Northwestern/Wisconsin review

The Badgers had to hold on for dear life, but were able to escape Northwestern 33-24 to start the Big Ten season off 1-0. In a wild contest, Wisconsin did not look good in the first half, trailing 10-7 heading into the break. But Bucky would score 24 unanswered to take a 31-10 lead before having to hold on for the win. Wisconsin was without one of its best players, tight end Troy Fumagalli, and it showed in the first half. Wisconsin’s defense played outstanding until the final half of the fourth quarter when it let up a little after the Badgers jumped out to the 21-point lead. But the defense would put an exclamation point on the win when D’Cota Dixon sacked Clayton Thorson in the end zone with 58 seconds remaining for the final score. Jonathan Taylor only gained 80 yards, but still scored twice. Today, Alex Hornibrook played more like he did against Florida Atlantic than he did against BYU. He only went 11-of-20 for 197 yards with a touchdown and two ugly first quarter interceptions. But he improved in the second half after his ugly first half to help the Badgers win. He threw three completions of 30+ yards to jump start Bucky. No pass helped Wisconsin more than his 61-yard pass to Quintez Cephus with the Badgers down 10-7 early in the third. The next play after that pass, Taylor took it in from 11 yards out to give Wisconsin the lead it would not relinquish. Like always, I will give you some positives from this game and a few negatives.

The front seven dominated up front today. I mentioned in the preview that if the Badgers could limit Justin Jackson, Wisconsin would win. Last year, the star running back had 13 carries for 42 yards. This year, he just had nine carries for 25 yards with a long of just eight. As a team, Northwestern had 34 carries for just 25 yards. Of course, some of that was due to Thorson being sacked eight times, the most since the Badgers also had eight sacks in 2001 against Penn State. Without the sacks, they still only rushed for 66 yards. Northwestern’s best running back was freshman Jeremy Larkin, who had a career-high 37 yards on seven carries. He just had 65 yards rushing going in.

I mentioned all the sacks, and there were a lot of them. Senior linebacker Garret Dooley had three sacks and 4.5 tackles for loss, his best game as a Badger. Defensive backs even got in on the action, as Dixon and Natrell Jamerson each had a sack. The heat was on Thorson in the third quarter and halfway through the fourth. On the Jamerson pick six early in the fourth, Leon Jacobs was in the face of Thorson, forcing him to throw it quicker than he wanted to. When the defense needed a big play, the sacks came. Alec James had arguably the biggest sack of the game, on the first drive of the second half. If Northwestern converts, who knows how the game turns out? But following the sack and Wildcats punt, Wisconsin scored on its first two possessions of the second half and the Badgers took control. Of course, the game ended on Dixon’s sack of Thorson in the end zone. Bucky only had eight sacks in 2017 coming in, but doubled that total today. It was a tremendous game for the run defense and pass rush.

In Fumagalli’s absence, the young receivers emerged. Cephus had a career-high 99 yards receiving on four catches, including a career-high 61-yard catch to set up the touchdown to give the Badgers the 14-10 lead early in the third quarter. Freshman Danny Davis had 50 yards receiving and his first career score. Sophomore A.J. Taylor had a big 33-yard catch as well. The young receivers continue to impress.

Wisconsin once again came back after a slow start to win. In the first halves this year, Wisconsin has outscored opponents 65-40. In the second half, it has been 98-14 in favor of Wisconsin. The second half adjustments have been tremendous.

I mentioned the slow starts in the last paragraph. Well, that needs to change and soon. Wisconsin travels to Lincoln next week and cannot afford another dreadful start. The only really good start Bucky had was in Provo and, not surprisingly, Wisconsin ran away with the game. On the opening play of the game, Jazz Peavy fumbled and Northwestern recovered. Not a good way to begin the game. Moving forward, the Badgers will need to start strong.

The inconsistency of Hornibrook is maddening. He looked incredible against BYU. He looked like he had turned a corner. Then, this week came. The sophomore looked bad in the first half, completing just five of 11 passes for 48 yards and a pair of ill-advised interceptions. Both of his picks were not good passes, especially his second one where he threw a jump ball to Kyle Penniston and was picked off by Godwin Igwebuike, Northwestern’s best defender. Credit to him, he looked much better in the second half. However, even in completions, he was not as sharp as he was two weeks ago. Part of that had to do with Fumagalli being out, but he was not as accurate as he was at BYU. Hornibrook is the most valuable player on this team and as he goes, so goes Wisconsin’s offense.

