USA TODAY International Edition
Wisconsin steps forward
Even when they’re good, the Wisconsin Badgers rarely blow you away. It’s more of a workmanlike program, built on efficient defense and a traditional offense without much flash.
But Saturday’s 30- 6 victory at No. 8 Michigan State is the kind of eye- popping score that might make you think the Big Ten has another contender alongside Ohio State and Michigan.
Of course, the excitement over Wisconsin might be short- lived, as the Badgers play at Michigan and host Ohio State in their next two games. But for now it’s perfectly fine for Wisconsin to dream big after improving to 4- 0.
This is a team that now owns two victories against opponents that were in the top 10 when they played. And as ugly as Wisconsin’s 16- 14 season- opening victory against LSU might have looked at the time, maybe the Badgers are on an upward trajectory with freshman quarterback Alex Hornibrook at the helm.
Hornibrook threw for only 195 yards against the Spartans on 16for- 26 completions, but there were big moments in the game where he showed serious moxie and put the ball on the money for his receivers.
If there is any big concern for Wisconsin right now, it’s a running game that produced just 122 yards on 41 carries. Running back Corey Clement, who has been dogged by an ankle injury, was only marginally effective with 54 yards on 23 attempts. There’s no doubt the Badgers will need to be much better up front if they’re going to challenge Michigan next weekend in what will likely be a physical, ugly, old- school Big Ten game.
Still, there’s a lot to like about Wisconsin’s early- season body of work, and the Badgers have truly earned their ascendancy into the top 10.
Here are the rest of Saturday’s winners and losers.
WINNERS
Tennessee: Down 21- 3 after a first half in which they were booed several times by the crowd at Neyland Stadium, the No. 12ranked Vols summoned an incredible comeback to put away No. 16 Florida and end an 11- year losing streak that had practically consumed the program. After a difficult first half in which his receivers dropped passes and the offense stalled in the red zone, quarterback Joshua Dobbs came to life with four touchdown passes against a defense that hadn’t given up a score through the air all year. Florida was too conservative in the second half, and the Vols took advantage. This win positions Tennessee extremely well to finally win the Southeastern Conference East, and fourth- year coach Butch Jones badly needed a win like this to get the Vols’ fan base off his back. Now, of course, the challenge will be coming back to earth for road games vs. Georgia and Texas A& M.
Michigan: The Wolverines continue to quietly dominate, beating Penn State 49- 10 to open Big Ten play. Apart from the sleepy first quarter last weekend against Colorado in which they yielded 21 points before roaring back, it’s hard to find much fault with anything Michigan has done. This time, Jim Harbaugh wasn’t going to let his team get off to a slow start and it came out with surgical precision, scoring touchdowns on its first three drives. That’s a good sign now that Michigan steps up in competition next week against Wisconsin.
Virginia Tech: Any Hokies fan with a sense of history dreads playing East Carolina. Ever since a highly ranked Virginia Tech team lost to the Pirates in the 2008 season opener, they’ve played several close games, including two more ECU victories in 2014 and 2015. But there was no heartburn required this year, as Virginia Tech cruised to a 5417 win at Lane Stadium and improved to 3- 1. Given the bad memories against ECU, that’s a confidence- building performance for first- year coach Justin Fuente, whose team goes on the road for four of its next five ACC games in the wide- open Coastal division.
Virginia: It was a rough 0- 3 start to the Bronco Mendenhall era, but you could see progress even in losses the last couple weeks. The Cavaliers were actually underdogs at home to Central Michigan but came away with an impressive 49- 35 win in which they racked up 569 yards. Virginia shot out to a 28- 0 lead, then gave it all back by the early stages of the fourth quarter. But instead of succumbing to shattered confidence, the Cavaliers showed some Mendenhall- bred toughness and exploded for three touchdowns in a span of six minutes to put away the game.
LOSERS
Notre Dame: Make no mistake, this was a bad day for the Fighting Irish. Duke was a threetouchdown underdog coming into Notre Dame Stadium and sprung a 38- 35 upset that could have wide- ranging implications on the program. Notre Dame is now 1- 3 after coming into the year with College Football Playoff aspirations, and you can bet there will be fallout on the defensive side. It’s been apparent all year there are major issues, but this is now at the five- alarm fire stage with coordinator Brian VanGorder. Head coach Brian Kelly brushed off questions earlier in the week about whether he might make a coordinator change, but those calls are only going to grow louder after yielding 498 yards to the Blue Devils.
Northern Illinois:
The Huskies are in an absolute free fall, and now there’s a very real possibility that Rod Carey’s job is in danger. Northern Illinois lost its seventh consecutive game dating to last season; this time 28- 23 to Western Illinois. It would have been impossible to see this coming for the program that has been the gold standard in the MidAmerican Conference for most of this decade, but something has gone very wrong of late. Saturday represented an opportunity for the Huskies to get back on track after a disastrous start to this season; instead they fell behind 28- 7 after three quarters and couldn’t quite complete the comeback.
Georgia: It was clear the Bulldogs were living a lie at 3- 0, and Mississippi exposed them in humiliating fashion 45- 14. This was a rout of a Georgia team that was very fortunate to win its first three games against mediocre opponents, and it’s a bad look for a first- year head coach in Kirby Smart replacing a guy who almost never got beat in such humiliating fashion. It’s true. Over 15 seasons, Mark Richt’s worst losses were 39 points to national champion Florida in 2008 and 32 points to LSU in the 2011 SEC title game. Making matters worse, running back Nick Chubb sprained an ankle in the first half and didn’t return.