Gameday (Michigan State) - Saturday, October 12, 2019 - The Daily Cardinal

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Wisconsin vs. Michigan State

GAMEDAY

Jonathan Taylor is breaking through his Hiesman competition one game at a time pg. 4

ILLUSTRATION BY NATHAN DENZIN/THE DAILY CARDINAL PHOTO BY CAMERON LANE-FLEHINGER/THE DAILY CARDINAL

“…the great state University of Wisconsin should ever encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be found.”

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Michigan State Outlook

Michigan State looks to play spoiler as Badgers continue to dominate foes

By Jake Goldsmith THE DAILY CARDINAL

Michigan State has had a very up and down season to this point to say the least.

They started off the season with two dominant performances against Tulsa and Western Michigan, combing for 79 points, boosting their ranking to No. 18.

Week three however, was not as successful.

They lost a defensive battle against unranked Arizona State 10-7 and dropped out of the AP Top 25.

They were able to pick back up their early season form and win convincingly against Northwestern and Indiana, combining for 71 points in weeks four and five.

After those impressive offensive performances the Spartans were able to squeak back in to the national rankings, at No. 25.

Last week the Spartans played another conference rival in then No. 4 Ohio State.

They managed to keep it competitive but ultimately weren’t able to win.

Sparty got off to a bad start with two consecutive fumbles on the first two drives.

The defense actually did an impressive job keeping the Spartans in the game against the

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The Badgers defense will have to step up against the Spartans, who boast the top passer in the Big Ten, in order to keep the Badgers perfect record and chance at the College Football Playoff in tact. explosive Buckeye offense despite the two early turnovers.

As the game progressed the Spartans were never quite able to get the offense rhythm that Ohio State developed, and eventually the Spartans defense broke down, leading to an Ohio State blowout.

The Spartan defense is led by two seniors; Defensive end Kenny Willekes, who leads the team with

four sacks, and linebacker Joe Bachie who leads with 57 tackles.

The unit has had its moments where they seem like a top defense (i.e. the start of the Ohio State game.)

They are very strong at getting takeaways with 7 interceptions and 5 fumbles already on the year and only give up about 100 rushing yards-per-game and 200 passing.

Their biggest problem has been maintaining that level throughout an entire game, as they often end up giving up more points in the second half.

Due to the high number of takeaways the defense gets, the offense has had a lot of time on the field.

Senior quarterback Brian Lewerke leads the Big Ten in passing attempts, completions, and

passing yards in part because of all the added time.

Additionally, running back redshirt freshman Elijah Collins is fourth in both rushing attempts and rushing yards in the Big Ten. Despite having leaders in two important categories, the team as a whole finds themselves in tenth place in scoring in the Big Ten. Wisconsin will want to come into this game being careful with the ball on offense as the Spartans have gotten many opportunities from other teams through turnovers.

Another thing Wisconsin will want to develop is a strong passing game, as Michigan State has given up a lot more passing yards than rushing. Plus, Michigan State will be expecting the Badgers to be running all afternoon with heisman hopeful Johnathon Taylor in the backfield.

Michigan State has the potential to plunge the Big Ten and to an extent college football into chaos this weekend if they beat Wisconsin.

They have shown they can be a capable team at times, and have a pesky habit of upsetting top ranked teams.

If the Badgers are to win Saturday, they will need to hope for great execution by the entire team.

Hiesman Watch

Taylor starting to gain more Heisman hype after big game

By Cole Wozniak THE DAILY CARDINAL

Since 2010, nine of the 10 Heisman Trophy winners have been quarterbacks.

This year high-profile transfer quarterbacks like Justin Fields and Jalen Hurts, as well as the amazing talent of a certain Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback were dominating Heisman Trophy conversation in the preseason.

Another year where only quarterbacks are considered for the trophy, and all other 21 positions are left behind.

One person who showed last weekend that they had a problem with this trend?

None other than the University of Wisconsin’s running back Jonathan Taylor.

After a monster game where he racked up 186 yards rushing along with four touchdowns, as well as another 29 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown, he showed why he should be considered the best player in college football; and maybe even the best running back in college football history.

After tying the school record for most touchdowns in a single game at five, he also passed Melvin Gordon in most career rushing yards, and is now in third place behind two

Wisconsin legends Montee Ball and Ron Dayne.

However, he is still not getting the attention he deserves nationally. Due in part becuase of those pesky quarterbacks.

Quarterbacks like Tua Tagovailoa and Jalen Hurts are still the favorites to win the Hiesman through six weeks, as they are having monster seasons in their own right.

Tagovailoa, right now, has 23 total passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns, all without any interceptions.

Hurts is likewise having a monster season with Heisman Trophy kingmaker and Oklahoma Sooners head coach Lincoln Reilly, with 14 touchdowns through the air, seven touchdowns on the ground, and statistically leading the best scoring offense in the country.

Joe Burrow, the LSU Tigers quarterback, has 26 total touchdowns and is lighting up opposing defenses on the field.

But, let’s consider for a moment Ron Dayne and his infamous 1999 season where he was one of the most undisputed Heisman Trophy winners in college football history.

When you compare Dayne’s total yards and touchdowns at this point in the season where Taylor is now, Taylor actually

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Jonathan Taylor tied a UW-Madison school record against Kent State last weekend with five (!) total scores, dominating the overmatched Golden Flashes en-route to a performance that shot him up in Hiesman rankings. has more yards from scrimmage, and touchdowns than the legendary Dayne.

