MADISON -- No. 8 Wisconsin wrapped up its non-conference schedule with yet another dominant win, running over Kent State in a 48-0 victory inside a soggy Camp Randall Stadium on Saturday.
BadgerBlitz.com breaks down five key takeaways from the victory over the MAC program.
1. Jonathan Taylor added on to his already torrid 2019 pace.
Not sure what much else you can say about the junior running back. On Saturday, he finished the game with 186 rushing yards on 19 carries with four touchdowns. He added three receptions for 29 yards and an 18-yard score late in the second quarter. Yes, this was a Kent State defense that gave up 467 yards on the ground against Auburn in mid-September, but Taylor again showed why he should be a Heisman finalist.
"It's awesome. It never gets old," head coach Paul Chryst said after the game.
According to UW, those five touchdowns match a single-game school record. Saturday's performance also marks the 27th time in 32 career games that the New Jersey native has gone over the century mark.
Through five games this season, he has recorded 745 yards, 7.2 yards per carry and 16 total touchdowns (12 rushing, four receiving). He now sits third all-time on UW's career rushing yards list (4,916), passing one Melvin Gordon.
"You know, I know it and we know it, guys are talking on the sidelines -- he's special," Chryst said. "To be able to see it, it's pretty neat to do."
Below are just a few more stats on Taylor's big day:
2. Zack Baun continues to show his dominance over opposing offensive lines.
Prior to the game, the redshirt senior outside linebacker showed he had emerged as a force against Wisconsin's opponents.
Saturday, Baun again made opposing offensive lines look foolish. He registered a hat trick of sacks along with a quarterback hurry for a defense that recorded nine overall.
After the game, inside linebacker Jack Sanborn told BadgerBlitz.com that he told Baun after one of his sacks he did not have time to get into one of his pass drops.
"Today, he was just getting to the quarterback so quick," Sanborn said.
On the season, Baun leads the Badgers in sacks (six) and tackles for loss (9.5). After a 2017 campaign lost due to a foot injury and working his way back last season as a first-time starter, the Brown Deer, Wis., native certainly has made an impact so far in his final year in Madison.
3. Overall, the offense bounced back against an inferior opponent.
Wisconsin's offense looked human against Northwestern last weekend in a 243-yard effort against a Wildcats unit that clamped down the potent ground and aerial attacks. How the Badgers responded was worth watching.
Well, they responded.
This was the game you wanted out of the offense after a poor showing. Granted, UW did not stretch the field necessarily too much. Quarterback Jack Coan nearly completed a deep pass to wide receiver Quintez Cephus in the first half, but the junior signal caller did find redshirt junior wide out Kendric Pryor for a 33-yard gain near the end of the first half. However, it did not need to hit that third level of the defense against a Kent State unit giving up 261 per contest heading into Saturday.
Wisconsin's offense scored on its first seven drives -- the first five of them with Taylor finding the end zone -- and it dominated the line of scrimmage. Based on initial looks of the personnel groupings -- something BadgerBlitz.com will review and confirm early next week -- the Badgers did not necessarily show any exotic or different looks. It trotted out the Jonathan Taylor-Garrett Groshek backfield look once during the game, but based on the eye test during the game, Chryst did not bust out anything really out of the ordinary.
Through those first half dozen drives Coan was in the game, Wisconsin gained 404 yards (270 rushing, 134 passing), converted 7-of-8 third down conversions and did not allow a sack or tackle for loss.
Overall, UW gained 520 yards -- 348 rushing, 172 passing -- averaged 6.9 yards per play, and moved the chains for first downs 29 times.
Another big test comes next week against a tougher Michigan State unit.
4. Wisconsin dominated third downs on both sides of the ball.
Looking at this critical down in the game, Wisconsin moved the chains on 11-of-15 opportunities. The first time the offense missed was more than midway through the second quarter, but the unit then picked up the first down to continue its third touchdown drive on a Mason Stokke five-yard fullback dive.
According to StatBroadcast, the average down and distance on third down for Wisconsin was 2.7 yards -- down from the 6.9 yards seen against Northwestern. It did not face a longer than a 3rd-and-7 situation, and by BadgerBlitz.com's count, it worked to convert on distances shorter than five yards on 12 of the 15 opportunities.
On the flip side, Kent State needed about 8.5 yards per third down and only converted 2-of-11 on the day. Six times during the game the Golden Flashes needed to gain nine or more yards for a first, and they did not move the chains on any of those attempts.
5. Overall, the defense overwhelmed another opponent with an interesting scheme.
No ands, ifs, or buts about it -- Wisconsin took care of business on both sides of the ball. For as much deserved accolades Taylor will receive, the defense as whole deserves another kudos for its role in the victory.
Along with the aforementioned nine sacks and the 2-of-11 third down opportunities, defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard's unit allowed just 124 yards (60 rushing, 64 passing). The Golden Flashes, who averaged about 69 plays coming into the non-conference matchup, only mustered 45 snaps and 2.8 yards per play.
Baun mentioned if the defense could get pressure on Kent State's quarterbacks, they could gain the upper hand.
"They like to throw the ball up. They like to let their receivers go up and make plays." Baun said after the game. "They're a fast team, and they try to take advantage of their tempo offense, and if we can get on top of them and start hitting their quarterback, we can use their tempo to our advantage."