Lastly, once the team gets a huge lead, the Badgers will need to step on the opponent’s throat. The game should have been over after Jamerson’s pick six that gave Bucky a 31-10 lead. Alas, the defense let Northwestern back in the game. There were some questionable calls that helped, but the Badgers allowed two touchdowns and they needed a Dixon sack in the end zone to seal the deal.

The Badgers did not play a great 60 minutes, but they came away with the win. That is all that matters especially without one of its best players. It is survive and advance and Wisconsin did just that. Wisconsin plays in Lincoln next Saturday night with the lead in the West Division at stake. It should be a lot of fun.

Northwestern/Wisconsin preview

Following the week off, the Wisconsin Badgers take on the Northwestern Wildcats. Northwestern, at 2-1, also is coming off a bye week. Wisconsin is entering this week after playing its best game of the young season two weeks ago against BYU. Northwestern bounced back against Bowling Green, crushing the Falcons 49-7, after being destroyed at Duke the week before. The last time these two schools met at Camp Randall Stadium, Jazz Peavy caught a game-winning touchdown, but the refs ruled it incomplete because no one knows what a catch is any more. In last year’s meeting, Wisconsin went into Evanston and came away with a 21-7 win, its first win at Northwestern since 1999.

When Wisconsin runs...

True freshman running back Jonathan Taylor has been a monster thus far for Wisconsin, leading the Big Ten in rushing yards per game. In addition to leading the Big Ten in rushing yards per game, he is 15th in college football in rushing yards, Taylor is averaging an incredible 8.3 yards per carry. As a team, the Badgers are 12th in the country in rushing yards per game. Northwestern has started slow, having been thrashed by Duke, and is 79th in the country in rushing yards allowed per game. We still don’t know if starting guard Jon Dietzen will be good to go, but Wisconsin will be fine either way. I think Taylor and sophomore Bradrick Shaw will find some running room once again and the Badgers will have around 200 yards rushing once again.

Edge: Wisconsin

When Wisconsin passes...

I wish I could tell you which Alex Hornibrook will show up this Saturday. Against BYU, the sophomore signal caller was flawless. He went 18-of-19 against the Cougars and the only incompletion was dropped. But in the previous week, he was not very good. Hornibrook was inaccurate, even on some of his completions. He will need to work on his consistency. The Badgers still have a number of weapons for the sophomore. Quintez Cephus has emerged as a very reliable receiver to go and Danny Davis has made some plays to go along with reliable targets, Jazz Peavy and Troy Fumagalli. In terms of passing yards allowed per game, the Windy City Kitties are 90th in passing yards allowed, but are 42nd in opponents passer rating. Northwestern cornerbacks are dropping like flies, so the Badgers will need to take advantage. The Wildcats have only intercepted two passes and registered four sacks on the year.

Edge: Push

When Northwestern runs...

As good as Justin Jackson is, the senior has only rushed for 248 yards this season so far. He finally got going against Bowling Green, rushing 18 times for 121 yards and scoring three times. Prior to that game, against Nevada and Duke, Jackson rushed 37 times for 127 yards for an average of 3.4 yards per carry. Wisconsin comes into the game 10th in the country in rush yards allowed per game, allowing just 90.7 yards. The key will be stopping Jackson. If the Badgers do that, they will win. In the 2015 win, Jackson rushed for 139 yards and a touchdown in the Wildcats “win.” However, in last year’s meeting, the Badgers defense shut him down to the tune of 42 yards on 13 carries. His 42 yards were tied for his lowest outing of the season. If Wisconsin can slow down Jackson, Bucky will be in great shape.

Edge: Wisconsin

When Northwestern passes...

