Wisconsin Football: Winners and losers vs Central Michigan
The Wisconsin Football team dominated Central Michigan on Saturday en route to a 61-0 victory. Here are the winners and losers from that game.
The Wisconsin Football team walked into their first home game of the season as 35-point favorites over Central Michigan. The Badgers were able to cover the spread and then some, as they dominated in all three areas of the game en route to a 61-0 blowout. The Badgers saw major contributions from each of their three units and thoroughly flexed their muscles against Central Michigan.
Even though this is what the Badgers are supposed to do against this type of opponents, it’s nice to see it happen. Wisconsin struggled last year and ended up losing a non-conference game because of it. That hasn’t been the case so far, as they’ve outscored their opponents 110-0. However, let’s focus on this week, as we take a look at their winners and losers from Week 2.
Winners:
Jack Coan
Despite all the hype surrounding incoming freshman quarterback Graham Mertz, Jack Coan won the starting job, and he’s been better than expected two weeks in a row. After a nice showing in Week 1, he took his game to the next level against Central Michigan completing 26 of 33 pass attempts for a whopping 363 yards and three touchdowns. Those are some Aaron Rodgers’ type numbers. Coan showed this offense has the potential to become a dual-threat instead of the run-oriented team they’ve been for decades.
Jonathan Taylor
Despite all the success in the passing game, Wisconsin’s bread and butter is still their run game. Jonathan Taylor didn’t have a huge game from a rushing yards perspective, but he did find the endzone four more times. For those keeping track at home, that’s eight touchdowns in two games for the Heisman hopeful.
Scoreless Streak
The Badgers have begun the season by pitching two shutouts and haven’t allowed a single point to be scored against them over their past 11 quarters dating back to their bowl game against the Miami Hurricanes. In fact, if we’re counting that whole game, Wisconsin is only allowing one point per game over their last three.
Quintez Cephus
There’s been a cloud of uncertainty following Quintez Cephus since his return to the Badgers. However, he had a breakout in a big way on Saturday. Cephus hauled in six receptions for a team-high 130 yards and two touchdowns. It’s safe to say he’s back!
Passing Game
The Badgers passing attack looks better and deeper than ever. They support a wide receiver group that goes four deep in Cephus, Danny Davis, A.J. Taylor and Kendric Pryor. Not to mention Jake Ferguson and the sudden pass-catching threat Jonathan Taylor. That gives the Badgers a bunch of weapons to make their opponents worry.
Losers:
Badgers’ future opponents
Following a down season in Madison, the Badgers’ opponents were hoping for another lackadaisical season from Wisconsin. That doesn’t look to be the case, as they have looked bigger and better than ever. Although it’s just two below-average opponents, we’ll get a real look at Wisconsin when they take on the Michigan Wolverines in their next game.
Jim McElwain
Central Michigan head coach Jim McElwain had a lot of confidence heading into Saturday’s game. So much so that he was even inspired to say this about the contest in a pre-game radio interview, “Look, they have no idea what’s about to come. I feel really good about these guys and the preparation.” Unfortunately, it didn’t quite work out for McElwain and his squad, as they were blown out from the opening kickoff.