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Wisconsin Football vs. New Mexico Lobos: Tale of the tape

By Christian Borman

MADISON, WI - AUGUST 31: Jonathan Taylor #23 of the Wisconsin Badgers breaks a tackle attempt by Kyle Bailey #36 of the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers in the first quarter at Camp Randall Stadium on August 31, 2018 in Madison, Wisconsin. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
MADISON, WI - AUGUST 31: Jonathan Taylor #23 of the Wisconsin Badgers breaks a tackle attempt by Kyle Bailey #36 of the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers in the first quarter at Camp Randall Stadium on August 31, 2018 in Madison, Wisconsin. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /
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Wisconsin football K Rafael Gaglianone
MIAMI GARDENS, FL – DECEMBER 30: Rafael Gaglianone #27 of the Wisconsin Badgers reacts after kicking a field goal during the first quarter of the 2017 Capital One Orange Bowl against the Miami Hurricanes at Hard Rock Stadium on December 30, 2017 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Rob Foldy/Getty Images) /

Special Teams

Wisconsin

Armed, or legged, with one of the best kickers in the country, Wisconsin has one of the better special teams units in the nation. Rafael Gaglianone made the Lou Groza Award watch list to start the season.

Entering the season, he is the active FBS leader in career made field goals with 60. Gaglianone needed just six points to become Wisconsin’s all-time leading scorer. With his two field goals and four extra points last week, he became the all-time leader at Wisconsin.

Meanwhile, punter Anthony Lotti had a good start to the season. He punted four times last week with an average of 39.5 yards per punt, including a 49-yard punt from deep in Wisconsin’s own territory.

Returning kicks, true freshman Aron Cruickshank returned one kick for 30 yards and almost broke it but just got tripped up. He split return duty with Kendric Pryor, who also had one return for 15 yards.

New Mexico

New Mexico kept their freshman kicker, Andrew Shelley, busy last week. He didn’t attempt a field goal but did kick nine extra points, making eight of them. As a freshman, Shelley hasn’t had an opportunity to kick in a place like Camp Randall. This weekend will prove more difficult than last.

If you look only at the stats after one week, possibly the only sport where New Mexico could have a slight advantage would be at punter. While Lotti did a fine job, Lobo punter Tyson Dyer had three punts where he averaged close to 48 yards per punt, including a 52-yard punt as his longest.

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At the returner position, the Lobos had only three kick returns for a total of only 49 yards.

Advantage: Wisconsin

All stats in this post were courtesy of ESPN.com.