Northwestern junior quarterback Clayton Thorson has played two really good games, but had a terrible game in Durham to hurt his numbers a bit. In the two wins, he has a completion percentage of 75 percent for 722 yards with four touchdowns and one pick. In the loss, he completed 11-of-29 passes for 120 yards and two interceptions. The two wins came against teams that are a combined 0-8, so take it for what it’s worth. He has a few solid targets. First, sophomore wide receiver Bennett Skowronek has 12 catches for 218 yards and two touchdowns. Another is tight end Garrett Dickerson. The senior tight end caught five passes for 38 yards in the first two games combined, but broke out with nine catches for 150 yards last week. Wisconsin’s secondary will be tested, but I think the Badgers are up for it.

Edge: Wisconsin

Special Teams

Northwestern's kicker is freshman Charlie Kuhbander has made two of three field goals so far with a long of 40. Wildcats punter Hunter Niswander is one of the best punters in the nation and is a real weapon for the Kitties. He averages nearly 50 yards per punt on his dozen punts this season. Northwestern is 111th in kick return average and 122nd in punt return average. Rafael Gaglianone is 3-of-4 on the year in field goals, but with a long of just 29 for the Badgers. Anthony Lotti is in the middle of the conference in net punting, but four of his 10 punts landed inside the opponents 20. Surprisingly, Wisconsin is in the top 20 nationally for average yards per return. Like Northwestern, Wisconsin struggles at returning punts. Wisconsin has the edge at everything but punting. But Niswander is a real weapon for them.

Edge: Wisconsin

Overview

Wisconsin and Northwestern have hooked up in some real wild games in the past, including the last game at Camp Randall. I think Hornibrook will have a nice game once again, and that will help the running game dominate once again. The Badgers will jump out early and force Thorson and the inexperienced receivers to beat them. Jackson will be slowed down for the second straight meeting and Wisconsin coasts to a 4-0 start.

Prediction: Wisconsin 27, Northwestern 13

Wisconsin/BYU review

In what was the most complete performance of the young season, the Wisconsin Badgers blew out the BYU Cougars 40-6 in their first road test of the season. Many thought this would be a big test for the Badgers, including me, but Wisconsin dominated in all phases of the game. BYU has a solid defense, but Bucky ran roughshod over it. There were not many negatives from this game, and it was nice to see the Badgers have their best nonconference performance right before Big Ten play starts. Alex Hornibrook stole the show, completing 18-of-19 (a school record for completion percentage) passes for 256 yards and four touchdowns. I will talk about his performance more in a few moments, but he was spectacular. Jonathan Taylor was his usual self, rushing for 128 yards on 18 carries and a touchdown. while Bradrick Shaw returned to action with four carries for 19 yards.

Wisconsin also had young receivers make big plays. Freshman Danny Davis jump-started the offense with a 50-yard catch in the first quarter. Sophomore Quintez Cephus had a pair of touchdown catches and fellow sophomore A.J. Taylor added one as well. In a game where top targets Troy Fumagalli and Jazz Peavy combined for three catches for 62 yards, it was nice to see the young guys step up in a big way.

I touched on a few positives in the opening paragraphs, but I have to start with Hornibrook. He was flawless. I mentioned his stats earlier, but his one incompletion was a drop by Davis that was caught, but lost it after he was hit. On third down, he was a remarkable 8-of-8 for 114 yards and three touchdowns. He made up for his lackluster showing against Florida Atlantic. The sophomore will need to improve his consistency, though. If he can play anywhere close to this well for the rest of the season, Bucky will be in terrific shape. His 256 passing yards is a career-high and he has thrown for at least 200 yards in each of his first three games. Hornibrook only did that once last season. The sophomore’s 277.4 passer rating is second in school history, only to John Stocco’s 296.7 day against Indiana in a 52-17 win over Indiana in 2006. He was throwing behind receivers last week but he was on point against BYU. Some of his throws needed to be put in one spot and Hornibrook did just that. Just an amazing performance. Nothing more needs to be said.

In order for Hornibrook to have a great game, the offensive line needed to have a great day. And it did. Other than the one sack by the Cougars defense, Hornibrook barely was touched. If he can have protection and set his feet, he is as accurate as they come. The pass blocking was exceptional. The rushing attack was once again phenomenal. Wisconsin rushed for 235 yards and nearly five yards per carry. Taylor was terrific once again, averaging nearly seven yards per carry. Shaw was very solid as well, coming back after a week off. Kudos to the offensive line.

