Shaky, but a ‘W’
Jonathan Taylor gains 223 yards in 31-14 Badgers victory over Florida Atlantic
MADISON - Wisconsin’s early struggles in the opener were understandable and for the most part wiped away by a 59-point outburst that turned a double-digit deficit into a laugher.
But the manner in which Paul Chryst’s team foundered for too long Saturday afternoon against Florida Atlantic has to be cause for concern with Big Ten play looming.
UW’s defense pitched a secondhalf shutout, which was impressive after some breakdowns in the opening half. Yet the mistake-prone offense managed just one touchdown drive after the break and didn’t come close to capitalizing on its scoring chances in a 31-14 victory in front of a crowd of 77,542 at Camp Randall Stadium crowd.
“There was a lot of good,” left tackle Michael Deiter said, “and there was a lot of bad, with turnovers.
“Getting stuffed on the goal line is probably one of the worst feelings you can have.
“That is something we’ve got to get cleaned up.”
Chryst’s clean-up crew will be busy this week before UW (2-0) heads to play BYU (1-1) Saturday in Provo, Utah. The offensive highlights, please: Led by fabulous freshman tailback Jonathan Taylor (26 carries, 223 yards and three touchdowns), UW drove for touchdowns on its second and third possessions of the game to build a 14-0 lead with 6 minutes 40 seconds left in the first quarter.
To that point Taylor, who was filling in for Bradrick Shaw (leg), had 119 yards and two touchdowns, on runs of 64 and 29 yards, on just six carries. Taylor eluded five defenders on the 29-yard run.
UW was rolling and the fans were rocking.
“That was awesome,” quarterback Alex Hornibrook said of the Taylor’s 29-yard run. “I think he was breaking like four tackles at once. I was laughing on the field. It was crazy to see. He’s a great running back.”
Then after the teams exchanged punts, UW’s gaffes began to appear.
First wide receiver DeAndre
McNeal got behind cornerback Nick Nelson for a 63-yard touchdown reception to help the Owls pull within 14-7 with 3:09 left in the quarter.
Nelson thought he had deep safety help but he didn’t and McNeal broke open for an easy pitchand-catch.
“I feel like if we know our (calls) nobody can really move the ball on us,” said cornerback Derrick Tindal, who acknowledged he also mistakenly thought he had deep safety help. “I have confidence in the whole back end. We’ll fix it.”
UW’s defense fixed its issues at halftime. Defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard calmly told the players to communicate more efficiently so everyone would have the calls, read their keys and make plays.
UW’s defense allowed 13 yards on eight plays in the third quarter when the Badgers turned a 2414 halftime lead into a 3114 cushion and held the Owls to 50 yards and two first downs on 21 secondhalf plays. The defense forced Florida Atlantic to go three-and-out eight times on 14 full possessions, including the first three of the game.
“Disappointed in the outcome of the game,” FAU coach Lane Kiffin said. “We got off to a slow start and we expected to come up here and win the game.”
Other than the blown coverage and a 27-yard touchdown drive after a UW turnover, the defense was outstanding.
“I thought our defense,” UW coach Paul Chryst said, “I thought they were really good in a lot of areas. They handled it.” The offense did not. UW rushed for 357 yards, thanks largely to Taylor and Chris James (16 carries, 101 yards), finished with 564 total yards and held the ball for 38 minutes 34 seconds.
Yet Hornibrook (16 of 28 for 201 yards and a touchdown) threw a costly interception that led to Florida Atlantic’s second touchdown and allowed the Owls to pull within 2114 with 4:29 left in the first half.
Taylor lost a fumble that killed a promising drive and UW’s ground game was stymied inside the Owls’ 10 early in the second quarter.
After surrendering the 63-yard touchdown pass, UW drove from its 25 to second and goal at the Owls’ 2.
Taylor got three consecutive carries and the results were: 1, 0 and 0.
The Owls took over on downs with 12:11 left in the first half and Camp Randall Stadium sounded like a library during finals week.
“We’ve got to execute down there,” Chryst said.
Hornibrook’s interception came two series later and breathed life into the Owls.
“There was just a guy and I threw it right to him,” Hornibrook said. “It wasn’t something I had to fix. It was just a stupid throw.”
UW countered with a 20-yard field goal by Rafael Gaglianone with two seconds left in the half for a 24-14 lead and Taylor capped off a 79-yard touchdown drive in the third quarter with a 4yard run to help UW build its lead to 31-14.
UW’s offense appeared unstoppable at times in the opener against Utah State.
By contrast, the unit appeared incapable of turning yards into points on Saturday.
“It’s good to get Jonathan (Taylor) going,” Chryst said when asked about the performance of the offense. “I thought Chris (James) ran the ball better.
“I thought that we were inconsistent in some things in the throw game. Alex was good and then I think he kind of missed one and then he had a couple drops.
“We’ve got a lot of things that we got to clean up and get better at.”