Wisconsin Football: Key matchups to watch vs. Kent State

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MADISON, WISCONSIN – SEPTEMBER 07: Jonathan Taylor #23 of the Wisconsin Badgers scores a touchdown in the third quarter against the Central Michigan Chippewas at Camp Randall Stadium on September 07, 2019 in Madison, Wisconsin. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /

Jonathan Taylor vs. the Kent State defense

As I talked about previously, Wisconsin football fans are absolutely spoiled when it comes to Jonathan Taylor and running backs just in general. The Badgers always seem to have a really good running back who is capable of rushing for 150-200 yards any given game. There is always depth there too.

With Jonathan Taylor, this year isn’t any different, in fact, expectations are even higher. Wisconsin fans expect Taylor to rush for over 100 every game and break off at least one long run a game. That wasn’t the case last week against Northwestern, a team that always seems to have Taylor’s number.

Yes, he still rushed for over 100 yards, but it was tough sledding. He rushed 26 times, a season-high, and ran for 119 yards, averaging just 4.6 yards per game, a season-low. He also had a fumble too, something that has been a problem in the past. He got it back, but with fumbles being an issue with Taylor in the past, it’s something to monitor in the future.

A positive, however, is that he added three more receptions to his total. He is showing that he can be a threat in the passing game, making it even harder to contain him.

I think after a disappointing outing against Northwestern, Jonathan Taylor will look to get his mojo back and go off before the Badgers get back into Big Ten play.

This Kent State defense is allowing 264.7 yards per game, the sixth-most in the entire country. This should be a big focus for Kent State if they want to even stay within spitting distance in this game. This is a matchup their entire defense needs to focus on.

Yes, Coan looked really good in the season before the Northwestern game, but if you want to beat Wisconsin, you will need to force Coan to beat you. When Jonathan Taylor is let loose, that opens up the passing game for Coan. This defense needs to focus on bottling up Jonathan Taylor.

I’m sure they will be watching plenty of film to see what Northwestern did, but they may not have the personnel to pull it off. The defensive line is vastly undersized compared to Wisconsin’s offensive line. The top three tacklers on this Kent State defense average just over six feet in height and 241 pounds in weight. This Wisconsin line should be able to create big holes for Taylor to run through.