Lastly, I will say Wisconsin played terrific defense. I know BYU’s offense is terrible and had a backup quarterback playing, but the Badgers defense was very good once again. For a third consecutive game, the defense did not allow a single point in the second half. The Cougars had 192 yards as a team, and Bucky outgained them by nearly 300 yards. BYU had a 61-yard drive to open the game, but then were shut down the rest of the afternoon with the exception of a 50-yard pass from Beau Hoge to Micah Simon right before halftime. Wisconsin allowed some yards and a few points in the first half, but allowed just 25 total yards of offense in the second half. On the year, Bucky has allowed just 30 points. Wisconsin also forced a pair of turnovers and the offense converted those into 10 points. The road is about to get much tougher, but this is a nice start.

A few other shoutouts are in order as well. Punter Anthony Lotti was not needed much, but in the two times he punted, he came up big. In his two punts, Lotti averaged 46.5 yards per boot and both pinned BYU inside its own 20. Nicely done, Anthony. Linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel had four tackles on Saturday and came through with another sack. Lastly, BYU picked on freshman cornerback Dontye Carriere-Williams all day, so it was nice to see him make Hoge pay with a fourth quarter interception.

Lastly, there were a few things that can be improved, even in a blowout win like this. First off, the defense was tremendous again, but it still tends to allow big plays on occasion. With BYU on its own 25 with 25 seconds left in the first half, Simon beat Derrick Tindal for a 50-yard gain to set up the Cougars for a field goal to end the half. They have given up a few big plays early in the season, so Jim Leonhard and Co. will have to clean that up.

I know the running stats look very good and they are, but it seemed like the offensive line allowed quite a bit of penetration on running plays, especially early. Taylor and the other running backs masked that by breaking tackles in the backfield to pick up nice yardage, but that was worrisome. I know Jon Dietzen was out and BYU has a solid defensive line, but when running the ball, the line cannot allow penetration like that.

Also, once again the Badgers had a non-existent pass rush much of the day. Wisconsin officially had two sacks on the day, and both came in the second half. But they need to get consistent pass rush, and they have not been able to through three weeks. And it will only get tougher as they enter Big Ten play.

Now, the Badgers have a week off before the start of the Big Ten season, where the Badgers welcome the Northwestern Wildcats to Camp Randall Stadium. Defensive end Chikwe Obasih, who has missed the last two weeks, made the trip to Provo for the BYU game. Even though he did not play, I wonder if he will be ready for the Windy City Kitties in two weeks. The defensive line would get that much better.

Wisconsin/BYU preview

The Wisconsin Badgers, coming in at a perfect 2-0, will play on the road for the first time in 2017 against the BYU Cougars. Not only is this the first time Wisconsin will ever travel to Provo to play, but it is the first time a Big Ten team has ever traveled there for a game. Bucky is coming off an underwhelming 31-14 victory over Florida Atlantic, while BYU fell to 1-2 with a home loss to rival Utah. BYU has struggled mightily on offense the first three games, and it won’t get any easier on Saturday. Wisconsin has only allowed 12 points per game in its first two games, while BYU has just scored an average of 11 points per game. That average dips to 6.5 points per game in games against FBS teams. The task of beating the No. 10 Badgers became even more difficult for the Cougars after they announced quarterback Tanner Mangum is out for Saturday’s game after being hurt late in the game against Utah. The stats for BYU’s offense have been brutal so far, and this is not a game for them to get well in. There is a reason Wisconsin is favored by 17.5. It will be tough to cover since BYU’s defense is very solid and Wisconsin’s offense has not lit the world on fire, not to mention it is a road game.

When Wisconsin runs...

Bucky may have found his running back for the next three or four years. After an exciting week one performance by true freshman Jonathan Taylor against Utah State, he received the start against Florida Atlantic and did not disappoint. He rushed for 223 yards on 26 carries and had two breathtaking touchdown runs. BYU comes into the game with the 88th ranked rush defense in yards allowed per game, but allowed nearly 300 yards rushing to LSU, by far the best opponent the Cougars have faced. After rushing for 357 yards against the Owls, the Badgers have moved up to No. 13 in the country in rush yards per game, averaging just under 300 per game. Sophomore running back Bradrick Shaw missed last week and should get him back this week. Having him back in the fold will only make Taylor and Chris James more of a threat. I doubt Wisconsin will be able to run for 250-300 yards, but it would not shock me to see the Badgers rush for around 200. It will all depend on the threat of a pass. Bucky needs the good Alex Hornibrook to show up on Saturday.

