After the early 34-14 Wisconsin win against FAU last weekend, my plan was to rest up to prepare myself for the incredible slate of night games.
Paul Chryst doesn’t run an offense with exotic spread packages or flashy play calls to try and keep the opposing defense guessing. The Badgers’ offense doesn’t try to hide what they do.
With Hurricane Irma making landfall in Florida this past weekend, Florida Atlantic University’s football team has had an extended stay in Madison after losing to the Badgers this past Saturday.
Growing up as a kid in the D.C. area, Wisconsin football was a program in my periphery. Unlike a majority of current UW cohorts, Badger football wasn’t part of a weekly routine for me, nor was I constantly aware of their year-to-year roster and coaching changes.
Wisconsin (0-0 Big Ten, 2-0 overall) defeated Florida Atlantic (0-0, 0-2) in a comfortable 17-point victory on Saturday, but a couple of crucial mistakes allowed the Owls to stay in the game for longer than expected. Florida Atlantic head coach Lane Kiffin’s team trailed just 21-14 with 4:29 remaining in the first half, but the Badgers cleaned up their play after that point, closing the game on a 10-0 run. The first of Wisconsin’s major mistakes was a blown coverage in the first quarter which left Florida Atlantic junior wide receiver DeAndre McNeal wide open for a 63-yard score. According to senior cornerback Derrick Tindal, there was miscommunication between him and the other defensive backs—Tindal expected safety help over the top, and, accordingly, moved infield instead of following the Owls’ receiver, leaving him wide open on the sideline with nothing but the end zone in front of him. “I should’ve done a better job of relaying it to the corner [Nelson], and I didn’t, and it turned into a big play,” Tindal said.
The Badgers (0-0 Big Ten, 2-0 Overall) found the next great Wisconsin running back in their 31-14 win over Flordia Atlantic (0-0, 0-2). True freshman Jonathan Taylor put his mark on Camp Randall history with an astonishing performance of 223 yards and three touchdowns.
Daily Cardinal football beat writers Lorin Cox and Jake Nisse join sports editors Ethan Levy and Ben Pickman to preview Wisconsin's week two matchup against Florida Atlantic.
After true freshman running back Jonathan Taylor exploded for 87 yards and a touchdown Friday night versus Utah State, Wisconsin fans stood up and took notice of who could possibly be the next heir to the Badgers’ long line of running backs. But Taylor himself wasn’t that impressed with his debut performance. “I think that I could’ve played better,” Taylor said.
With 4:52 left in the second quarter, the Utah State Aggies took a timeout. Up 10-0 over the No. 9 team in the country, USU didn’t want to let UW back into the game. The timeout, taken right before the Badgers were flagged for a false start that resulted in a third-and-12 situation, would help keep enough time on the clock for the Aggies to possibly march down the field and pad their 10-point lead. All they needed was a stop on third down, but senior tight end Troy Fumagalli had other plans. An incomplete pass would’ve left the Badgers facing a fourth down outside of field goal range at the Utah State 49.
Below are three keys for UW and FAU in preparation for Saturday morning's game: Florida Atlantic: Rely on the run. The Owls have a very threatening duo returning to their backfield this season.
“Welcome to college football Saturday” is a beautiful phrase. Hearing it means great games, fun performances by awesome players, rivalries and upsets are bound to happen.
Florida Atlantic head coach Lane Kiffin has a knack for being the center of attention. Whether he’s coaching in the NCAA or the NFL, in the south or out west, as a head coach or as an assistant, controversy and national headlines seem to follow the 42-year-old like his very own shadow. So it’s no surprise that the majority of the attention directed towards a Florida Atlantic program that’s attempting to recover from three straight 3-9 seasons has centered around the accomplished but erratic head coach since he left his job as offensive coordinator for Alabama the week before the national title game. Kiffin has worked hard to make the roster his own, installing his son Chris as defensive coordinator and adding 12 transfers from junior college and FBS programs, but for now he’ll primarily be looking to make the best of the remnants of a squad that finished sixth in Conference USA’s eastern division last season. On offense, that means featuring sophomore running back Devin Singletary, who rushed for 1021 yards on only 152 carries as a true freshman in 2016.
Through the first weekend of college football, the Big Ten showcased its depth and went 11-3, including No. 2 Ohio State’s 49-21 victory over conference opponent Indiana.
I had fully written this column in my head by the end of the first quarter of Friday night’s game against Utah State.
The 2017 NFL offseason was fun, dramatic, exciting, rewarding, somber, unpredictable and emotional for a group of Wisconsin players that were trying to make their dreams of playing in the National Football League come true.
Wisconsin offensive lines are held to a different standard, given the history of the position in the program.
Nearly eight months removed from their last game, the Wisconsin Badgers (0-0, 1-0) looked the part of a rusty team in the first half of their 59-10 win versus the Utah State Aggies (0-0, 0-1) on Friday night. The Aggies stunned Camp Randall by jumping out to a 10-0 lead with 3:47 remaining in the first quarter, as senior running back LaJuan Hunt punched in a 12-yard score on the ground. With the Badgers’ floundering offense failing to catch balls and find holes in the running game, the score remained the same until a chaotic 72-second period before halftime saw Wisconsin deadlock the score at 10-10. Redshirt sophomore running back Bradrick Shaw capped off a 15-play, 79 yard drive with a three-yard touchdown, before Rafael Gaglianone kicked a 29-yard field goal following a T.J.
Much like Lil Wayne in the 2008 pop hit “Let it Rock” by Kevin Rudolf, I’m back like I forgot something (note: my similarities with Mr. Wayne end there). In my inaugural foray into the Sports section of the Daily Cardinal, whose Opinion section I’ve been known to frequent, I’m here to write about the position that could make or break the Badgers’ hope at an undefeated regular season, a Big 10 title shot and, dare I say it, an elusive playoff spot.
Friday night, Utah State will attempt to bounce back from five straight losses that capped a disappointing 3-9 record last season.
As the Badgers gear up for the start of their season and their first game against the Utah State Aggies, they’ll be without one of their key veterans—star linebacker Jack Cichy.
Solutions by The State News
