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.
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