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Miami Football: Takeaways from Pinstripe Bowl loss to Wisconsin

By Justin Heisey

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - DECEMBER 27: Miami Hurricanes head coach Mark Richt looks on in the third quarter of the New Era Pinstripe Bowl against the Wisconsin Badgers at Yankee Stadium on December 27, 2018 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - DECEMBER 27: Miami Hurricanes head coach Mark Richt looks on in the third quarter of the New Era Pinstripe Bowl against the Wisconsin Badgers at Yankee Stadium on December 27, 2018 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
(Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images) /

2. Jonathan Taylor is a man amongst boys

I understand that this is widely known at this point, but Jonathan Taylor is very good at football. For starters, Taylor finished with over 200 yards for the eighth time and over 100 yards for the 21st time in his 26 total games. He took the rock a total of 27 times against the 25th best run defense nationally and finished averaging over seven yards per carry, also securing his sixteenth rushing touchdown of the season.

Taylor finished up this season with 2,194 rushing yards which topped Melvin Gordan and both Ron Dayne‘s ’96 and ’99 seasons for most rushing yards in a season for a Wisconsin running back. His 16 touchdowns places him alongside Brent Moss in ’93 for the tenth most rushing touchdowns in a single season for a Wisconsin back.

The biggest stat to note is Taylor’s  4,171 career rushing yards. This is the fifth most all-time for a Wisconsin back and this 205-yard game helped Taylor surpass New England Patriots back James White. Taylor is now chasing Anthony Davis, Melvin Gordon, Montee Ball, and Ron Dayne going into his junior year.

Taylor may not be the pass-catcher that most NFL teams look for in a star running back, but is already being looked at as a potential NFL star. Despite a down season all-around for the Badgers, Taylor outperformed his stellar freshman year by becoming the third back for the Badgers to run for 2,000 yards in a season. Taylor could potentially finish as the second leading rusher in Wisconsin history (3,000 yards seems like a lot, you’re safe for now Ron Dayne) which is more than current Los Angeles Charger Melvin Gordan and former-Denver Bronco Montee Ball.

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