Stat Pack: Florida Atlantic
MADISON - Saturday morning in Madison, the Wisconsin Badgers edged the Florida Atlantic Owls, 31-14. And just like Camp Randall Stadium was packed with fans, the BadgerBlitz.com Stat Pack is loaded with numbers and analysis.
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Silent but Mostly Deadly
Although running back Jonathan Taylor figures to grab most of the headlines, sophomore quarterback Alex Hornibrook displayed another mostly consistent outing. Despite throwing one interception, he finished 16-28 with 201 yards and one TD. Some will point out a few sloppy throws he made, but his awareness was more composed than during Week 1. Anytime a player tries to improve career highs in yards (244) or touchdowns (3), often any result less will be a disappointment.
Against the Owls, Hornibrook started out on the right foot: 8-9 with 93 yards and one TD. This gave the Badgers momentum, which they desperately missed in the first quarter against the Aggies.
B.M.O.C. (Big Man on Campus)
The first true freshman to start at running back since 2007, Jonathan Taylor ran a lot on Saturday. Then, once he finished running, he ran some more. Once the dust settled, Taylor finished with 223 yards on 26 attempts with three TDs. Yet, despite the running back’s historic performance, Taylor acknowledges there is still work to be done, especially on the goal line.
“Yeah, there were a lot of blitzes and pressure coming in," Taylor said. "I’m going to work on it a lot at practice. It was my first time in a game situation on the goal-line trying to punch it in.”
Although he averaged 8.6 yards per carry, Taylor did have a second-half fumble.
“It’s important to keep two hands on the ball when you’re in traffic,” he responded when asked about his mentality after losing the ball.
With back-to-back impressive performances, the sky is the limit for the 5-foot-11, 214-pound tailback.
Lockdown
Last week, the Wisconsin defense was uncharacteristically slow to start. This week, however, Jim Leonhard's unit came to play. Florida Atlantic only totaled 248 total offensive yards on nine first downs. Linebacker Garret Dooley praised the work of his teammates after the game, noting this game was “a lot better once we got them to the third and longs.”
Indeed, third-down conversions were a major thorn in the side for the Owls. FAU had 14 third-down attempts, but only two conversions (14.3 percent conversion rating). Give credit to the Wisconsin defense for shutting down their opponent early.
Not as many flags flying
During the Utah State post-game press conference, head coach Paul Chryst was displeased about the penalties his team accumulated.
“We’ve got to clean it up,” he said last week. “It starts with guys being accountable, not being anxious.”
Obviously, Chryst’s message stuck with the players. Against FAU, Wisconsin finished with only one penalty for 10 yards. The Owls, on the contrary, tallied up eight penalties for 73 yards which extended Wisconsin drives. For a program that figures to partake in many close Big Ten matchups, this is an area the Badgers must succeed in to prevent heartbreak.
On all Cylinders
The Wisconsin Badgers win comfortably when their offense does well. Granted, that could characterize any college football program. Yet, UW does exceptionally well when they accumulate 500 or more yards of offense. Currently, Wisconsin has won its last 15 games when totaling that threshold. Additionally, the 564 yards of offense against FAU was the most since September 10, 2016, when the Badgers beat Akron, 54-10.
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Jonathan Mills is a staff writer and covers Wisconsin football/ basketball for BadgerBlitz.com on the Rivals.com network. Follow him on Twitter at @realJ_Mills
