The passing game was fine for what it needed to be Saturday. Alex Hornibrook completed eight of 11 passes for a touchdown and 145 yards. Nothing special, nothing terrible. I hate to play the ‘what-if’ card in this scenario, but it’s a good thing Jonathan Taylor got going. Not that Wisconsin would have lost, but Hornibrook should be able to do a bit more than 145 yards against New Mexico.
Hornibrook also threw his first interception of the year in this game. It wasn’t an awful decision as much as strangely poor luck, but it’s a turnover. The Badgers need to figure out how to tone that down. The defense forced three turnovers yet Wisconsin had two itself. That should have been an area of huge advantage to the Badgers.
This might be a bit of a strange criticism, but Hornibrook completed 134 of his 145 yards to A.J. Taylor on five passes. When not completing a ball to Taylor, Hornibrook had three completions for 14 yards. That’s an area that needs work. Having a receiver dominate like Taylor did is fantastic and he’s a great asset to the team. But spreading the ball out and creating more threats on offense will work wonders for the efficiency of the team.
Backup Danny Vanden Boom saw a few snaps late in the game and completed his only pass of the day to freshman Taj Mustapha for a three-yard touchdown.