Edge: Wisconsin

When Wisconsin passes...

Much of how well the Wisconsin offense plays is on the shoulders of Hornibrook, Bucky’s sophomore quarterback. Against Utah State, Hornibrook played really well. He had zip on his throws, and was incredibly accurate. Even most of the incompletions could (and probably should) have been caught. However, in last week’s game, the sophomore did a 180. He went back to his old habits of lofting passes to receivers and was as inaccurate as I have ever seen him. There were multiple passes that were open, but the quarterback missed. Even many of the completions were behind receivers or they could have been bigger plays. Hornibrook does have many weapons at his disposal, though. Troy Fumagalli is arguably the nation’s best tight end, while Jazz Peavy and Quintez Cephus are very solid receivers. BYU has been in the middle of the pack nationally in passing yards allowed per game. They have only allowed one passing touchdown in three games, though. However, they just have one pick in three games as well. The Cougars also have just three sacks in three games. If the Wisconsin offensive line can give Hornibrook time, he should be able to find receivers open. But the sophomore needs to be more consistent, and until he does that, teams will crowd the line of scrimmage, daring him to make plays down the field.

Edge: Push

When BYU runs...

BYU’s rushing attack has not been very good so far, to put it nicely. The Cougars rank 119th in the country in rush yards per game, averaging 76.3 per game. However, that does include a performance against LSU in which they rushed for negative-5 yards on 14 carries. In the two games against FBS teams the Cougars have rushed for just 58 yards on 38 carries. Their test won’t get much easier this week, as Wisconsin has allowed under 100 yards per game on the ground. The Badgers will be without Chikwe Obasih again this week, but Alec James is a very reliable backup. Since it is a matchup of a struggling rush offense against a stingy run defense, it is no contest as to which team has the edge.

Edge: Wisconsin

When BYU passes...

It is a bad sign when your rush offense is ranked 119th in the country and your pass offense is not much better. BYU is averaging just 155.3 pass yards per game and 136 per in games against FBS teams. Add into those stats that BYU will be starting a new quarterback this week, whomever that will be, and it is not a recipe for success. But who knows, maybe the new quarterback can provide a spark to a struggling offense, much like Hornibrook did a season ago for the Badgers and Joel Stave did in 2012. The Badgers are once again stingy through the air, allowing just 180.5 yards through the air per game, while picking off three passes in their two games and allowing one touchdown. That one score was off a blown coverage, which has happened a few times already this season. There needs to be better communication this week because you don’t want to give a struggling offense confidence.

Edge: Wisconsin

Special Teams

BYU has a solid kick return unit and has done nothing at punt returning. They do have an excellent kick coverage unit, though, ranking 13th in the country. BYU’s kicker Rhett Almond is just 2-for-4 on the year in field goal attempts with a long of 35. However, he was 17-of-21 last season, so I’ll just chalk this up to a slow start. He is still a very capable kicker. Anthony Lotti has only punted eight times, and while his net average is not great, he still has put a pair inside the 20. Much like Almond, Rafael Gaglianone is off to a bit of a slow start, making 2-of-3, but missing his only attempt more than 30 yards. He will need to prove he is fully healthy after missing the final 11 games a season ago.

Edge: BYU

Overall

This is a game Wisconsin should win convincingly, but you never know with road openers, especially with the Badgers having so many young players on the team. I think this game will be close for awhile, but Bucky will come up with a big play late in the game to seal it up. I just think Wisconsin will be too much defensively. It will be a defensive struggle, but in the end, the Badgers will be too much.

