Utah State posed a tough challenge for the Wisconsin football for about a quarter. The Badgers’ offense woke up and ran away from the Aggies after that.
The No. 9 Wisconsin Badgers had a slow start against the Utah State Aggies in their season opener. The top teams in the Big Ten’s seemed to have a theme going for them. No. 2 ranked Ohio State kept Indiana hanging around in the first half of their game on Thursday. Wisconsin faced an even worse team in Utah State and looked to be on upset alert for a good while.
Quarterback Alex Hornibrook showed by he should be getting more national attention with his nearly 250 passing yards and three touchdowns. Multiple names combined for a 234 yard rushing performance for the Badgers.
Wisconsin has an opportunity to walk through the Big Ten West without a single loss. They have one of the clearest paths to the Big 10 Championship of any team in the conference. Michigan is the only top 25 ranked team that the Badgers have to face from the Big Ten.
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Wisconsin finishes in style
Utah State actually carried a 10 point lead into the second quarter. However, the Aggies did not score a single point for the rest of the game. Wisconsin dominated their way to a 59-10 victory while rattling off nearly 60 straight points.
Redshirt senior receiver Jazz Peavy had a surprisingly quiet night considering Wisconsin put up 59 points. Tight end Troy Fumagalli had the biggest night of any Badger receiver. Fumagalli totaled five catches for 105 yards and one touchdown.
Head coach Paul Chryst took just one quarter to get his team rolling. Even without All-Big 10 linebacker Jack Cichy, the Wisconsin front seven dominated in the trenches. Few opposing offenses will find success against this defense.
Here are three takeaways from Wisconsin’s victory over Utah State.
1. Alex Hornibrook is the clear starter
We assumed that Alex Hornibrook would start behind center for Wisconsin this year. He made that clear to the college football world against Utah State. Hornibrook’s performance last year, with nine touchdowns and seven interceptions, put some doubt in the mind of Badger fans.
The Wisconsin offense finally has the pieces in place to win the Big Ten. Freshman running back Jonathan Taylor had a big night with 87 rushing yards and one touchdown on only nine attempts. Starting running back Bradrick Shaw added another 84 yards and one touchdown.
The passing game will always play second flute to the rushing attack. Wisconsin is a run-first team and opposing defenses know that. The thing that’s changed is the real threat of a good passing game. Hornibrook could give opposition a reason not the load the box on every single play.
2. Wisconsin could have the best defense in the country
It’s probably too early to say, but Wisconsin definitely has one of the most skilled defenses in the nation. Once they got going, they thoroughly dominated the Utah State offense. They pitched a shutout in the final three quarters of the contest.
Wisconsin picked off Utah State quarterback Kent Myers three times. One of the interceptions was returned for a 99-yard touchdown by redshirt senior safety Joe Ferguson. Linebacker T.J. Edwards and safety D’Cota Dixon each nabbed an interception as well.
The Badger secondary has a ton of experience and could torment opposing passing games. Senior corner Derrick Tindal is another player that could breakout next week. Any number of defensive backs for this squad can jump a route and pick off the QB.
We’ll get a better idea of how good Wisconsin’s defense actually is the in the next two weeks when they face the Florida Atlantic Owls and BYU Cougars.
3. This might be the year for the Badgers
Wisconsin is one of those teams that always seems to get close but not quite get over the hump. However, they have everything in place to make an actual run at the College Football Playoff this year. Defeating the Michigan Wolverines and defeating whoever they might play in the Big Ten Championship is the biggest task ahead.
Not having to face the Ohio State Buckeyes or the Penn State Nittany Lions is a huge benefit. the Big Ten East is much more loaded than the West division. Wisconsin just has to take care of business against teams like the Minnesota Golden Gophers, Northwestern Wildcats, and Nebraska Cornhuskers.
Even a one-loss Big Ten Champion is almost guaranteed to make the Playoff. That means the Badgers have one slip up allowed if they can still actually win the Big Ten Title this season. They came up just short against Penn State in 2016.
Next: 3 takeaways from Colorado's win over CSU
Something felt right about this Wisconsin squad watching them in the second half against Utah State. This is a team that could make some noise in the Big Ten. They deserve to be a top 10 team if not in the top 5.