Published Sep 21, 2019
Wisconsin Badgers Game Day Grades: Michigan
Asher Low  •  BadgerBlitz
BadgerBlitz.com Staff Writer

MADISON -- The No.13 Wisconsin Badgers dismantled the No.11 Michigan Wolverines at Camp Randall in a 35-14 win on Saturday afternoon.

Despite UW's 110-0 aggregate score through two games, there were questions about whether all of that success would continue against a team like Michigan. The Badgers answered nearly all of them.

Junior running back Jonathan Taylor eclipsed 200 yards, junior quarterback Jack Coan finished with 128 yards passing and no turnovers. On the other side of the line of scrimmage, the Wisconsin defense continued to impress.

BadgerBlitz.com brings back our weekly grades for the team in a position-by-position format:

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QUARTERBACK: A/B

It was a day where Coan had to be a game manager who did not make crucial mistakes. That's exactly what the junior was. He finished the contest with 128 yards passing and completed 13 of his 16 attempts.

The most important number for Coan? Zero interceptions. The lack of turnovers from the signal caller and the offense as a whole allowed Wisconsin to get off to a quick start and never look back.

Perhaps the most impressive throw of the day for Coan came in the second quarter on a 4th-and-3 play from the Michigan 42-yard line. The offensive line picked up a blitz, allowing the junior the time to place a perfect ball on the right sideline to wide receiver Quintez Cephus for a gain of 26. That play would set up Wisconsin's third touchdown.

Another story regarding Coan was his mobility in the pocket. Not only did he perfectly execute a quarterback sneak for a second quarter touchdown, but he also had an explosive 25-yard burst for a score.

RUNNING BACK: A

Taylor has had some special moments as a Badger. Today's first quarter performance is up there with any of them, as he finished the first 15 minutes with 143 yards on 12 carries and a pair of touchdowns. On the opening drive of the game for Wisconsin, the Heisman candidate wore down the Wolverines as he carried the ball eight times for 51 yards and a touchdown.

The play of the game offensively for Wisconsin came on Taylor's 72-yard touchdown run with 2:43 left in the first quarter. UW initially lined up in trips left and sent Kendric Pryor in motion to the right. The Michigan defense was fooled by the wide receiver's movement and Taylor cut left, then turned on the afterburners to the south end zone.

The New Jersey native ended the day with 203 yards, becoming the first Wisconsin player ever to rush for over 200 yards against Michigan. That was with Taylor sitting out the entire second quarter due to cramps, although he did not suffer any apparent lasting injury.

Redshirt freshman Nakia Watson managed 31 yards on his 13 carries, but redshirt senior Bradrick Shaw cut loose in the fourth quarter for a 42-yard run. Redshirt junior Garrett Groshek also turned in a nice day taking his four carries for 40 yards before exiting with a right leg injury.

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WIDE RECEIVERS: B

This grade has less to do with poor play as it does to do with lack of opportunity. The way the Badgers pounded the Wolverines on the ground early set the tone for the day. The longest pass play of the day came on the fourth down toss from Coan to Cephus for 26 yards. The Badgers lined up in trips right, and Cephus went towards the sideline while A.J. Taylor and Danny Davis broke towards the middle of the field. The end result was an over the shoulder grab by Cephus on a well delivered ball by Coan.

Badger receivers only made seven grabs on the day in total, and Coan only attempted 16 throw, a few of which were to tight end Jake Ferguson as well as Jonathan Taylor and Groshek.

TIGHT END: A/B

Ferguson finished the day with a pedestrian three receptions for 28 yards. He was a continued threat in the Wisconsin passing game, although Wisconsin didn't need to go through the air much after the first quarter. The redshirt sophomore had a big first down grab to give Wisconsin breathing room when they were backed up on their own four to start their second drive.

OFFENSIVE LINE: A

The unsung heroes of the run game came up big today against by far the best defensive line Wisconsin has seen this year. The line only gave up one sack on the day and gave Coan time in the pocket when Wisconsin did throw. It was smash-mouth, old-school Badgers football, as the line dominated on the ground. Holes were everywhere for Taylor to exploit, specifically up the middle.

