Easily, the biggest positive in the game was the quarterback. In the preview for this game, I wrote Hornibrook needed to make some plays in order to win. Boy did he ever. Considering the opponent, this may have been his best performance ever. In the game, the sophomore quarterback completed 23 of 34 passes for 258 yards and four touchdowns, and perhaps more importantly, zero interceptions. His four touchdown passes are the most in Wisconsin bowl history. It was only the fourth game in 14 that he did not throw it to the other team, but it was the second in the three games. As good as he was, he was even better on third down. When the defense knew he was going to pass, he completed 7-of-11 passes for 85 yards with five of them resulting in first downs and four of those coming on 3rd-and-7+. And he was going against the defense which was second in the country in sacks. His poise was outstanding during the game. Even when facing pressure, his pocket presence was very good to elude the pressure and make great throws. The young receiving core made some great catches, but Hornibrook was able to deliver the ball to them where only they could catch it. Even with all the great performances, the Badgers quarterback was named Orange Bowl Most Valuable Player, and he earned it. What an outstanding performance by him against a very good defense. With his performance, he moved into 10th place on Wisconsin’s all-time passing yardage list. In passing touchdowns, he moved up to sixth all-time (34) and his 25 touchdown passes this year are second in school history, only to Russell Wilson’s 33 in 2011. If he plays like this in 2018, this offense will be nearly impossible to stop.
Next, I will go to the Badgers bell-cow, Jonathan Taylor. He had a disappointing performance in the Big Ten Championship against Ohio State, rushing for only 41 yards on 15 carries. Taylor made up for it against a stingy Miami defense, rushing for 130 yards on 26 carries, a five yard average. The 130 yards by Taylor were the most the Hurricanes defense allowed to a single player all year, and he was only the third player to break the century mark against that great defense. He started fast and never looked back, even though he fumbled (which really wasn’t a fumble....I have no idea how it was reversed) on the opening drive. In the game, the freshman phenom set the NCAA record for most rushing yards by a freshman, breaking the record of former Oklahoma great Adrian Peterson (although, the record really belongs to Ron Dayne). Taylor rushed for at least 100 yards in 10 of Wisconsin’s 14 games, and he got hurt in one of the four he didn’t rush for 100 (Illinois) and came off the bench in another (Utah State). What a spectacular season by him, and us Badgers fans are lucky enough to be able to watch him the next two seasons as well. I could see a Heisman in his future. He finished sixth this year and will only get better. Even if that fumble was a poor reversal on the first drive, he still needs to work on his ball security. Taylor fumbled the ball eight times on the year, losing six. That will need to be addressed because that is way too many. That was the only blemish on what was otherwise an incredible freshman season. And the best is yet to come!
No Jazz Peavy. No Quintez Cephus. No problem for this receiving core. Every game, this unit improves. It isn’t just one player, either. One game, it could be Danny Davis. One game, it could be A.J. Taylor. Another, it could be Kendric Pryor. In the Orange Bowl, it was Davis and Taylor. I’ll start off with Davis, who caught five passes for 56 yards and three touchdowns. The true freshman became the first Badgers player to record multiple receiving touchdowns in a bowl game. He caught three. According to Pro Football Focus, Davis was targeted six times in the Orange Bowl and when targeted, Hornibrook had a 145.1 passer rating. The true freshman’s three touchdown catches are the most by a Badger since Garrett Graham also had three in a win over Michigan State in 2009. He will be playing on Sundays after his time in Madison. Sophomore A.J. Taylor had a great coming out party. Coming into the game, he only had 23 catches for 370 yards and four touchdowns. His eight catches for 105 yards in the Orange Bowl are both career-highs. He also added a great touchdown reception late in the first half. Of his eight catches, four went for either a first down or a touchdown. He has really stepped up in the absence of Cephus. When Quintez comes back, though, watch out. Cephus and A.J. Taylor are both sophomores and Davis and Pryor are both freshman. They will be loaded at wide receiver next season.
Moving right along, I have to give some props to he offensive line. The line helped the Jonathan Taylor run for his 130 yards and created clean pockets for Hornibrook. Miami came into the game having sacked opposing quarterbacks 43 times, which was second in the country. Well, the offensive line allowed just one sack to the fearsome Miami pass rush. Tackle David Edwards was getting beat repeatedly during the game, and was taken out due to injury. Enter redshirt freshman Patrick Kasl. The freshman held his own and Hornibrook’s jersey stayed clean. Guard Beau Benzschawel has decided to come back for his senior season, so if Michael Deiter follows suit, the entire offensive line will return. It has a chance to return to dominance like in 2010 and 2011.
