MINNEAPOLIS -- Inside a swirling winter wonderland that was TCF Bank Stadium, the No. 13 Wisconsin Badgers shut down the No. 9 Minnesota Golden Gophers, 38-17, on Saturday.
BadgerBlitz.com breaks down five things we learned from what became a lopsided victory.
1. This was a team win.
All across the board, Wisconsin dominated Minnesota. Yes, the Gophers struck early on their first offensive possession, but by the second quarter, the Badgers began cooking on all sides of the ball.
The offense gained 453 yards and scored five touchdowns, while the defense contained Minnesota (372 yards). Special teams made big splashes with Isaac Guerendo's 49-yard return on a kickoff return end around and Zach Hintze hitting his lone field goal attempt and all five extra points.
This was a game that this program wanted. The Badgers not only regained Paul Bunyan's Axe, they were anointed the title of Big Ten West division champions.
2. Wisconsin's unleashed more of the "Top Hits" from years' past and today on offense.
Two end arounds to wide receiver Kendric Pryor yielded a fourth-down conversion and a 26-yard touchdown.
On a 3rd-and-5, Wisconsin called a tight end screen to Jake Ferguson, who gained 20 yards to move the chains. Three plays later, quarterback Jack Coan found a Jonathan Taylor for a 28-yard touchdown.
The variety of play calls allowed Wisconsin to charge up and down the field in the second half, where it scored on four consecutive possessions. In one drive, Coan found Quintez Cephus twice on a series -- the first and last play -- that eventually resulted in a touchdown.
UW perfectly executed a screen to Garrett Groshek for 70 yards on the first drive of the fourth quarter that set up Taylor's first rushing score. Note the fake jet sweep/end around action and how that opens the left side of the field for the linemen and the former walk-on.
3. The Badgers defense held its own against a very talented offense.
It wasn't always pretty, but Wisconsin got the job done against a unit that averaged about 247 through the air and 185 on the ground. Overall, Jim Leonhard's unit contained the Gophers to just 372 overall -- about 60 under their coverage. Mostly important, P.J. Fleck's offense scored just 17 points on the evening.
Tanner Morgan completed just 54 percent of his throws (20-of-37) for 296 yards with two touchdowns, and the combination of Tyler Johnson and Rashod Bateman caught 14 passes for 236 yards and two touchdowns. However, UW contained the rushing attack (76 yards) and got to Morgan often.
Cornerback Caesar Williams played perhaps the game of his career so far on Saturday, tallying an interception and a career-high four pass breakups. Two came on consecutive crucial downs with goal to go. On third- and fourth-down plays early in the fourth quarter, the redshirt junior swarmed Johnson and nullified any scoring chance.
Wisconsin's offense would then take the ball from its own four-yard line and march 96 yards to put the Badgers up by three touchdowns in what seemed to be the eventual anchor that stalled the Minnesota boat.
4. Wisconsin got to Morgan often.
Coming into the game, Minnesota allowed just 25 sacks on the season. Saturday, UW brought Tanner Morgan down five times and applied pressure on him often.
Outside linebacker Zack Baun led the team with two on the day to take his 2019 total up to 11.5 in 12 contests. He and inside linebacker Chris Orr, who registered a half sack on Saturday, are now tied for the team lead heading into the Big Ten Championship game against Ohio State.
It should be interesting just how many pressures Pro Football Focus credits the Badgers with having. For that matter, Wisconsin tallied eight tackles for loss against the Minnesota offense.
5. "Air Coan" overwhelmed the Minnesota defense.
As we all expected in wintry conditions, Jack Coan and the passing game came alive across state borders. The junior completed 15-for-22 or 280 yards and two touchdowns for a passer rating of 205.1.
We already discussed his two big passes to Cephus on the drive, but once again, Coan showed the ability to find his receivers and allow them to make plays. On the first completion to Cephus in that third quarter drive, he allowed his redshirt junior wide out to make a play on the ball. Then Coan found him perfectly in stride behind two Minnesota defenders.
Coan commanded an offense that showed extreme versatility with its looks, and Minnesota did not know what hit it.