Prediction: Wisconsin 16, BYU 3

Florida Atlantic/Wisconsin review

It was not the prettiest of games, but the Badgers came away with the win. Despite being favored by nearly five touchdowns, Wisconsin won 31-14 over Lane Kiffin’s bunch. The Badgers dominated in total yards (Wisconsin outgained FAU 564-248) and time of possession (38:34-21:26), but Wisconsin made mistake after mistake which helped Florida Atlantic stay in the game until late in the third quarter. In place of injured Bradrick Shaw, freshman Jonathan Taylor had a tremendous game, rushing for 226 yards and scoring three touchdowns. The Badgers were able to jump out to the fast start I talked about in the preview article, but were only able to score 10 points in the game’s final 39 minutes. Like always, Wisconsin did some things well, but there were many things from this game the team will need to clean up because a trip to Provo, Utah, for the first road game against Brigham Young looms.

Like always, I will start with the positives. The list will obviously start with the freshman tailback. I mentioned his numbers above, but it goes beyond that. His balance and strength to break tackles is incredible. He has it all and we are lucky to have him for at least the next three seasons. Taylor is the first true freshman to start a game for the Badgers since Dwayne Smith in 2002. His best run of the game was his second touchdown run. He was stacked up behind the line of scrimmage, but broke free and was able to break no fewer than four tackles before running down the left sideline for the score. There is not much more to say about him other than “wow.” When Shaw comes back, Taylor will become that much more lethal.

Chris James had a nice bounce back game, rushing 16 times for 101 yards. Obviously, it is a much better performance than week one where he had five carries for 15 yards and a fumble. James still has not shown much ability in the passing game, despite having a lot of hype in that area in camp.

Lastly, the defense in the second half was very impressive. After giving up a few big plays in the first half, the defense put the clamps on Florida Atlantic’s offense in the second half. On 21 plays in half No. 2, the Owls just gained 50 yards and had just two first downs. The Badgers defense has still not allowed any points in the second half this year and has outscored their opponents 56-0 overall in the final halves. There is still plenty of work to do on that side of the ball, but this is something to build on.

Now, onto the negatives, and unfortunately, there were plenty. First of all, as good as sophomore quarterback Alex Hornibrook was last week, he was that poor yesterday. His numbers were okay yesterday afternoon, going 16-of-28 for 201 yards and one touchdown and one interception. However, when he missed, he missed bad. And even some of his completions were behind receivers. His interception in the second half was as horrible of a throw I’ve seen him make. And sometimes when he did throw a good pass, it was dropped. On two occasions, the normally sure-handed Troy Fumagalli dropped passes on third down that would have been first downs. He still had a nice game, catching a career-high eight passes for 92 yards and a touchdown, but it could have been even better.

There is no excuse for Wisconsin to not be able to make one yard in three plays down at the goal line. The Badgers need to punch that in. This has been a theme the last five or six years. They normally have a tremendous offensive line, so they should be able to score every single time when given three chances at the opponent’s one. Wisconsin also made too many mistakes. I mentioned being stopped three times from the Owls 1 and the awful Hornibrook interception, but after a big run, Taylor fumbled. Wisconsin won’t win too many games losing the turnover battle 2-0.

And finally, Wisconsin’s pass rush accepted my challenge and were able to sack Florida Atlantic’s Daniel Parr five times. However, mostly in the first half, the Badgers could not get any pass rush. Two of the sacks came in the first half, but the Owls only lost four total yards on those. The three sacks in the second half totaled 18 yards, so that was much better. It needs to be much more consistent, though. That would help limit big plays. Florida Atlantic hit a few big plays in week one and hit another yesterday.

The Badgers will hit the road for the first time next Saturday as they take on the BYU Cougars in Provo, Utah. BYU is 1-2 and has lost its last two after losing to in-state rival Utah at home last night.

Florida Atlantic/Wisconsin preview

Wisconsin will try to improve to 2-0 on the season as it welcomes the Florida Atlantic Owls, led by new coach Lane Kiffin, previously the offensive coordinator at Alabama. The Badgers shook off an early slow start against Utah State to rout the Aggies 59-10, while the Owls were thumped at home by Navy 42-19. On a serious note, it is nice that this game will be played and the Owls will be in Madison as Hurricane Irma is going to hit Florida sometime this weekend. In a nice gesture, if Florida Atlantic cannot return afterward, the UW will pay for the extra night(s), meals and let them use their facilities.

When Wisconsin runs...

