Wisconsin Football: Badgers letting FAU hang around at halftime

After a strong start, Wisconsin football clings to a small lead over Florida Atlantic at half time. Does Lane Kiffin have some magic in the works?

A week ago Wisconsin’s offense came out flat in the first quarter. Utah State jumped out to a 10-0 lead after the first quarter. The Badgers scored 59 straight points to bury the Aggies in a deafening Week 1 victory.

On the other sideline, Lane Kiffin and FAU did not start their season on the right foot. The Owls were blasted in their opening game by Navy, falling 42-19 in a game that included multiple weather related delays.

Wisconsin jumped out to a 14-0 lead on a pair of Jonathan Taylor long touchdown runs. The Owls would answer with a 63 yard touchdown pass from Daniel Parr to Deandre McNeal. Each team reached the endzone one more time before the break and the Badgers tacked on a late field goal bringing us to our halftime score of 24-14, Wisconsin leads.

Three key stats

• 2 – Receptions by FAU leading receiver Deandre McNeal. They went for 98 yards and a touchdown.
• 148 – Rushing yards for Wisconsin running back Jonathan Taylor
• 25 percent – FAU’s third down conversion percentage

Wisconsin halftime adjustments

Keep running the football. Navy rushed for 416 yards last weekend against the Owls. Their run defense is atrocious, and there’s no point trying to reinvent the wheel. Wisconsin has 202 yards rushing so far. A 400 yard day on the ground should be doable for the Badgers.

FAU halftime adjustments

Keeping aiming for the home run ball. Here is the length of every FAU touchdown this season: 95-yards, 62-yards, 63-yards and 1-yard. That last score came on a short field after Wisconsin quarterback Alex Hornibrook was intercepted by Leighton McCarthy. The FAU offense is not going to dink and dunk down the field. They need to rely on their speed and keep trying to make the next big play.

Next: 2017 Top 50 players in college football

Outlook

This has all the markings of a game that Wisconsin wins by 30. The lack of a run defense for the Owls makes it seem all the more unlikely that they’ll be able to have sustained success in the second half. There is no upset alert here and Lane Kiffin is going to start 0-2.