Wisconsin Football: Handing out game balls from win vs. Central Michigan

Wisconsin football took care of business at home vs. Central Michigan in Week 2. Which 3 Badgers earned game balls for their performances?

The Wisconsin football team hosted Central Michigan in Week 2 in the home opener for the Badgers. They came in as 35-point favorites and covered it easily. The offense came out hot and the defense had another shutout performance, making them the only team at the FBS level to not allow a point this season.

With a performance like this, it’s tough to pick just three players who earned game balls, but we will try. Here are the three Badgers who earned game balls after Saturday’s game.

Game Ball No. 1 – Jack Coan

Jack Coan had a career game and one of the best for a quarterback in Wisconsin football history. He broke the record for most passing yards in the first half with 276. He continued in the second half, passing for 87 more in a few possessions in the third quarter before freshman Graham Mertz took over.

He passed for three touchdowns and no interceptions and a passing rating of 201.2. On the season, he has 562 yards passing in just two games, eclipsing his passing total in all five games he played last year. He also has five touchdowns, matching his total from last season. Coan is having a breakout season, giving opponents something to think about other than Jonathan Taylor.

Game Ball No. 2 – Quintez Cephus

What a story Cephus has been. From not even being in school or on the roster to having a career game in the second game of the season.

Even though Coan has been great in passing the ball around and getting all of his receivers the ball, it looks as though Cephus is his go-to guy. Since there is a lot of depth on the roster at the receiver position and they blew out the Chippewas, Cephus didn’t play all game. That didn’t stop him from going off.

He caught six passes for a team-high 130 yards and two touchdowns on 36 and 46-yard passes. He looks like he will be a good deep threat and red zone target for the Badgers this season. He had a great game and definitely earned a game ball.

Game Ball No. 3 – Jonathan Taylor

I debated giving Taylor a game ball, or whether to find a defender who earned it in the shutout performance. At the end of the day, the shutout was a complete team effort, and Taylor had another great game. Although he only had 102 yards on 19 carries, he still scored four touchdowns, one being an impressive receiving touchdown.

He now has three receiving touchdowns this season. With this new dimension in Taylor’s game, he will be even more dangerous for this offense, not to mention boosting his draft stock for the NFL Draft, where running backs need to be able to catch the ball out of the backfield.

Taylor continues to put up staggering numbers which will likely dip once they start playing more difficult opponents, but they may not by much. Wisconsin football fans need to enjoy this guy while we have him because if he keeps this up, he will not be here next year.

All stats courtesy of ESPN.com.