Taylor is on pace for 32 touchdowns and a little over 2,000 total yards, and has yet to even play an entire game.

In every game this year Taylor has either sat out much of the final quarter or two because Wisconsin hasn’t really played a close game yet.

Against Michigan Taylor was also sidelined for a quarter due to a leg issue.

Jonathan Taylor must be near the top of the Hiesman rankings, and it’s a travesty he isn’t already.

He could end up, at the end of this season, with the most rushing yards by a running back ever in college football history after just three years.

He also is closing in on the all time scoring record.

The Hiesman award isn’t just a quarterback award, and Taylor is doing his absolute best to prove that.

If he is not near the top of national Heisman Trophy rankings, the problem lies in the rankings, and not in the spectacular performances of Jonathan Taylor.

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X’s and O’s

Analyzing UW’s struggles against zone ‘D’

By Sam Shiffman THE DAILY CARDINAL

Two weeks ago, Northwestern became the first team to frustrate the Badger offense. Jonathan Taylor couldn’t break a big off any big runs and Jack Coan looked flustered. Their struggles weren’t because Northwestern was aggressive, but instead a result of a more conservative approach to Wisconsin’s offense.

Typically, opposing teams leave their cornerbacks and safeties in man coverage when playing Wisconsin so their linebackers can focus on stopping Jonathan Taylor. However, Northwestern played soft zone coverage which frustrated quarterback Jack Coan. He struggled to anticipate throws, and stretch the field which is concerning for the Badgers as they play better teams as the year goes on.

In previous weeks, the Badger offense was unstoppable.

Jonathan Taylor ran through wide-open holes and Jack Coan was able to make decisive reads in man coverage and deliver accurate balls. The Badgers set themselves up for success on third down by gaining five or six yards on the ground on first down.

Against the Wildcats, Coan wasn’t decisive and the offense slowed. He seemed confused by Northwestern’s zone coverage and hesitant to take risks down the field with the exception of a deep interception to Quintez Cephus. In previous games, Coan threw right out of his three

or five-step drop because Badger receivers got quick separation against man coverage.

Against Northwestern, Coan couldn’t make these quick reads and struggled to recognize what type of zone Northwestern was playing. Coan didn’t anticipate routes and coverage which led to multiple passes that could’ve been intercepted. Coan struggled to make decisive reads because Northwestern played high safeties, conservative zones and had their middle linebackers get out into the flats.

This meant Coan didn’t have an obvious read every attempt which took him out of rhythm. He had to sit back in the pocket and read the secondary. While Coan still completed 62 percent of his passes, most were checkdowns in front of the Northwestern linebackers. He was hesitant to throw behind the linebackers when they were in zone which made it difficult for the Badgers to move the ball. Coan also failed to see open receivers while outside the pocket.

Furthermore, Coan’s struggles were amplified by Northwestern inside linebacker Paddy Fisher.

Fisher is one of the top inside linebackers in the nation and a potential first-round draft pick this spring. Fisher was disciplined in his run pass reads which meant the Wildcats could, unlike other defenses the Badgers have played, stay in zone coverage and force Coan to read the defense.

Jonathan Taylor was forced to

bounce more runs outside because Fisher correctly read guard pulls decisively and filled holes. In previous games, this wasn’t the case.

While Jonathan Taylor’s 72-yard touchdown run against Michigan was impressive, Taylor had a wide open hole because both Michigan linebackers misread pulls. Instead of following pulls like disciplined linebackers, Michigan read backfield motion which gave Taylor wide open holes to run through.

Another reason Coan struggled was first down play calling.

It seemed as if offensive coordinator Joe Rudolph wanted to establish a passing game on first down more than in previous games. So, because Coan struggled to read Northwestern’s zone defense, Wisconsin had more second and longs than they’re used to. This meant Coan had to make more deep throws on third down against a soft zone that invited Coan to throw it short and force punts.

While the Badgers still won fairly comfortably, Coan has to be better against teams like Ohio State. To keep up with Justin Fields and the Buckeyes, the Badgers have to be twodimensional. They can’t simply hope Jonathan Taylor runs for 300 yards and five touchdowns while the defense holds Ohio State to seven points on the road. If the Badgers want to be an elite and not just a great team, they have to throw the ball downfield.

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Jack Coan struggled against Northwestern’s zone defense, which could spell trouble against superior opponents in the Big Ten.

MSU Defensive Outlook

Spartan defense looks to bounce back to top-ten form after disappointing blowout against fourth-ranked Ohio State

By Kelsey Bridges THE DAILY CARDINAL

With the Wisconsin Badgers’ dominant performance over the Kent State Golden Flashes, an interesting dynamic is created going into their next match against the Michigan State Spartans, who have exhibited uncharacteristically shaky defense.

For the past two seasons, Michigan State’s defense has been strong under head coach Mark Dantonio, but their past two games have shown unstable performances against the Indiana Hoosiers and Ohio State Buckeyes.

Against Indiana, the Spartans

gave up 31 points, the secondmost since their 2018 seasonopener against Utah State.

The following weekend, the Buckeyes dominated Michigan State collecting 529 yards.

