Wisconsin recorded its second-straight blowout victory in Piscataway on Saturday.
BadgerBlitz.com has grades and game balls from Wisconsin's Week 7 win to move to 4-2 on the season.
OFFENSE: A
The two turnovers and the poor situational play right before halftime keep this unit from scoring a perfect A+, but this was another highly encouraging performance from Phil Longo's squad.
The aggression and balance is what stood out the most. Wisconsin came out of the gates guns blazing, knowing that it would be much easier to beat this Rutgers team while forcing them to play catch-up. Right from the jump, you knew the Badgers wanted to be the aggressor. The first play this offense ran was a slot fade to Will Pauling that fell just incomplete. Several plays later, a go ball to Vinny Anthony picked up 34 yards and set up the game's first touchdown, a 16-yard pass to Pauling.
The Badgers hit on the big plays through the air early, but their ground game also got rolling from the jump which helped create the aforementioned balance. Wisconsin clearly had something it liked, as it repeatedly pulled left guard Joe Brunner to help create room up front. As a whole, the offensive line was clinical, generating tremendous push up front all afternoon.
Braedyn Locke came out like he smelled blood in the water. He looked deep downfield early and often. He had two gorgeous throws to his new favorite deep threat Anthony, the 34 yarder and then a 47 yarder in the third quarter. His interception was a rather boneheaded throw, as Anthony was double-covered and couldn't even find the ball. He had another dangerous pass where Trech Kekahuna bailed him out of trouble, making a tough hands catch with a defender all over him. Still, he finished with 240 yards and a touchdown while completing 71 percent of his passes with a rushing score on the books as well. The good came with the bad, but it was overwhelmingly good, and once again, Locke took vital strides in the efficiency department.
In the backfield, Tawee Walker firmly asserted himself as the RB1. He racked up 24 carries for 198 yards and three scores while averaging 8.3 yards-per-carry. He consistently got to the edge and was his usual bruising self, seeking out contact and falling forward time and time again.
It's also now abundantly clear that Darrion Dupree is the RB2. Although he was out-gained by Cade Yacamelli, who racked up 72 yards in garbage time, he was the second tailback off the bench and though he only collected 46 total yards, he did score his first collegiate touchdown on a two-yard run.
Though he only played a half of football, Pauling was the leading receiver in a game where 10 Badgers caught a pass. His touchdown on Wisconsin's opening drive was a nice snag and an even better job getting open in the end zone. His afternoon took an unfortunate turn, however, as just before halftime, he dropped an easy completion over the middle and was knocked out of the game on the next play, fumbling in the process.
Kekahuna saw five targets and turned that into 39 yards. While it was a quiet day statistically for the young receiver, the Badgers made a concerted effort to get him the ball, a good sign that this offense is beginning to recognize its key playmakers.
Longo just stacked the best performances of his Wisconsin career in back-to-back games. A unit that looked lost just weeks ago now has some semblance of an identity. When the Badgers run the ball well, and counter that with tempo and deep shots, they're hard to stop.