The defense as a whole played decent. The group played well in the final three quarters, allowing only 10 points after spotting the Hurricanes a 14-3 lead after the first quarter. After Miami blew down the field on its first three drives, resulting in the 14 points, the Wisconsin defense held Miami to minus-8 yards on eight plays in its next three possessions, including an interception by Andrew Van Ginkel, his second in as many games. The defense gave up way too many big plays, just like against Ohio State. However, they did have a few major standouts in the game. Let’s start with Van Ginkel, since I already mentioned him. He turned the tide in the game. The Canes had driven deep into Bucky territory on all of their first three drives, and the Badgers just had to punt it back to Miami’s red hot offense, already trailing 14-3. After a tackle for loss on first down, Malik Rosier tried a screen on second down that was picked off by the Badgers junior linebacker. That helped set up a touchdown pass from Hornibrook to Davis to cut it to 14-10. It was the first of three consecutive touchdown drives by the Wisconsin offense. For the game, Van Ginkel had three tackles, including a sack, and that interception. He is ready for the expanded role he will get next year with Leon Jacobs and Garret Dooley graduating. Derrick Tindal had a nice send-off, finishing with one very big interception. With Miami having all the confidence in the world, Tindal made the biggest play of his career. The Hurricanes scored a long touchdown on their second drive of the second half to cut it to 24-21 and had moved the ball 37 yards in the previous three plays to move to the Wisconsin 24. But Tindal picked off a Rosier pass in the end zone, thwarting the Miami threat. He was also a huge reason why the Hurricanes were just 2-of-10 on third downs in the game.
The last two years, few kickers in America have been as good as Rafael Gaglianone. He was money again on Saturday night. The kicker was a big reason why Bucky emerged victorious. Gaglianone was 2-of-2 on the night with makes from 35 and 47. That 47-yard field goal put the Badgers up 27-21 late in the third quarter, and he improved to 4-of-4 from 40+ on the season. Compare that to Miami’s Michael Badgley, who just made 1-of-3, including the back-breaker, a 24-yard chip shot which hit the upright and kept the Badgers in front by two scores. He was 14-of-16 on his attempts this season, and has made 26 of his past 29, dating back to 2015. With his two field goals made, he moves in front of Philip Welch for the second most field goals in school history with 60. He trails only Todd Gregoire’s 65, so barring injury, Gaglianone will blow past Gregoire’s record. The 88.9 percent clip he hit from this year is also second, only to Matt Davenport’s 90.5 percent in 1998. It sure is nice having a reliable kicker after what the team dealt with in 2012 and 2013. Gaglianone is one of the best kickers this program has ever had, and he still has another season. Bravo Rafael!
Finally, the resilience this team has shown all year long has been incredible. Things looked bad after the first quarter. Wisconsin was down 14-3 and could not slow the Miami offense down at all. But, like it has all season, bounced back in a big way. In the second quarter, the Badgers outscored the Hurricanes 21-0 to take a 24-14 lead into halftime. That was the fourth time it has trailed by at least 10 points this season: Down 10-0 to Utah State, 10-0 to Indiana and multiple times against Ohio State......and the team battled back each time. After trailing by double digits this year, the Badgers ouscored opponents 143-20 and won three of those four games. They lost 27-21 to Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship, but had a chance to win it at the end, even after trailing 24-13 early in the fourth quarter.
What a year it was for the Wisconsin Badgers. Heading into the year, there were many questions, and not many answers after a slow start against Utah State. Most thought Wisconsin would finish with 10 or 11 wins in the regular season based solely on its less-than-tough schedule. Well, the Badgers finished 12-0 and were just a few plays from going 13-0 and a berth in the College Football Playoff. Next year, the Badgers will have to replace several defensive starters and will have a much tougher schedule, as they have road games against Penn State, Michigan, Iowa and Northwestern. The offense should be loaded, though, with as many as nine starters returning. I already cannot wait for next season, starting Aug. 31 against Western Kentucky at Camp Randall Stadium.
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