The Spartans’ defense, led by linebacker Joe Bachie and cornerback Josiah Scott, have been top-10 worthy at the beginning of the season.

They held Tulsa to negative 73 rushing yards, Western Michigan to 67 yards rushing on 27 carries, Arizona State to less than 150 yards before Jayden Daniels’ final-drive and a strong

performance over Northwestern in their first conference matchup.

With that being said, this past Saturday, the Spartans started strong in the first quarter with in their front four, only allowing 16 total yards.

But, when the second quarter hit they gave up three touchdowns and 296 yards to Ohio State.

Nonetheless, Michigan State’s defense did display it’s skill with cornerback Josiah Scott leading the team Saturday with a career-high 12 tackles and an interception, linebacker Joe Bachie with 11 tackles, three for ta loss and 2 sacks, and safety

Xavier Henderson with five stops and a pass break-up.

But, before these two games that knocked Michigan State’s defense, they dominated Northwestern.

Bachie had a career-high 14 tackles and an interception in the fourth quarter, and Scott performed an impressive interception of his own. MSU’s defense kept Northwestern out of the endzone all game.

Interestingly, when the Badgers played Northwestern, the offense was shaky in it’s own right.

They pulled out to a quick 7-0 lead with a 13-yard run

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Wisconsin’s offense will be tested against a Michigan State defense that is traditionally staunch when lead by head coach Mark Dantonio.

touchdown by running back Jonathan Taylor. But, they had the ball six more times in the first half and only had 84 yards.

Wisconsin’s offense finished the game against Northwestern with 243 yards on 60 plays--about four yards-per-play. But, the defensive line bailed them out to win the game 15-24.

Wisconsin came back strong once again this past weekend against Kent State, though, with the starting offense scoring touchdowns on all six drives it played.

Taylor had a career-high five touchdowns, and finished with 186 rushing yards on 19 carries and 29 yards on three catches.

Quarterback Jack Coan successfully used play-action fakes and went 12 of 15 for 134 yards and two touchdowns, hitting 80 percent of his passes.

As Ohio State was able to run the ball on Michigan State, it will be interesting to see if Wisconsin’s offense with Taylor will do the same.

If Michigan State is able to get their defense back on track the Badgers will have to prepare themselves for a matchup very different than the one they just faced against Kent State.

It will be a battle until the very end of the game.

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Jack Sanborn Linebacker || 6'2'' || 232 lbs.

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What We Learned

Overreactability: Everything sucks after a bad week of college football

By Bremen Keasey THE DAILY CARDINAL

Editor’s note: College football is nothing without its fans, and its fans are nothing without their passion. In an attempt to capture that unique intensity and Overreactability, we’ve asked washed-up sports editor and Southerner Bremen Keasey to give us a weekly breakdown of college football happenings around the country like only a true fan could.

Maybe it’s the aftermath of sitting in the cold rain for three hours watching the Badgers, but I wasn’t totally behind college football this weekend. Shocking, I’m sure, to those who know me the best, but I signed up to do this column at the beginning of the year, rain or shine, so here are the moments from the weekend (hopefully there will be better ones next week).

COURTESY OF FLORIDA FOOTBALL VIA TWITTER

Bo looked like a Freshman, but then again, so did everyone We first take our tour of college football down to The Swamp where the marquee matchup of the weekend was the No. 7 Auburn Tigers against the No. 10 Florida Gators.

Heading into the game, most of the questions surrounded whether the Gators, on backup quarterback Kyle Trask, could match their offense to Auburn’s defense. The Tigers are loaded up front with defensive tackle Derrick Brown, one of many likely to play on Sundays next year.

The Gators did enough to get the 24-13 upset win in a herky-jerky game that made fans wonder if the offenses realized they were supposed to be playing as well. Other than two long touchdowns — a 64-yard run after catch from Freddie Swain and a 88-yard run by Lamical Perine — the Gators struggled to move the ball on Auburn.

Luckily for Florida, Auburn struggled to move the ball too, and Bo Nix finally looked and acted his age.

Nix, who before had helped Auburn lead a comeback against Oregon, tossed three picks and probably should’ve had more with the amount of ill-advised throws. He finished 11-for-27 passing, which isn’t good, but also understandable considering he’s only a true freshman.

Then again, everyone on offense

The Gators won Saturday, but the game was an eyesore as neither offense was able to get anything going. struggled. The Gators had three straight drives where they fumbled, had a fake punt go spectacularly wrong, and only scored seven points in the second half. They got lucky Auburn was as inept.

CBS sports commentator Gary Danielson summed the game up perfectly when he said, “There’s a whole lot happening, but nothing is really happening.”

Thanks Gary.

Excellence(?) in Punting As a fan of a Big Ten team, I’ve seen a fair share of punting in my day. Sometimes it’s beautiful, sometimes it’s awful and sometimes it’s just kind of necessary.

It’s like classes where you have to lead a discussion section. Sometimes you really want to lead a good discussion, you put a lot of work into it and it’s a lively, interesting discussion. Other times, you’ve ignored it until the day before you’re supposed to lead and it’s totally scrambled together. All the other students in the class understand either way, and in those situations, I have great respect for people who truly halfassed the assignment.

I’m pretty sure that Iowa and Michigan really just wanted to punt yesterday, and spent hours and hours preparing their punting team

and forgot about the offenses.

