Most of the college football world penciled in a Badgers loss to Ohio State before the season and even after Wisconsin got off to a hot start, but no one could have predicted the meltdown in Champaign.
Just a week ago, the visiting Michigan State Spartans had enjoyed the craze that is the tradition of Jump Around at Camp Randall, even in the midst of being shutout 17-0.
When then-No. 19 Wisconsin left campus for their season opener in South Florida back in August, there was a significantly smaller spotlight on the team.
“We want to be like the monsters of the midway, we want to be the no-name defense of the Dolphins,” Senior linebacker Chris Orr said.
Michigan State (4-3 overall, 2-2 Big Ten) came to Madison, Wisconsin on Saturday, hoping to be the first team to solve No. 8 Wisconsin’s (6-0 overall, 3-0 Big Ten) defense in 2019. But, four quarters later the Spartans left Camp Randall without an answer.
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.
Michigan State has had a very up and down season to this point. They started off the season with two dominant performances against Tulsa and Western Michigan, combing for 79 points, boosting their ranking to No. 18.
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.
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.
The No.8 Wisconsin Badgers (5-0 overall, 2-0 Big Ten) will look to improve to 6-0 with Michigan State Spartans (4-2 overall, 2-1 Big Ten) coming to town for homecoming weekend.
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 last few years, the Heisman Trophy has seen quarterbacks dominate the award. Since 2010, nine of 10 of the winners have been quarterbacks.
Wisconsin running back Jonathan Taylor has enjoyed an extraordinary 2019 season thus far, appearing nearly unstoppable each time he carries the rock.
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.
The Wisconsin faithful must have known the game was gonna be a blowout. Either that, or the inclement weather scared them away from filling up Camp Randall the way they usually do. Either way, there were pockets of empty seats throughout the stadium and you can’t blame them.
While as a whole, Wisconsin has had one of its more dominant seasons ever on offense, scoring over 42 points per game, Jonathon Taylor and the Badgers were stymied by Northwestern, scoring only ten points off of a Taylor touchdown and a field goal. This shouldn’t be concerning against a Big Ten defense, but the Badgers should look to get back into rhythm against a weaker Kent State defense that has surrendered 42.5 points to Power 5 programs this season. While it is important to focus on the game at hand, the Badgers would do well to view this as a tune up game before facing much tougher competition in Big Ten conference play.
The defending champion Clemson Tigers were supposed to breeze through their schedule once again this season. With All-American and hair legend Trevor Lawrence at quarterback, stud Travis Etienne in the backfield and a wide receiving core that seems like a video game cheat (especially Tee Higgins), it seems inevitable that they’ll return to the Playoff, and possibly go back-to-back. Sure, they lost a lot in their defensive front seven, but they have the talent to steamroll their ACC opponents.
Last season’s starting inside linebackers T.J. Edwards and Ryan Connelly both moved on to the NFL, leaving a hole that redshirt senior Chris Orr has thrived in.
Donning minimalist red jerseys and brown pants on Saturday against Northwestern, the No. 8 Wisconsin Badgers (4-0 overall, 2-0 Big Ten) beat the Northwestern Wildcats (1-3 overall, 0-2 Big Ten) in their late-19th century throwback threads.
The Wisconsin Badgers host the Kent State Golden Flashes at Camp Randall on Saturday Oct. 5 at 11a.m. in a match that provides the Badgers their second brush with a MAC conference opponent after their game against Central Michigan.
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