The running game, like the Badgers as a whole, started slow last week against Utah State. In the second half, they turned it on. For the game, Wisconsin rushed for 234 yards, which is 44th in the country after the first week. Florida Atlantic, on the other hand, allowed 416 yards rushing to Navy. That is good enough for 121st. Granted, that does not matter much since it is just after one week. However, I do not see it improving much for the Owls. Navy is a difficult offense to face, and many teams need more than a week to recover after playing them. That is not a good recipe for coming in facing the Badgers. Wisconsin has a big offensive line, and it will wear down teams as the game goes along. Freshman Jonathan Taylor has earned more playing time after gaining 87 yards on nine carries in the opener. Sophomore Bradrick Shaw was steady, gaining 84 yards and averaging nearly five yards per carry. However, he may not play tomorrow. Chris James needs a better game, and I think he will get it. In the opener, James gained just 15 yards on five carries and a fumble. The underrated tough part for Florida Atlantic is playing the Badgers right after playing Navy. Granted, they would not be able to stop Wisconsin anyway, but this makes it virtually unstoppable. Bucky has an enormous edge this week, and they could rush for nearly 400 yards this week.

Edge: Wisconsin

When Wisconsin passes...

Sophomore quarterback Alex Hornibrook showed tremendous progress over last year. He already threw for three touchdowns, and he did not have one game last year where he threw more than one. He had more zip on his passes, and his accuracy on deep balls has improved, but his receivers need to catch the football. I expect Hornibrook to spread the ball around to his young receivers this week once again. Wisconsin knows what it has in both Troy Fumagalli and Jazz Peavy. The Badgers need one more pass catcher to emerge in order to have a chance to win the Big Ten and possibly earn a berth in the College Football Playoff. Navy only attempted 10 passes, completing three of them for 110 yards. Since the Midshipmen only attempted 10 passes, it is hard to tell how good the pass defense is for the Owls.

Edge: Wisconsin

When Florida Atlantic runs...

The Owls had just 40 yards rushing on 24 attempts. However, if you take out the quarterback runs and losses attributed to “team" rush yards lost, FAU actually rushed for 101 yards on 17 carries. I don’t expect them to be able to do much better against the strong defensive front of the Badgers, though. Even though Wisconsin will be without Chikwe Obasih, the defensive line is still strong. Alec James will slide in at starter and redshirt freshman Isaiahh Loudermilk will play plenty. In week one, Utah State rushed for just 85 yards on 27 carries. I see Wisconsin shutting down the Florida Atlantic ground attack.

Edge: Wisconsin

When Florida Atlantic passes the ball...

Kiffin has not announced who will start at quarterback this week. Against Navy, it was sophomore Daniel Parr (no relation to John) who started. His stats were not terrible, as he completed 19-of-30 passes for 281 yards and two touchdowns with one interception. His two touchdown passes were of the long distance variety, a 95-yarder to Willie Wright and a 62-yard pass to DeAndre McNeal, a transfer from Texas. After being booted from Florida State for punching a woman, De’Andre Johnson transferred to Florida Atlantic and he is in the mix as well. He played a little bit against Navy and went 2-of-3 for five yards and rushed for 31 yards as well. Jason Driskel is also in the mix. Perhaps we see two of the three quarterbacks tomorrow. Still, regardless of who the quarterback is, Wisconsin will have the edge here. The Badgers have arguably one of the top secondaries in the country. After a bit of a slow start, the pass defense settled down. Kent Myers went 25-of-41 for 219 yards and threw three interceptions. That is just a 5.3 yards per attempt avergage. Dink and dunk passes won’t get it done against Wisconsin. I am challenging the pass rush, though. After registering only one sack against Utah State, I challenged the pass rush to sack the Florida Atlantic quarterback(s) at least four times.

Edge: Wisconsin

Special Teams

There is no clear cut favorite here. Both teams had similar showings in week one. I would like to see the Badgers score a touchdown on every drive, but I would not be disappointed if Rafael Gaglianone gets a few chances for long field goals. It would be nice to see if he is fully back from the back injury that forced him to miss the last 11 games of last season. He made his one attempt last Friday, but that was a short one. Anthony Lotti is getting better and better every week. I would like to see the kick returns be a little bit better, though, for Wisconsin.

