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With no 200-yard rushing games as a team in the first three games and then finding out Corey Clement will miss a lot more time, if there was some angst concerning the Wisconsin rush attack it wouldn't have been unfounded. But against Hawaii, those fears were quashed quickly.
The Badgers came out running early, especially behind redshirt freshman Taiwan Deal, and ground out 335 yards in beating Hawaii 28-0.
As noted by the score, the defense stood strong once again, as well, keeping the opponent out of the end zone for the third straight game.
It might not have been a ranked team Wisconsin was playing -- and, really, none of the three home nonconference opponents brought much to the table, but, as they say, a win is a win is a win.
A recap of Saturday night's game:
-- Wisconsin played with two fullbacks (Derek Watt and Austin Ramesh) in the backfield on many rushing plays. It worked well against Hawaii, but how will it stand up in the smashmouth Big Ten?
-- Deal and Dare Ogunbowale combined for 41 carries. Head coach Paul Chryst indicated both will see plenty of action with Clement out.
-- Freshman Alec Ingold, just recently converted to running back, carried seven times for 60 yards in the fourth quarter, burning his redshirt. Junior Serge Trezy, a converted cornerback, got his first two carries as well.
-- After his great game against Troy, Chris Orr got the start at inside linebacker over Leon Jacobs. Orr finished with four tackles. Jacobs got in the game, made a big tackle-for-loss, but then left with a foot injury.
-- Wisconsin continued subbing in on the right side of the line. Micah Kapoi started at right guard and Hayden Biegel at right tackle, but Walker Williams and Jacob Maxwell also both saw time at those spots.
-- Cornerback Darius Hillary didn't have his best game. He committed a pass interference penalty and also never seemed to know where the ball was on downfield passes.
-- Wisconsin held an opponent to three or fewer points in three consecutive games for the first time since 1937.
-- Hawaii's longest drive was 60 yards. It's next longest was just 38 yards. Meanwhile, Wisconsin had four drives of 70-plus yards.
-- Michael Caputo was credited with four passes broken up. That would tie the most the Badgers had in a game as a team in 2014.
-- Wisconsin had 31 first downs, its most in a regular-season game since the Badgers had 34 vs. Northern Illinois on Sept. 17, 2011.
-- Wisconsin had played 18 night games vs. non-Power 5 conference teams since 1993 and are 18-0 in those games.
-- Alex Erickson's nine receptions are his most against an FBS team. He had 10 vs. Western Illinois in 2014.
Due credit to Wisconsin for another easy win, but let's take the entire pre-Big Ten season with a grain of salt. The Badgers were overmatched in their opener against a ranked Alabama team, although there were injuries, of course, and a lot of young players seeing their first action. Wisconsin overmatched Miami (Ohio), Troy and Hawaii, but let's face it, these are three bottom-tier programs. So what do we really know about Wisconsin? Big Ten play will reveal it, not the nonconference season.
Taiwan Deal had his breakout game with 147 yards rushing on 26 carries, both highs for the redshirt freshman running back.
The defense deserved some notice and there really wasn't one player who stood out -- Tanner McEvoy had a team-high six tackles -- but the unit as a whole had three sacks, four tackles for loss and nine pass breakups. Oh, and there's the whole 18 yards rushing on 15 carries (0.8 average) and zero points allowed.
Down 14-0 and facing a 3rd-and-13, Hawaii's Max Wittek completed a pass to Q Pedroza to the 1-yard line, knocking on the door to cutting the lead in half. But the Rainbow Warriors' Dejon Allen stupidly came into the play late and after the whistle and hit Tanner McEvoy, costing Hawaii 15 yards. It snowballed -- although maybe that's not the right word to use with Hawaii -- from there. Two more penalties eventually forced Hawaii to a 49-yard field-goal attempt, which hit off the post.
97. The length of Wisconsin's opening drive, its longest since 2011. It also quickly set the tone that the Badgers were going to run, run, run.
"I think they both know they're playing and we need them both a ton." -- Wisconsin head coach Paul Chryst on running backs Taiwan Deal and Dare Ogunbowale
"Ready or not, here it comes." -- Chryst when asked how ready the team is for Big Ten play
"It was a lot of fun. It's Wisconsin football." -- Wisconsin fullback Derek Watt
Big Ten season starts with a home game against Iowa. If we don't know what to make of Wisconsin, what about the Hawkeyes? Iowa is unbeaten, but those wins have come against FCS Illinois State, in-state rival Iowa State, whose only win is over FCS Northern Iowa, Pittsburgh, which didn't have star running back James Conner and still almost won, and winless North Texas.