Because oh lord, they were punting. 15 times total.

Sure, maybe Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz was happy with the punts, but fans of both sides probably weren’t because when the teams weren’t punting, they were throwing picks.

I know I haven’t gotten to the score yet (it was a 10-3 win by Michigan) partly because it seems like, as stated, scoring wasn’t the point of this game. Over half the drives ended in punts, and no points were scored in the second half. Zero.

Goose egg. In fact, in 11 drives of the second half, only three ended in something other than a punt: an Iowa INT, a Michigan missed field goal and the end of the game.

Want more? Iowa had only one rushing yard in 30 attempts. This is partly because, weirdly, sacks count against a team’s rushing yards and Michigan sacked Nate Stanley eight times.

The only way this game could’ve been more Big Ten is if someone got a safety.

At least you tried In a world where we’re all just trying to feel something despite the inevitable collapse of the planet’s ecosystem and the dominance of the

rich few over the lives of the many, we look to escape and find solace in something stupid that takes your mind off of the world for a moment.

In college football we want CHAOS (always in capital letters).

Once again, not much was provided. A graphic during the Stanford vs. Washington game popped up about “Ranked teams who lost today” and there were only four teams on there, and three of them lost to other ranked teams. (Sidenote, No. 15 Washington did end up losing to Stanford, but that barely counts because the Huskies have already lost a game).

But for brief moments this weekend, we had glimpses of hope in this sad and twisted world of college football, where the rich get richer and the majority of players in the game are getting exploited (hey!

Sound familiar?).

At one point, Kansas was beating No. 6 Oklahoma 7-0 (don’t check what the final score was).

A backup quarterback for Tennessee was really testing the No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs for like a half. The Vols had a 14-10 lead in the second quarter...then didn’t score for the rest of the game to lose 43-14.

Those were very expected beatdowns. One potential

bright spot and possibility for CHAOS would’ve been No. 4 Ohio State playing the No. 25 Michigan State Spartans.

See, the Spartans seem to have an uncanny ability to force the biggest and baddest teams in the Big Ten to play at a much lower level.

They scrap, they force weird mistakes, they frustrate the teams and this scenario is made all the more deadly if you add a nice dash of rain in the mix.

So when Sparty was frustrating the Buckeyes and stud quarterback Justin Fields to only a 3-0 lead after the first quarter, my interest was piqued, especially because MSU had already turned the ball over a couple times and Ohio State couldn’t make anything happen. Maybe if a freak rainstorm opened up in Columbus, Sparty would get their magical powers and be ready to make the Buckeyes at least look mortal.

Well the rain never came, and Ohio State romped to a 34-10 win and reached their full powers on offense as they finished with 323 rushing yards with over 6.6 yards per carry. Fields also threw for 206 yards and two touchdowns, and Sparty never had a chance.

So the six-headed death monster of college football — Bama, Clemson, Georgia, Oklahoma, Ohio State and LSU — are still all perfect and don’t look to be slowing down anytime soon. On the bright side, there’s a lot of season left for some CHAOS; it’s very hard to go undefeated in college football and “you never know what’s gonna happen any given Saturday.”

On the other side, the talent gap between those schools and the rest of the country is incredibly high, Tua and Trevor both have another year at their schools, OSU had Fields at quarterback for two more years and Oklahoma will find another Heisman-level grad transfer. There’s not going to be much room for the rest of college football to break in for now, and that might mean that we still have to bow down to either Saban or Dabo.

Can you tell it’s been a rough weekend? Hopefully we’ll find more positives next column.

Taylor MVP against Kent State after massive outing

By Alexis Shavitz THE DAILY CARDINAL

The Wisconsin Badgers (5-0 overall, 2-0 Big Ten) offense was dominant last Saturday, with the final score 48-0.

The offense led the Badgers to victory with junior Jonathan Taylor starring.

Taylor had a career high five touchdowns in one game, four rushing and one receiving.

His five touchdowns also tied a UW school record for touchdowns in a game.

“I’ll will continue to be as efficient as possible,” Taylor said after the game.

Watching Taylor never gets old, as he always finds a way to impress and lead the Badgers to victory.

Throughout the first five weeks that has meant being Wisconsin’s workhorse, carrying the ball on almost every down.

He had a 72-yard touchdown early in the second quarter, and ended the game with 19 rushes for 186 total yards.

It marked the 27th time Taylor reached the 100-yard mark in 32 career games.

An extremely impressive mark that few backs have ever been able to reach in college, and almost none have been

able to in just three years.

From the opening drive, Taylor scored a touchdown just from six yards out. This makes the Badgers the only team in the entire country to open each game to start the season with a touchdown.

Taylor is an amazing player-he is in the running for the Heisman Trophy – and his season has only been improving.

He deserves all the credit as he scored four first half touchdowns. The near 200-yard game puts Taylor in third place on Wisconsin’s all-time rushing list.

Taylor has been consistent throughout the entire season

so far, but says, “it’s still a long season ahead, and you cannot just have a couple of games.”

He knows what it takes to not only be a champion, but also be one of the best players in the entire country.

“He’s the best running back in the country,” Kent State head coach Sean Lewis said bluntly.

Jonathan Taylor seemed confident during this game, catching almost every pass that went his way.

