Wisconsin put together a game for the ages on Saturday afternoon at Camp Randall Stadium, hammering Bowling Green 68-17 in a contest that saw two significant records fall.
The Badgers established new program marks for single-game rushing yards and total offense. It was the kind of performance the team certainly needed after the running game was stymied two weeks earlier against Western Illinois.
At the same time, Wisconsin's defense largely dominated a Bowling Green team that ran 113 plays one week ago against Indiana. The Falcons managed just 62 offensive plays and were held 24 points below their season average.
Let's hand out grades for Wisconsin's third game of the season:
Wisconsin's passing game was not particularly strong on Saturday, though it didn't have to be while the Badgers were running Bowling Green into submission. Still, there will be games later this season in which quarterback Tanner McEvoy will need to play better than what he delivered as a passer this weekend.
McEvoy finished his day 9 of 16 for 112 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He threw a nice ball to tight end Sam Arneson on a wheel route down the right side that went for a 34-yard score. He also was intercepted in the second quarter on an underthrown ball with his receiver in front of 1-on-1 coverage.
It also is somewhat concerning that of Wisconsin's nine completed passes, only two went to a wide receiver (Alex Erickson caught those two passes for 10 yards). The rest of the completions went to tight ends and running backs. That isn't the best way to stretch the field, although it's nice that Wisconsin is finding a few different safety valves if wide receivers can't get open.
The biggest area in which McEvoy needs to improve is hitting his receivers between the numbers on the so-called "layup" throws. That is, passes that absolutely must be completed because a receiver is open. He overthrew Erickson, who was open in the end zone on the team's opening drive. He later overthrew tight end Austin Traylor, who also was wide open in the end zone.
"It's a tough thing to throw the ball 40 yards down the field on the money," said McEvoy, without acknowledging those two throws were significantly shorter. "But we do it every day in practice. I do it every day in practice. I've just got to go out there in games and execute.
"The ball was sailing on me a few passes. Everyone was running the right routes. Great blocking. There's no excuses, I've just got to step into my throw and make completions."
There was one more area in need of cleanup Saturday. McEvoy and center Dan Voltz had two snap-exchange miscues that resulted in fumbles, one of which ended with a turnover.
"It's between me and the center," McEvoy said. "We've just got to figure it out. It's one of the most fundamental things in football, but it's one of the most easy things to forget. We've just got to be cognizant of it and keep working on it this week. It hasn't been a problem. We had two today, and that is a problem. So we've got to fix that."
If I could give extra pluses here, I would because days like Saturday simply don't come along very often. In fact, that type of day had never come along in the history of Wisconsin football.
The Badgers ran for a school record 644 yards, breaking the old program mark of 564 set at Indiana on Nov. 10, 2012. It marked the most rushing yards by any team in the modern-era of Big Ten football. And now, Wisconsin enters the week ranked No. 2 in the country in rushing offense, averaging 359.7 yards per game.
"It was the most fun game I ever played since I got to this school," Badgers running back Corey Clement said. "I think we all had fun as a group, a unit."
There was Melvin Gordon, who absolutely dominated the game after an uncharacteristic early fumble. He finished with 13 carries for a career-high 253 yards with five touchdowns. McEvoy finished with 158 yards, which was the most by a quarterback in school history. Clement added 111 yards on 16 carries. And even third-string tailback Dare Ogunbowale, who was a defensive back two weeks ago, finished with 94 yards rushing on 14 carries in his debut at the position.
The game was especially important for the confidence of Wisconsin's offensive line, as well as Gordon. Badgers right tackle Rob Havenstein shouldered the blame for the poor performance in the rushing game against Western Illinois.
"Big Rob told me, he said, 'Melvin, we've got you,''' Gordon said. "I believed in that. I ran with those guys. Obviously, they worked hard in practice and the receivers stepped up. You could just tell. Everyone was trying to run down the field. Kenzel (Doe) is running from the opposite side of the field trying to run down and block guys. We're just all trying to work with each other now."
One week ago against Indiana, Bowling Green quarterback James Knapke set program records for completions (46) and passes attempted (73). He finished with 395 yards passing and three touchdowns. Given the way the Falcons love to air the ball out, the numbers Knapke compiled on Saturday were especially indicative of Wisconsin's defensive dominance.
Knapke completed 13 of 28 passes for 163 yards with no touchdowns and an interception. Freshman safety Lubern Figaro picked off Knapke in the end zone as Bowling Green was driving on third-and-goal from the 8-yard line. And Knapke never could get back on track, as he was sacked three times.
Wisconsin's defense spent the week preparing for Bowling Green's up-tempo offense by playing against two separate offensive huddles in practice. That plan worked, Badgers linebacker Derek Landisch said.
"The defensive line did a great job as far as the scheme and getting hands on blockers," Landisch said. "The secondary did a good job covering. It's kind of like a team success. I think for the most part, we pressured when we needed to pressure. You've got to walk that fine line because they like to run the screen. So I think the game was very well called."
The Badgers forced Bowling Green to go three-and-out on nine of 17 possessions. The Falcons only had five three-and-out series in three games combined.
The overall statistics will show Bowling Green didn't accomplish much in the running game. The Falcons finished with 29 carries for 93 yards -- an average of 3.2 yards per carry. But those numbers are down significantly because Knapke took three sacks and tallied minus-27 yards.
If you take away Kanpke's carries, Bowling Green had 24 rushes for 120 yards, which is a much more respectable 5.0 yards per carry. The biggest concern was giving up two big plays on the ground. Fred Coppet scored on a 35-yard first-quarter touchdown run that tied the game early at 7-7. In the fourth quarter, Andre Givens shook loose for a 60-yard touchdown run down the left sideline.
"This was one game out of the year," Badgers linebacker Vince Biegel said. "Coach A [Andersen] always talks about rounds. This was round 3. I think we can continue to build and look forward to the rest of the season."
Badgers return man Kenzel Doe got his groove back a bit Saturday, returning separate punts for 38 and 40 yards to set Wisconsin up with great field position that resulted in two touchdowns. They were his longest punt returns since an 82-yard punt return for a touchdown against Gary Andersen's Utah State team on Sept. 15, 2012.
"It was definitely a confidence booster for me," Doe said. "I knew I was going to get a couple returns today, and I knew to just get vertical. Last week I went side to side a little bit. I knew this week I had to get vertical. As soon as I catch it, just go. It worked out for the best. I give it up to our punt return team. It wasn't just me. It was those guys holding them up and giving me lanes to run through."
Doe also mishandled a punt in the third quarter but managed to recover the drop. He has struggled with ball security in the past, so that is something to watch moving forward.
The rest of the special teams game was largely solid. Drew Meyer recorded two punts and averaged 40.5 yards per kick. Rafael Gaglianone missed an extra point early but finished 8 for 9 in that area and also made field goal tries from 28 and 43 yards.
"It wasn't as clean as we would like to have it be," Andersen. "The field goals were good. Missed extra point, when it appeared it was a good snap, good hold, is not what we want to have happen. So we're going to continue to aggressively help him get better."
Almost all the way around, this was a pretty stellar day for Wisconsin football. The Badgers set a new single-game rushing record (644 yards) and a new total offense record (756 yards). And it was a day Badgers fans shouldn't soon forget, even if it came at the expense of a defense that ranks among the worst in all of college football.
As teams at the top of the college football world begin to drop in the polls -- looking at you, LSU -- Wisconsin is suddenly gaining steam. There are nine regular season games remaining, and the Badgers have plenty of time to make some noise. Anything close to the performance they put together on Saturday, and this could still turn out to be a special season.
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