ranks at No. 18. Wisconsin lost the game 21-17.

Brown credited Pressley with being a big reason for his success.

"I love playing with Chris Pressley. He has such a big love for the game and he is a smart player," said Brown. "He brings so much intensity and energy to the game, you have no choice but to just jump on his back and follow him wherever he goes. That's a big part of the success that I have been having, with him teaching me and showing me where to go and what things are going to look like in certain situations."

Wisconsin has been a traditionally strong running team throughout the years, and its 2007 record shows that how the run goes, so goes the Badgers. They were held to a total of 236 yards on the ground in their three losses, but averaged 201.5 yards rushing per game in the regular season.

Pressley said he and the team recognize how vital it will be to establish a solid running attack next season.

"We realize the importance of it, because we saw what happened in those games that we couldn't get it started," said Pressley. "You're backed up, and you can't get it started. The kind of team we are, it's not going to work. So that's where the emphasis is in practice."

It appears that the Badgers running attack is in good shape heading into 2008. With Hill and Pressley only juniors, the discovery of Brown's explosiveness, and sophomore Lance Smith-Williams -- who contributed 406 yards and a 6.2 average yards per carry in the regular season -- the Badgers are primed to have a potent running attack next year.

"Hey, we're loaded at this position," said Pressley. "But now we need to work to get the maximum so all this work pays off so next year our team could just depend on us in a way that we could say, 'Look, we're going to go in there and never pass. We're just going to run every play.' That's the kind of mentality we have to have as a group. And next year will speak for itself."