Catching passes is somewhat new for Taylor, who had only eight career receptions in each of his first two seasons in cardinal and white.

However to start the 2019-20’

season Taylor has been a weapon in the passing game.

He has 12 catches through five games, with four touchdowns to boot.

Taylor is averaging his highest yards-per-rush this season as well, pushing his production to near god-like levels.

Overall, Taylor put up massive numbers against the Kent State Golden Flashes, leading the Wisconsin Badgers to an undefeated start to the season.

Taylor will do his best to keep it that way for the Badgers for the rest of the season, as the competition ramps up.

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Feature

Jonathan Taylor proves as leading running back in nation for Badgers

By Justin Alpert THE DAILY CARDINAL

Wisconsin running back Jonathan Taylor has enjoyed an extraordinary 2019 season thus far, appearing nearly unstoppable each time he carries the rock.

On a bad day, his numbers have still lit up the box score. On Saturday, Kent State fell victim to Taylor’s dominance, yielding 215 total yards and five touchdowns to number 23 in red.

Even more impressively, Taylor racked up all of those numbers with only 22 touches, a video game-like 9.7 yard average.

Only five games into the season, college football’s undisputed top tailback has rushed for 745 yards, averaging 7.2 per carry.

Sixteen touchdowns would constitute a tremendous twelve game season, Taylor has already reached that milestone on the first weekend of October.

Stretched over the Badgers’ twelve game schedule, Taylor’s stat line projects to be 2,061 scrimmage yards and, of course, thirty-eight touchdowns.

Based on Jonathan Taylor’s résumé, which is beyond impressive, one might assume that the

running back has always been a highly touted superstar, coming into college with offers from all of football’s biggest programs, and an overinflated ego.

However Taylor, Salem, New Jersey’s humble three-star recruit only had offers from Rutgers, Boston College, Army, a few other schools and of course Wisconsin.

Unlike several of the nation’s top recruits each year, Taylor didn’t host an eager Nick Saban or an enthused Urban Meyer in his living room to discuss his future.

Taylor’s scouting report, courtesy of 247 Sports, referenced “good vision, a sneaky shiftiness, and thick legs”, statements with which any Wisconsin fan would agree. The one critique in the report, however, involved Taylor’s speed, claiming that “Taylor needs to improve his top end speed once he gets past the second level.”

Sure, Taylor may not be the fastest, but he’s fast enough, as apparent on his seventy-two yard touchdown scamper against Michigan earlier this season.

Entering his freshman season in 2017, Jonathan Taylor had

a pair of very big and empty shoes to fill. Superstar tailbacks Montee Ball and Melvin Gordon, along with other talented receiving backs, like James White and Corey Clement, had all moved on to the NFL in recent years.

With the notorious game manager Alex Hornibrook under center, and head coach Paul Chryst’s defensive background, the Badger offense was inevitably going to be predominantly run-first.

That 2017 roster included nine tailbacks, but Taylor wasted no time in establishing himself as the leader of the pack. In week two, to the delight of Camp Randall’s 80,000 occupants, Taylor dealt Florida Atlantic one of his signature beatdowns.

The three-star recruit, with his supposedly inadequate speed, ran for 223 yards and three touchdowns, his first of three 200+ yard games in that freshman campaign.

At season’s end, Taylor had carried the Badgers with nearly 2,000 yards, thirteen touchdowns, and an Orange Bowl championship.

Not a terrible start for an underthe-radar freshman recruit.

If Jonathan Taylor experienced any fatigue from his first college

season, it didn’t show in 2018. In fact, the budding superstar only built upon his early success.

In only one game, a late October loss to Northwestern, did Taylor rush for fewer than 100 yards.

Among several stellar outings in 2018, Taylor’s undisputed best performance came against Purdue, when he ran for 321 yards and three touchdowns, a feat that would seem all the more impressive had Melvin Gordon and Samaje Perine not both surpassed 400 yards in 2014. 2,200 yards, sixteen scores, and another Bowl victory in 2018 cemented Taylor’s status as the premier tailback in college football.

As Taylor jukes, stiff-arms, and bursts his way through yet another season, he plays for something larger than pretty box scores and a bowl victory.

From a team standpoint, if Wisconsin is to make a late-season push for the College Football Playoff, Taylor must carry a majority of the weight on his shoulders.

He has ran the Badgers to an undefeated record thus far, but the schedule only gets tougher from here on out, and anything short of

outstanding play from Taylor could result in a season-altering loss.

Personally, Taylor has several pivotal decisions to make in the coming months. The general consensus is that he will enter the NFL draft, but with another year of NCAA eligibility, nothing is set in stone.

If Taylor does intend to leave Wisconsin, does he prioritize a potential bowl game for the Badgers or preparation for the NFL Draft Combine?

Whether it occurs in 2020 or 2021, Taylor’s draft experience will almost certainly prove successful and lucrative. Running backs Ezekiel Elliott, Leonard Fournette, and Saquon Barkley were each picked in the top five of their respective drafts. Each played three college seasons and posted stats with close resemblance to those of Taylor.

Football is a volatile game that offers no guarantees to even the greatest players, but a not-too-unlikely scenario for Jonathan Taylor involves a Heisman Trophy, a National Championship, and a hefty rookie NFL contract, among other honors.

