Wisconsin Football: 3 reasons to watch the 2018 New Era Pinstripe Bowl vs. Miami

2. The Jonathan Taylor show

After an impressive freshman season that caught the attention of many, Wisconsin running back Jonathan Taylor flew more under-the-radar this season, possibly due to the woes the Badgers experienced throughout the season.

However, the true sophomore running back still gashed defenses in a similar fashion to last season. Interestingly enough, he has actually mirrored his stat totals from a year ago and has the chance to surpass those figures when the end of the month rolls around.

In 2018, Taylor has amassed 1,989 yards and 15 touchdown runs in 12 games. Last year, he totaled 1,977 yards and 13 touchdowns in 14 games played.

In the last four games of Wisconsin’s regular season, Taylor tallied 100+ yards with his standout performance of the year being against Purdue –– when he rushed for 321 yards and three touchdowns.

He will arguably be the best player on the field in this game because of his combination of quickness and power. Taylor, running behind an overpowering offensive line, has the ability to easily shred defenses.

He will, however, be tested against a Miami defense that has pitched in strong efforts to close out the Hurricanes’ season. In its final two games, the Miami defense only ceded 14 points to Virginia Tech and limited Pittsburgh to merely a field goal.

Nonetheless, Taylor has put up Heisman-like numbers even though he will likely not be named a finalist on the trophy ballot.