In a key early-season road game for Wisconsin football, the Badgers took control early in the season. They ended up destroying Rutgers on their home field 42-7. Running back Tawee Walker was great again, throwing for 198 yards and three touchdowns, giving him eight touchdowns in the last three games. Quarterback Brayden Locke also had a solid performance, going 20-28 for 240 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Wisconsin football has now made it two wins in a row. Here are some takeaways from today’s match.
The Wisconsin football defense picked off Kyle Monangai
The game plan for today was straightforward: Slow down Rutgers running back Kyle Monangai and something good will happen. Starting the game was a challenging task as he was third in the nation in rushing yards per game. Not only did the Wisconsin football defense take Monangai out of the game, but it happened early and often.
After the Badgers took a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, Rutgers could no longer control the clock and Monangai’s momentum. This was the first time Rutgers had experienced something like this all year, and it was clear that they weren’t comfortable being a pass-first offense. A huge credit goes to Mike Tressel and the defense, who scored a total of 13 points in the last two games.
The offensive line continues to impress
Sometimes we forget that there are potentially four NFL players on Wisconsin’s offensive line. Joe Brunner is the only player who is not an upperclassman, but he will also be an NFL player in a few years. This is a line full of experience.
The main reason players like Tawee Walker and Brayden Locke have had success over the last few weeks is because they create huge holes for Walker and keep Locke neat. The Badgers ran for 309 yards today and the offense should get credit for that.
It’s Wisconsin football fans who want to see an air raid
After the USC game, it was clear that something had to change in the Wisconsin offense. There was a lack of flow despite flashes of potential.
Admittedly, Purdue is one of the worst teams in the FBS, and Rutgers probably isn’t what their stats say. If you look at their schedule, the Badgers are the best team they faced today.
However, over the last two games, Wisconsin has scored 94 points on 1,138 yards of total offense. Phil Longo’s North Carolina teams put up numbers like this every week while maintaining balance in both the passing and running games. If this is what the Badgers look like on offense, the way we view this season will change.
There’s another key game at Northwestern next week. I doubt the offense puts up numbers like that for a third straight week, but Penn State is on track next week. If Wisconsin can beat the Wildcats, the game against the Nittany Lions will get really engaging.
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