Edge: Push

Overview

This one should be over quickly, unless Wisconsin sleepwalks like it did against Georgia State last season. Bucky has a much better offense and defense. Regardless if Shaw plays or not, the Badgers have the horses to be able to run for a ton of yardage. More of Jonathan Taylor is never a bad thing. I would obviously like to see the Badgers start faster. I think they will and coast to an easy victory.

Prediction: Wisconsin 51, Florida Atlantic 13

Utah State/Wisconsin review

It took awhile, but finally the Badgers put away Utah State in the second half. After Wisconsin played an atrocious first 28 minutes and was down 10-0 to the heavy underdogs, Bucky dominated the final 32 minutes and ran away with the game, winning 59-10. It was the coming out party for true freshman running back Jonathan Taylor, who ran for a team-high 87 yards on just nine carries and a touchdown. Despite being dominated in the first 28 minutes, the Badgers still managed to outgain Utah State 478-304, and the Aggies gained 137 yards on their final two drive to make that difference closer than it actually was. Overall, the team has plenty to fix, but a good start nonetheless. The second half showed how good of a team they can be, even though it was against a team that just had three wins last season.

Since this is a happy article, I will start with the positives. First off, the second half in its entirety was as good of a half I have seen the Badgers play in awhile. Yes, I know it was Utah State, but that was a great half put together by Paul Chryst’s bunch. I should not be surprised since the team has so many veterans on it, but the way the team did not panic after falling behind early by 10 was impressive. They stuck to what Wisconsin does, and ran the football down the throats of Utah State to the tune of 234 yards on the ground.

In addition to the veterans the team has, the young players played really well. I will get to sophomore quarterback Alex Hornibrook next, as he had a very nice performance. In addition to the starting quarterback and Taylor (who I mentioned in the first paragraph), young wide receivers Quintez Cephus and Danny Davis had nice games as well. Cephus only had three catches, as Hornibrook spread the ball around, but he and the quarterback connected on a gorgeous back shoulder throw for a touchdown in the third quarter. Playing in his first career game, Davis played well even though he did not record a catch. First, he blocked multiple Utah State players on the left sideline on Zander Neuville’s 28-yard touchdown catch and he also drew a pair of defensive penalties that gave the Badgers a fresh set of downs. Also, freshman Isaiahh Loudermilk recorded Bucky’s only sack of the game.

Lastly, as I mentioned above, Hornibrook had a tremendous first game. Last season, the Wisconsin quarterback did not throw more than one touchdown in any game. Against Utah State, the sophomore had three, including the beautiful back shoulder throw to Cephus I mentioned above. For the game, he went 15-of-23 for 244 yards and the three scores. His receivers had several drops in the game last Friday or he would have had an even bigger day. If he keeps this up, he could have a very, very nice year. When in doubt, go to the ol’ reliable Troy Fumagalli, who had five catches for 105 yards and a score.

With every game, even in a game like this, there are plenty of things to work on. As I mentioned in the last paragraph, the receivers need to catch the ball. With many of the receivers being in their first or second year with the program, maybe some of it was first game jitters. You don’t want it to happen ever, but I wouldn’t panic unless it starts happening consistently. It was a nice game to throw to those receivers since Jazz Peavy will still be a very solid target, but only had one catch in the game.

Since it was only the first game, I would not worry about this like some fans are on social media, but that was a terrible start to the game. Being down 10 in the first quarter is not ideal, but they fought back to blow out Utah State. If it happens again against Florida Atlantic on Saturday, I will more worried, but I will chalk that up to it being the first game. It was the first time that they actually were on the field against an opponent, and Utah State was basically the first preseason game for the Badgers.

And finally, Utah State was breaking in an entirely new offensive line and Wisconsin only managed one sack. There were a few pressures, but not as much as I had hoped against that caliber of an offensive line. The linebackers played really well, tackling ball carriers for short yardage, but when the game is on the line and they need to put pressure on the opposing quarterback, they will need to be able to do so. I challenge the Badgers to have at least four sacks against Florida Atlantic on Saturday.

Next, Wisconsin will take on Lane Kiffin’s Florida Atlantic Owls on Saturday, which come in at 0-1 after losing to Navy 42-19. The game will be on the Big Ten Network at 11 CST.