Badger of Honor
Fansided

Wisconsin Football: Analyzing the Badgers through four weeks

ByTanner Nestle|
MADISON, WI - AUGUST 31: Ryan Connelly #43 of the Wisconsin Badgers sacks Drew Eckels #4 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: Ryan Connelly #43 of the Wisconsin Badgers sacks Drew Eckels #4 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 - Jake Ferguson
IOWA CITY, IOWA- SEPTEMBER 22: Tight end Jake Ferguson #84 of the Wisconsin Badgers breaks a tackle in the first half by defensive back Geno Stone #9 of the Iowa Hawkeyes on September 22, 2018 at Kinnick Stadium, in Iowa City, Iowa. (Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images)

The Good

There are several good things about Wisconsin so far, thankfully. Probably most important is it holds the lead in the Big Ten West with a tiebreaker over Iowa. No other team has shown to be worthy of threatening Wisconsin so far besides the Hawkeyes. If they’re going to take the division over from the Badgers, they’ll have to win out and hope the Badgers drop two conference games. Any loss for Iowa only furthers the likelihood that Wisconsin represents the Big Ten West in Indianapolis again.

To say Jonathan Taylor is just a bright spot is an understatement. He’s been fantastic. He sits comfortably in second in total rushing yards in the nation with five touchdowns and a strong 6.2 yards-per-attempt. He also leads the nation in carries. This is a bit of a concern because I felt Taylor could have gotten even more carries against Iowa than he did. This bye week will be good for him and his legs.

When Taylor needs a break, senior Taiwan Deal has been incredible as the second running back. Deal is averaging 5.8 yards-per-carry and is a trusted short-yardage back in the offense. There aren’t any signs that he’ll be giving up that role anytime soon.

Scott Nelson has been probably the best surprise on defense. The redshirt freshman, the shadow of senior D’Cota Dixon, the pride of Detroit, Michigan, has been all over the football field to start the season.

Nelson has broken up some passes, tallied some tackles for loss, even snagged an interception against New Mexico after nearly grabbing one against Western Kentucky. His ceiling is sky high and these early reps are making it more likely each week that he reaches it. Nelson has had some issues with missed tackles but that will be resolved in time. I’m not overly concerned about it just yet.

The passing game hasn’t been much to write home about so far. But A.J. Taylor and Jake Ferguson are looking like solid pass catchers for Alex Hornibrook. It’s obvious he trusts both Taylor and Ferguson a great amount. The chemistry with those two and Hornibrook will continue to develop as Danny Davis gets back up to speed and Kendric Pryor continues developing as well.