Feature

‘We haven’t seen this in a long time’: UW wide receivers adding new element to Badgers offense

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A.J. Taylor leads one of the best receiving units Wisconsin has seen in years. Along with quarterback Jack Coan, the group has given the Badgers offense a much-needed boost.

By Raul Vazquez THE DAILY CARDINAL

The 2018 Wisconsin Badgers offense was a one man show – heavily reliant on star running back Jonathan Taylor.

The wide receivers and quarterback Jack Coan recognized that this offseason and made a concerted effort to create more balance within the offense.

“When you think of Wisconsin, you think of running back [university], and we kind of want to change that,” junior wide receiver Kendric Pryor said in August. “In order to go where we want to go we have to be able to be balanced and be able to run the ball and pass the ball.”

That sentiment was echoed throughout the entire unit, and has become a theme through five games this season.

UW’s offense is averaging 43 points a game this season. A large part of that is thanks to one of the best receiving groups the school has seen in years.

“We’ve got weapons,” senior receiver A.J. Taylor said. “Between Danny [Davis], [Quintez Cephus], Kendric, myself and even the guys that don’t play a lot. Adam Krumholz, Jack Dunn – all of us can contribute and make something happen in the game. You’re starting to kind of see it.

I think we do have a great core.”

With the highest-ranked defense in the nation on the other side and, perhaps, the best running back in the nation in the backfield, the wide receivers knew they had to add a dangerous passing attack to round out this talented Badgers team.

They continue to answer that call.

To this point, the Badgers have

accumulated 1014 passing yards along with seven passing touchdowns. Through all 13 games in the 2018 season, the UW passing attack only mustered 2050 passing yards and 19 passing touchdowns.

Additionally, Wisconsin only averaged 158 yards per game and 6.7 yards per attempt in 2018. This season, they have improved to 203 yards per game and 8.1 yards per attempt.

“I think we are a lot more balanced this year than the past few years,” Pryor said.

Jack Coan has spread the ball around his entire receiving corps – Danny Davis, Kendric Pryor, A.J. Taylor, and Quintez Cephus.

Cephus and the receiving corps put that on full display during a Week 2 61-0 win over Central Michigan.

Coan connected with Cephus on two deep balls for touchdowns, while

A.J. Taylor contributed with 78 yards of his own. Jonathan Taylor added 102 yards on the ground to round out a well-balanced attack.

“We haven’t seen a receiving core in Wisconsin like this in a long time, probably ever,” Jonathan Taylor said.

The receiving group has entered its name in the conversation for one of the best groups in Wisconsin history. Head coach Paul Chryst was hesitant to give them that honor, but defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard has been consistent with his high praise of the group.

“I love our group,” Leonhard said.

“Our receivers are extremely talented. The skillsets that they have, they all present a different challenge.”

Leonhard, who serves as the defensive backs coach, and the defense may know the receivers the best practicing with them every day.

“You go back to fall camp and sometimes we had to try to shoo you guys out of there so you guys didn’t see those receivers beating us up,” Leonhard said. “We’ve obviously played really well on defense and the defensive backs have been really consistent and that group can get after us in practice on a consistent basis.”

The threat that the wide receivers present adds another element to the offense – something the team has missed in recent years to compliment Jonathan Taylor.

“I think it’s huge. The whole emphasis has been to try to be balanced and to keep stressing that and to keep pushing toward that,” offensive coordinator Joe Rudolph said. “I think knowing you have guys that can step up in different areas is big and we got a lot of trust in those guys.”

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Wisconsin Badgers 1 1 2 2 3 4 4 5 5 6 6 7 7 8 9 10 11 11 12 13 14 15 15 16 17 18 18 19 19 20 20 21 21 22 22 23 24 24 25 25 26 27 28 28 29 29 30 30 31 32 32 34 36 36 37 38 39 39 41

Cruickshank, Aron Hicks, Faion Pearson, Reggie Wolf, Chase Pryor, Kendric Burton, Donte Taylor, A.J. Mertz, Graham Wildgoose, Rachad Davis III, Danny Engram, Dean Lytle, Spencer Shaw, Bradrick Harrell, Deron Nelson, Scott Currens, Seth Bracey, Stephan Smith, Alexander Toler, Titus Gregoire, Mike DiBenedetto, Jordan Lotti, Anthony Vanden Boom, Danny Dunn, Jack Coan, Jack Phillips, Cam Wilder, Collin Larsh, Collin Torchio, John Guerendo, Isaac Melvin, Semar Nelson, Cooper Williams, Caesar Green. Cade Heyroth, Jacob Taylor, Jonathan Krumholz, Adam Williams, James Burrell, Eric Watson, Nakia Blaylock, Travian Volpentesta, Christian Easterling, Quan Wilcox, Blake Kollath, Jackson Schipper, Brady Mais, Tyler Wanner, Coy Cone, Madison Davis, Julius Strey, Marty Stokke, Mason Johnson, Hunter Knaak, Kobe Groshek, Garrett Caputo, Dante Grass, Tatum Hintze, Zach Burls, Noah

WR CB S QB WR CB WR QB CB WR CB OLB RB CB S ILB WR CB S WR WR P QB WR QB WR S K S RB CB WR CB WR ILB RB WR CB S RB CB CB FB K ILB RB S TE S RB ILB FB RB CB RB S ILB K OLB

