Watch the Badgers run
Wolverines’ Harbaugh: “Outplayed, outprepared, outcoached”
MADISON, WIS.» Wisconsin’s Jonathan Taylor needed only one quarter Saturday to improve upon his rushing total from the Badgers’ lopsided loss to rival Michigan last season.
Taylor ran for 203 yards and two touchdowns, Jack Coan added a career-high two rushing touchdowns and No. 13 Wisconsin made it look easy in a 35-14 victory over No. 11 Michigan.
In the first quarter alone, Taylor had 143 yards and two touchdowns, including a 72yarder. Taylor missed the second quarter due to cramps, but the 2018 Doak Walker Award winner returned in the third to finish with 23 carries to help the Badgers (3-0, 1-0 Big Ten) avenge their 38-13 loss to the Wolverines from a year ago.
“I think we made (a statement),” said Taylor, who ran for 101 yards against Michigan last season. “It’s going to be tough to come into Camp Randall (Stadium) and come out with an easy win. You have to play for 60 minutes. You have to play until the clock hits zero in the fourth quarter.”
Michigan’s struggles to hold on to the ball continued as the Wolverines suffered another embarrassing loss under coach Jim Harbaugh. Michigan is 1-6 on the road against ranked opponents under Harbaugh, who took over the program in 2015.
“We were outplayed, outprepared, outcoached, the whole thing both offensively and defensively,” Harbaugh said. “It was thorough.”
The game was so one-sided that the 80,245 in attendance chanted “overrated, overrated” to a Michigan team expected to contend for the Big Ten championship. Michigan also had to make a quarterback change.
Harbaugh elected to sit Shea Patterson late in the first half in favor of backup quarterback Dylan Mccaffrey, an alumnus of Valor Christian High School in Highlands Ranch. Patterson, who fumbled twice in each of Michigan’s first two games, left after completing 4 of 9 passes with 88 yards and an interception.
“He was being evaluated at halftime so we went with Dylan to start the second half,” Harbaugh said.
Patterson returned in the second half after Mccaffrey was knocked out of the game on a play that caused Wisconsin safety Reggie Pearson to receive a targeting penalty. Safety Eric Burrell also was ejected following a targeting call.
Patterson finished 14 of 32 for 219 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.
“We’ve got a lot to fix,” Harbaugh said. “We want to be able to run the ball and throw the ball both equally and efficient. The little things we’ve got to do, we’ve got to do better.”