Hornibrook’s play tapered off quickly
MADISON – Alex Hornibrook, who last played in the first half against Rutgers on Nov. 3, felt prepared.
Wisconsin coach Paul Chryst, who watched Hornibrook in practice during the week, felt comfortable seeing the redshirt junior return to the starting lineup in place of backup Jack Coan against rival Minnesota on Saturday.
The results weren’t what the quarterback or head coach expected.
Hornibrook was sharp early, particularly on third down, but an interception on UW’s third offensive series killed a scoring chance and led to a Minnesota touchdown and a double-digit lead.
Except for the final series of the first half, Hornibrook never regained a consistent rhythm and finished 22 of 33 for 189 yards with two touchdowns. But he threw three interceptions and lost a fumble in UW’s 37-15 loss.
“I think we all felt good in preparation going into this game,” said Hornibrook, who had missed the second half of the Rutgers game after suffering a concussion and was held out against Penn State and Purdue. “It just came down to executing.
“There were some things I could do better. And this whole team…we just needed to execute better.”
Hornibrook hit 5 of 6 passes for 47 yards in the opening quarter and 7 of his first 9 for 64 yards.
Then came an interception at the Minnesota 16. After a 25-yard return to the 41, the Gophers marched 59 yards for a touchdown and a 10-0 lead.
UW never drew closer than 10 points the rest of the game.
Chryst was asked if he felt Hornibrook appeared out of sync early.
“We don't know how Alex would have done coming off of playing four straight (games),” he said. “I certainly felt confident with the way he practiced and what he did that he was going to be ready for it.
“Certainly any time you turn the ball over that number of times you make it tough on yourself and yet it doesn’t all fall on him.”
Hornibrook made it clear his health came first in weighing when he would return.
“You always want to be playing as a competitor,” he said. “But obviously I needed to take care of myself to make sure I was ready to go.”
Feat means little to Taylor: Sophomore tailback Jonathan Taylor rushed 19 times for 120 yards to push his season total to 1,989.
Taylor is just the fourth player in NCAA history to rush for at least 1,900 yards in consecutive seasons.
He joined Iowa State’s Troy Davis (1995 and ’96), TCU’s LaDainian Tomlinson (1999 and 2000) and Memphis’ De’Angelo Williams (2004 and ’05).
Taylor didn’t seem to know about his feat afterward and was more concerned about losing Paul Bunyan's Axe.
“Back-to-back years with 1,900?” he asked. “It’s definitely going to be tough to celebrate.
“There have been numerous years when guys have been chopping the goalposts down. Having (three) seniors in the RB room…I’ve been with those guys for two years.
“Not seeing them go out the right way, chopping it down was tough.”