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Wisconsin football dominates New Mexico on the ground

By Tanner Nestle

MADISON, WI - SEPTEMBER 08: Jonathan Taylor #23 of the Wisconsin Badgers rushes for a touchdown during the first half against the New Mexico Lobos at Camp Randall Stadium on September 8, 2018 in Madison, Wisconsin. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
MADISON, WI - SEPTEMBER 08: Jonathan Taylor #23 of the Wisconsin Badgers rushes for a touchdown during the first half against the New Mexico Lobos at Camp Randall Stadium on September 8, 2018 in Madison, Wisconsin. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) /
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Wisconsin football put up some impressive rushing totals in week two.

The Badgers didn’t start the game strong against New Mexico, but they finished it strong. Wisconsin football went back to its roots and dominated on the ground on its way to a 45-17 win.

Jonathan Taylor lost a fumble again today, but we’ll talk about that later this week. The Heisman hopeful went over 200 yards today and found the end zone twice en route to a comfortable Badger win. Wisconsin didn’t blow out New Mexico like we thought, but a win is a win, and the second half performance was strong.

Taylor’s success will be well-documented as the week unfolds. But fullback Alec Ingold and Taiwan Deal had their own share of yards on the ground. The Badgers rushed for 417 yards as a team.

A.J. Taylor had another strong day in as a receiver hauling in five catches for 134 yards. He’s settled in well as Alex Hornibrook’s top target.

The Badgers also played very well on defense today. After giving up a touchdown on the opening drive of the game to New Mexico, the defense settled in and shut down New Mexico for most of the remainder of the game. Andrew Van Ginkel pressured the quarterback well and the defense forced three turnovers, including an interception each by Scott Nelson and Madison Cone.

But this game was won on the ground. Taylor took 33 carries for 253 yards and three touchdowns, Alec Ingold had four carries for 47 yards and a score, and Deal had nine carries for 57 yards of his own. The passing yards are nice, but Wisconsin wins on the ground. And it did today.

Taylor got carries late into the game, likely because he only had 18 carries last week against Western Kentucky, but he padded his stats nicely with those extra touches. Deal had a touchdown run called back on a penalty, but his showing as the secondary back today was promising as well.

Next. Ten reasons why Wisconsin Football is overlooked. dark

Wisconsin football still has some things to polish up before conference play opens, but today’s showing was much more impressive than last weekend.

All stats provided in this post are courtesy of ESPN.com.