5-9 5-10 5-10 6-1 5-11 5-10 5-11 6-3 5-11 6-0 5-9 6-2 6-1 6-2 6-2 6-3 5-10 5-11 5-11 5-10 6-0 6-0 6-5 5-7 6-3 6-0 5-10 5-10 6-1 6-0 5-11 6-4 6-0 5-11 6-0 5-11 6-1 5-10 6-0 5-11 5-11 5-9 6-3 6-4 6-1 5-11 6-1 6-3 5-9 5-10 6-2 6-2 6-0 5-9 5-11 5-11 6-2 6-0 6-2

161 185 197 196 180 180 200 215 197 194 164 223 216 182 204 224 172 182 192 171 190 187 207 174 221 176 194 184 205 213 166 187 188 185 218 219 193 182 195 229 200 185 238 228 252 206 196 236 182 189 219 239 220 189 220 181 222 190 240

SO SO FR FR JR FR SR FR SO JR FR FR SR SO SO JR FR FR FR FR FR SR SO JR JR FR JR SO FR FR FR FR JR SO FR JR JR FR JR FR FR JR FR FR FR FR SO SO JR FR FR JR SO JR JR FR FR SR JR

41 42 43 44 45 46 46 47 48 49 50 50 51 51 52 52 54 55 56 56 57 57 58 59 59 60 61 62 63 65 67 68 69 70 71 73 74 74 75 76 77 78 81 82 84 85 86 87 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99

Eschenbach, Jack Franklin, Jaylan Rucci, Hayden Chenal, John Chenal. Leo Lloyd, Gabe Tiedt, Hegeman Cundiff, Clay Wiltjer, Travis Bell, Christian Brown, Logan Green-May, Izayah Bay, Adam Paez, Gio Bernhagen, Josh Pfaff, David Orr, Chris Njongmeta, Maema Baun, Zack Johnson, Rodas Balistreri, Michael Sanborn, Jack Maskalunas, Mike Johnson, Tyler Lyons, Andrew Bruss, Logan Biadasz, Tyler O’Brien, Logan Bowden, Peter Beach, Tyler Sampson, Cormac Moorman, David Vopal. Aaron Seltzner, Josh Van Lanen, Cole Fenton, Alex Furtney, Michael Roberge, Gunnar Tippmann, Joe Lyles, Kayden Smithback, Blake Erdmann, Jason Mustapha, Taj Perry, Emmet Ferguson, Jake Neuville, Zander Benzschawel, Luke Cephus, Quintez Abbott, A.J. Allen, Connor Williams, Bryson Henningsen, Matt Rand. Garrett Dietzen, Boyd Benton, Keeanu Schlichting, Conor Loudermilk, Isaiahh Goetz, C.J. Mullens, Isaiah

TE OLB TE FB ILB TE OLB TE ILB OLB OL OLB LS DE LS DE ILB ILB OLB DE DE ILB ILB OLB OL OL OL OL LS OL OL OL OL OL OL OL OL NT OL OL OL OL WR WR TE TE TE WR WR P NT DE DE DE NT P DE DE DE

Michigan State Spartans 6-6 6-4 6-4 6-2 6-2 6-4 6-4 6-3 6-2 6-4 6-6 6-6 6-0 6-3 6-2 6-2 6-0 6-0 6-3 6-2 6-4 6-2 6-3 6-3 6-5 6-5 6-3 6-4 6-2 6-6 6-4 6-5 6-6 6-4 6-5 6-4 6-5 6-4 6-6 6-3 6-2 6-6 6-0 6-2 6-5 6-5 6-6 6-1 6-2 6-0 6-2 6-3 6-4 6-2 6-4 6-2 6-7 6-3 6-4

224 222 250 252 250 231 243 251 225 249 311 221 229 305 241 288 224 220 235 293 288 232 231 241 311 310 321 265 217 309 280 307 312 327 312 308 307 292 312 321 305 328 190 186 246 252 276 207 192 168 300 286 279 264 315 222 293 241 283

FR FR FR FR SO FR JR JR FR SR JR FR SO JR FR JR SR SR FR JR FR SO SO JR SR FR SO JR FR FR SO FR SR SO SO JR SO FR SR FR SO SO SR FR SO SR JR JR FR SR SO SO JR FR FR SO JR FR FR

2 3 4 4 5 5 5 6 6 7 8 9 10 10 12 12 13 13 14 14 15 16 16 17 17 18 18 19 20 20 21 21 22 23 23 24 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 34 35 36 36 37 38 39 40 40 41 41 42

Barnett, Julian Henderson, Xavier Coghlin, Matt Hayes, C.J. Fletcher, Michael Hartbarger, Jake Reed, Jayden Day, Theo Dowell, David White, Cody Nailor, Jalen Long, Dominique Dowell, Michael Thorne, Payton Jackson, Chris Lombardi, Rocky Lewis, Marcel Nelson, Laress Lewerke, Brian Williams, Davion Jefferson, La’Darius Sowards, Brandon Stevens, Joe Mosley, Tre Thompson, Tyriq Gervin, Kalon Morgan, Tre’Von Butler, Josh Flowers, Emmanuel Lewandowski, Davis Chambers, Cam Kline, Chase Scott, Josiah McLean, Eli Welch, Andre Collins, Elijah Person, Tre Stewart Jr., Darrell Wright, Brandon Bridges, Weston Hallock, Tate Brown, Shakur Hallock, Tanner Warinner, Edward Pryor, Corey Boateng, Jeslord Simmons, Antjuan Williams Jr., Anthony Bachie, Joe Sargent, Noah Williams, Torrell Razzano, Dante Fulton, Luke Thomas, Alante Brys, Jonathan Pedrozo, Jude Burton, Reid Willekes, Charles Mossburg, Brent