DEFENSIVE LINE: A

Once again, Wisconsin and the defensive line took the running game away from an opponent. The Wolverines totaled 40 yards on the ground. Former walk-on Matt Henningsen recorded a tackle for loss in the win and also had a key tipped pass at the line of scrimmage that allowed safety Eric Burrell to come up with an interception in the second quarter.

Defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard's unit was impressive in all facets, and the line was no exception.

INSIDE LINEBACKERS: A

It's hard to choose one, although sophomore Jack Sanborn has one of the strongest cases for player of the game. The sophomore was all over the field and all over the stat sheet. He followed up his first career interception in Week 2 with seven total tackles, a sack and a forced fumble against the Wolverines.

Redshirt senior inside linebacker Chris Orr finished with one tackle, a fourth-quarter fumble recovery and two quarterback hurries and two pass breakups in the win.

OUTSIDE LINEBACKERS: A

If you want to start an argument over player of the game honors, another guy that has to be on the list is Zack Baun. The senior leader had himself a day, finishing with seven total tackles, putting him in a tie with Sanborn for the team high.

Baun also recorded a sack, had two tackles for loss, and a forced fumble. No. 56 was everywhere for the Badgers.

Redshirt junior Noah Burks had a more quiet day in the stat sheet, but the tandem continued their impressive start to the year.

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CORNERBACKS: A/B

For most of the game, the Wisconsin secondary had an impressive day against a Michigan offense that struggled for answers through the air for most of the day. Michigan's quarterback tandem of Dylan McCaffrey and starting quarterback Shea Patterson finished with 259 total yards and only completed 17 of their combined.40 passing attempts.

Sophomore starter Faion Hicks was solid in aggressive man-to-man coverage. His physicality bothered Michigans receivers all afternoon long. He also made a big play in the red zone on Michigan's first drive to force an incompletion in the end zone. The ensuing play resulted in a Michigan fumble.

It is worth noting that in the third and fourth quarters with the game appearing to be in hand, Michigan's offense started rolling a bit with its wide receivers hauling in contested balls.

SAFETY: B

This one was a difficult grade to give out given the circumstances. The unit as a whole played well, although their performance will be marred by ejections. On the same third quarter drive, officials ejected Eric Burrell and Reggie Pearson for targeting hits on quarterback Dylan McCaffrey. Pearson's hit specifically was vicious, and head coach Jim Harbaugh confirmed postgame that it left McCaffrey with a concussion.

Up to that point in the third quarter, both safeties had been playing extremely well. It was Pearson who forced the key red zone fumble on Michigans first drive and Burrell who recovered the fumble. The pair of safeties were the reason behind the biggest momentum-shifting play of the game.

Both, however, will be out for the first half against Northwestern, and for a team already missing Scott Nelson for the year, that could create problems in the secondary.

Redshirt sophomore John Torchio came up with his first career interception in the fourth quarter.

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SPECIAL TEAMS: B/C

Redshirt sophomore Collin Larsh missed his only attempt from 48 yards out. He fell to just 1-for4 on the year with misses from 30, 48, and 51. Kicking could be a story for Wisconsin as games get closer. Time will tell whether Larsh can deliver in big moments.

Senior Anthony Lotti performed well on four punts and averaged 46.5 per attempt, including boots of 49 and 53 yards.

In the return game, redshirt junior Jack Dunn made some things happen on his long return of 14 yards. He averaged nearly 10 yards per attempt in his four tries.

OVERALL: A

Michigan was the test and Wisconsin passed it with flying colors. In a game where the score makes it look even closer than it ever was, the Badgers dominated on both sides of the football.

This defense is for real, Coan is capable of playing mistake-free football in the big games, and we already knew what Mr. Taylor could do.

Update, Sept. 22: BadgerBlitz.com updated Lotti's stats to show his full set of work and not just calling out two of his four punts.