The No. 19 Wisconsin Badgers took care of business inside Raymond James Stadium on Friday night in an impressive 49-0 win over the South Florida Bulls.
BadgerBlitz.com continues its "Five Burning Questions" series for the 2019 season as we now look ahead to Central Michigan in five days at Camp Randall Stadium.
1. From Week 1 to Week 2, just how many improvements will we see from Wisconsin against Central Michigan?
UW's defense looked aggressive and sharp for most of the game, and the Badgers' offense scored 42 points and racked up 433 total yards in the win. A dominant win, no doubt, but there were areas where Wisconsin could improve upon that were evident.
Against USF's defense, Paul Chryst's offense allowed three sacks, 11 tackles for loss and three quarterback hurries. One pressure caused quarterback Jack Coan to not set his feet enough to accurately hit wide receiver Quintez Cephus for a potentially long touchdown, but on the flip side, the coaching staff trusts the junior to throw it deep.
Defensively, two key drops by South Florida's receivers did not completely change the complexion of the game, but it would have provided the Bulls two big plays to at least move the chains against the Badgers.
Is Central Michigan the right litmus test for these weekly improvements? Not necessarily, but then again, some Power 5 programs -- hello, Tennessee, Arizona and Purdue -- dropped games to Group of 5 schools that they should have won.
2. What does the preliminary injury report look like heading into the home-opener against Central Michigan after Week 1?
The injury report normally comes out on Mondays right before Chryst's weekly press conferences. Just which Badgers show up on the list will be something to monitor after the initial game.
Redshirt senior inside linebacker Chris Orr was listed as questionable to return during the game with a right leg injury. Then redshirt sophomore safety Scott Nelson was shaken up on a play later in the game but walked off under his own power. Both are starters and combined for nine tackles against the Bulls before they departed the lopsided contest. Around Noon on Monday, we will see if they make the list or if the injuries were nothing serious enough to warrant that.
3. Will we see the pass rush and big plays from Wisconsin's defense continue?
In rewatching the game, Zack Baun and the Badgers' defense flew around and caused disruption to USF's rhythm. Obviously, the redshirt senior's strip-sack of Blake Barnett directly led to points on Matt Henningsen's fumble recovery and rumble for a touchdown. That play also appeared to be the point where the wheels fell off for the Bulls. Overall, UW registered four sacks, five tackles for loss and created three turnovers.
Central Michigan tallied 529 yards of offense in a 38-21 win against FCS program Albany. However, it gave up two sacks, five tackles or loss and coughed up the ball three times via fumbles. Based on CMU's season-opener, the Chippewa appear to utilize multiple personnel and formations, splitting out the receiving targets wide, two tight-end (12 personnel) looks and even deployed some empty backfield sets against the Great Danes.
Wisconsin generating that pressure once again from Baun, Izayah Green-May and others will disrupt any flow Central Michigan tries to set up.
4. How does Jonathan Taylor follow up his season-opening performance against Central Michigan?
The Heisman hopeful touched the ball 18 times for 183 yards with four touchdowns in about 32 minutes of game time on Friday night. He carried the ball 16 times for 135 yards with two scores on the ground, then also caught two passes for 48 yards that both went for six as well.
Three of Taylor's touchdowns became Wisconsin's longest chunk plays of the game (37, 38 and 36 yards).
CMU allowed just 244 yards to Albany last week, but they have not faced the caliber of back Taylor is. Is it just a matter of Central Michigan hoping to contain the junior back, and does he continue being the playmaker both on the ground and through the air heading into the bye week?
5. Will Wisconsin continue its display of offensive balance, and again, will it need to in non-conference play?
Taylor's performance showed his ability to hurt you in the run and passing games. Perhaps the question posed here is if that will be the microcosm of Wisconsin's offense this season going forward. The Badgers gained 433 yards (234 rushing, 199 passing) on the road against the Bulls. Coan completed 19-of-26 passes with those two touchdown passes to his Doak Walker Award-winning back.
Nine players caught passes for UW, with Cephus being targeted the most (five). With Kendric Pryor, Danny Davis, Jake Ferguson and A.J. Taylor all viable targets as well, the receiving game has that potential to continuously thrive in 2019. We will see if Wisconsin needs that this week against Central Michigan.
Jake Kocorowski covers Wisconsin football, basketball and recruiting for BadgerBlitz.com on the Rivals.com network. Follow him on Twitter at @JakeKoco.
