The Wisconsin faithful must have known the game was gonna be a blowout. Either that, or the inclement weather scared them away from filling up Camp Randall the way they usually do. Either way, there were pockets of empty seats throughout the stadium and you can’t blame them.
The No. 8 Badgers (5-0 overall, 2-0 Big Ten) welcomed the Kent State Golden Flashes (2-3 overall, 1-0 MAC) to Camp Randall in the first-ever matchup between the two teams. UW closed out non-conference play with their fourth home game in five games with a 48-0 win.
The Badgers have won 48 of their last 50 non-conference games at Camp Randall. Kent State struggled to defend the run, standing at 130th in the FBS against the run. The top defense in the country was going against a Kent State team that had only put up a total of 23 points in the two games they played against schools from power five conferences.
Wisconsin looked go bounce back after a lackluster effort vs Northwestern, and they got the result they wanted.
The defense played like they have all season, and the offense was nearly perfect. UW was clicking on all cylinders, which the final score reflects.
The Wisconsin offense has somehow made an opening drive touchdown normal. They opened the game’s scoring with yet another run from running back Jonathan Taylor, who has become very familiar with the cardinal and white of the Wisconsin end zone. Taylor has opened each of UW’s five games with an opening-drive score.
Taylor went into the afternoon needing 185 yards to surpass Wisconsin football great Melvin Gordon for third on the all-time rushing yards list for Wisconsin. He did just enough.
He rushed for 186 on the day and four rushing touchdowns to go along with 29 receiving yards and a reception for a score. The five total touchdowns on the day are tied with Melvin Gordon, who did it back in 2014 vs Bowling Green, for the single-game Wisconsin record.
With Wisconsin up 35-0, Taylor’s day was over before he could get a chance to score his sixth touchdown.
The UW offense was about as good as it gets. They scored on six of their first seven possessions without much resistance from Kent State.
Wisconsin got to Kent State’s quarterback eight times – they have already beaten their 2018 sack total with seven regular-season games left to play. The Kent State offense only managed to move the ball to the tune of 124 yards.
This defense has now had three shutouts in their first five games. This is the first time a Wisconsin defense has had three shutouts in a season since 1937.
Wisconsin will now go back into conference play as they close out their homestand next week against the Michigan State Spartans (4-1 Overall, 2-0 Big Ten) who will be coming off a battle against Ohio State. The Badgers got their offense back on track, but face a tough test next week against a stout Spartan defense. The defense, on the other hand, has the chance to continue their dominance against an offense that has faced a ton of questions.
