MADISON -- The No. 8 Wisconsin Badgers handled Kent State at Camp Randall in a 48-0 blowout. Saturday's win saw the UW offense return to form in a big way, led by the Heisman Trophy hopeful Jonathan Taylor.

The Badgers' defense allowed zero points once again, shutting out all non-conference opponents this regular season.

Here are our weekly grades, position-by-position:

For starter Jack Coan, there wasn't much more than game management that needed to be done. He finished the day playing a little over two-and-a-half quarters, and during his six drives of action the junior only attempted 15 passes. He concluded Saturday's action 12-for-15 with 134 yards and two scores. Of the six drives Coan led, all ended in touchdowns. The Sayville, N.Y., native missed on his only deep shot to wide receiver Quintez Cephus, as he slightly overthrew a ball down the right sideline. The first touchdown pass was an easy pitch-and-catch to Taylor where the back did most of the work. The second was a connection with Jake Ferguson from two yards out.

True freshman Graham Mertz stepped in late in the third-quarter and played the entire fourth. It was mostly dinking and dunking for the true freshman, along with a pinpointed dart to redshirt junior wide receiver Adam Krumholz that snuck over the Kent State defensive back for a gain of 14.

While it was a game for Coan and the Wisconsin offense to gain confidence, we didn't learn anything from the Badgers unit picking apart a defense that doesn't have the personnel of a Big Ten team.

There are no adjectives left in the English dictionary to describe the play of Jonathan Taylor. The Heisman candidate made a statement in the first half against a helpless Golden Flashes defense with four touchdowns (five overall in the game).

The junior finished his afternoon with 19 carries for 186 yards and four touchdowns on the ground, while adding three catches for 29 yards and a score through the air. The fall-camp buzz surrounding Taylor in the passing game is real, as he led the Badgers in receiving. Taylor hauled in a short pass from Coan and did the work with his legs for an 18-yard score in the second quarter.

Four Badgers running backs saw time throughout the day. Redshirt freshman Nakia Watson led the way after Taylor was shut down after his 48-yard touchdown run on UW's first drive of the second half. Watson showed bursts of speed on his 12 carries for 63 yards. Walk-on Brady Schipper saw action in the fourth quarter and recorded six rushes for 21 yards.

Redshirt senior Bradrick Shaw saw a couple red-zone carries and ended with three total carries for 10 yards.

It's hard to make any conclusions based on this game from a wide receiver standpoint. The lone deep ball went off the hands of Cephus, but it would be harsh to put the blame for the incompletion on him. That miss to Cephus happened to be the only incompletion thrown by Coan to a Badgers receiver.

For a passing game that was shaky against Northwestern last week, and a Wisconsin offense that relied heavily on Taylor this week, the aerial attack will see its true judgment come against the likes of Michigan State, Ohio State and Iowa coming up.

The highlight belongs to redshirt sophomore Jake Ferguson after his one-handed grab in the end zone on Wisconsin's second drive of the third quarter. It was the Madison native's first touchdown of the year.

The tight ends were used a lot in blocking roles as the Badgers went ground and pound for the majority of the day.

The offensive line created holes that were missing last week against Northwestern. In rare moments of pass protection, the Badgers group only allowed a single sack. While there were times where Taylor's individual brilliance took over, the men up front gave the star back the time to bounce outside for multiple, big runs.

Once again, physical dominance showed itself as the line propelled Taylor forward on a couple runs. Postgame, Ferguson called this group, "the best offensive line in the country." It's hard to disagree.

The defensive line lead the way in holding the Golden Flashes scoreless at Camp Randall Stadium. It started with stuffing the run, and the defensive push held Kent State to just 28 carries for 60 yards for an average of barely over two yards per rush.

Starting defensive end Isaiah Loudermilk clogged up running lanes and helped Wisconsin dominate the line of scrimmage. That effort allowed the linebacking core to get to the quarterback and force punts.

Top marks are deserved all around for a defense that pitched its third shutout in five games. For the second consecutive week, redshirt senior Chris Orr was a big-time story. His energy led the UW defense and his final stats show his impact. One of the leaders of the defense was tied for the team lead with five total tackles. Orr also recorded a pair of sacks.

Fellow starter Jack Sanborn also continued his blistering start to the 2019 season. The sophomore recorded a pair of sacks, including one where he went airborne to take down the Kent State quarterback. Both Orr and Sanborn continued to shine in defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard's nickel package, which was the look that UW was primarily in throughout the day.

Arguably Wisconsin's most impressive defensive player so far, Zack Baun was wreaking havoc again against the Golden Flashes. The redshirt senior star recorded a season-high three sacks. His ability to get to the quarterback has allowed this Badgers defense to thrive against the pass. He has been a menace to block and will continue to be a nightmare for opposing offensive coordinators to deal with.

The Wisconsin secondary allowed only 64 total passing yards to the Kent State offense and only allowed 10 total completions. The partnership of sophomores Rachad Wildgoose and Faion Hicks once again proved to be effective in the nickel package.

The tackling ability of Wildgoose was once again on display, as two of the three tackles he made were for gains of three or less by the Kent State receivers.

Hicks also had a solid third quarter stop for no gain on an attempted quarterback run by starter Dustin Crum. Deron Harrell also saw the field and recorded two pass breakups.

The safety duo of Eric Burrell and Reggie Pearson was back to start the game after serving a suspension in last weeks first half. There wasn't much even attempted over the top by the Golden Flashes offense, and the duo was not tested the same way they will be in Big Ten play.

After a big second half against Northwestern, it was a rather pedestrian day for the duo, not because they didn't make big plays, but because they didn't necessarily have to.

Outside of the automatic touchbacks from Zach Hintze, the UW unit had a few questions that were still yet to be answered. The Badgers did not attempt a field goal, although Collin Larsh missed an extra point after Wisconsin's sixth touchdown of the afternoon.

Following a muffed punt in last week's second half, redshirt junior Jack Dunn dropped a punt yet again, but was able to recover it himself.

Wisconsin took care of business in their final non-conference tune-up game against Kent State. It was a day where we can't learn much from a dominant win given the level of opponent, but it was positive to see the offense come out with force and score touchdowns on all four of their first half possessions. The defense continued to dominate en route to the third goose egg on the board for an opponent.

Certain questions remain about special teams and the passing game, but those are ones that can only be answered against the class of the Big Ten.