WR/CB S K WR DE P WR QB S WR WR S S QB CB QB LB WR QB CB RB WR CB WR LB CB WR CB CB WR WR LB CB QB CB RB CB WR RB WR S CB LB LB DB LB LB RB LB RB CB LB LB RB DL LS FB LB DE

6-2 6-1 5-9 6-1 6-6 6-4 6-0 6-5 6-1 6-3 6-0 6-2 6-1 6-2 6-0 6-3 6-0 5-8 6-3 6-0 6-1 6-0 5-11 6-2 6-1 5-11 6-6 6-0 6-1 6-0 6-2 6-4 5-10 6-2 5-9 6-0 5-10 6-2 6-2 5-11 6-4 5-10 6-1 6-0 5-10 6-1 6-0 6-0 6-2 6-0 5-11 6-2 6-2 5-9 6-6 6-1 6-1 6-1 6-2

189 203 187 206 259 194 185 222 209 215 191 197 215 197 193 217 219 179 216 177 229 193 165 191 228 186 218 182 186 209 219 235 171 193 175 217 167 216 223 208 183 183 226 229 210 228 216 191 231 204 170 227 230 193 253 224 225 220 235

FR SO JR SO FR SR SO R-FR SR JR SO JR R-FR FR R-FR SO FR JR SR R-FR SO SR SO FR SR R-FR FR SR SO SR JR R-FR JR R-FR JR R-FR JR SR FR SO FR SO SO R-FR JR R-FR JR FR SR JR FR JR FR JR JR FR JR FR SO

43 44 45 47 48 49 49 53 54 54 55 55 56 57 58 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 64 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 72 73 74 75 76 77 79 80 80 81 82 84 85 86 87 88 89 89 91 92 92 93 94 94 96 97 97 98 99

Mandryk, Jack Berghorst, Adam Harvey, Noah Armour, Ryan Willekes, Kenny Kruse, David Rosenthal, Max Fisk, Peter Henrichs, Jack Saylor, Jack Reid, Jordan Slade, Zach Carrick, Matt Brunning, Evan Brown, Spencer O’Connor, Terry Samac, Nick Wilker, Bryce Chewins, Cole Campbell, Luke Lafave, Jacob Allen, Matt Slade, Jacob Bueter, Blake Duplain, J.D. VanOpstall, Dan Liesveld, Tommy Higby, Tyler Ohonba, James Kaylor, Damon Panasiuk, Mike Isaia, Jacob Dobbs, Devontae Jarvis, Kevin Arcuri, AJ Douglas, Dimitri Khaleefah, Mustafa Allen, Jalen Seybert, Matt Gissinger, Parks Alexander, Javez Davis, Noah McDonald, Cade Beesley, Drew Watts, Jahz Gillison, Trenton Dotson, Matt Hunt, Jalen Camper, Jack Morris, Evan Todd, DeAri Jones, Naquan Bouwmeester, Jack Mallory, Dashaun Panasuik, Jacub Hansen, Maverick Hunt, Tyler Hahn, Cole Williams, Raequan

S DE LB SN DE S FB LB OL DE OT DE OG DL OL LB OL OL OT OL OL OL DT OL OL OT OL OL OL OL DT OL OL OG OT OL OT WR TE TE WR TE WR DL WR TE TE DT DE P/K DT DT P DT DE DT K/P K DT

6-0 6-6 6-3 6-0 6-4 6-0 6-2 6-1 6-6 6-2 6-4 6-4 6-4 6-5 6-6 6-3 6-4 6-5 6-8 6-5 6-3 6-3 6-3 6-4 6-3 6-6 6-6 6-5 6-4 6-5 6-4 6-3 6-4 6-4 6-7 6-4 6-5 5-11 6-4 6-2 6-2 6-4 5-11 6-2 6-0 6-4 6-5 6-2 6-4 6-5 6-2 6-4 6-2 6-1 6-3 6-4 6-2 5-10 6-4

193 250 229 240 260 203 262 231 292 231 292 231 305 260 332 282 293 302 303 305 270 303 298 315 289 290 293 300 321 323 300 305 295 307 306 302 305 177 252 238 193 248 187 248 176 249 252 311 258 221 276 338 193 318 245 280 228 198 303

SO FR SO SR SR R-FR SO JR SO SO JR R-FR SO FR FR R-FR FR SR SR JR FR JR R-FR SO FR R-FR JR SR R-FR FR SR R-FR FR JR JR R-FR SO R-FR SR R-FR R-FR JR FR JR SO R-FR JR FR SO FR SO JR FR R-FR JR FR SO SO SR

Game Information Kickoff: 2:30 p.m.

Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI TV: ABC or BTN Radio: Badger Sports Network

CAMERON LANE-FLEHINGER/THE DAILY CARDINAL

Wisconsin is trying to stay unbeated aganst a talented Michigan State defense.