Baggot: Bounty of playmakers team up to bring home Axe
December 01, 2019 | Football, Andy Baggot
Bad weather no problem for Badgers on way to another Big Ten West title
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BY ANDY BAGGOT
UWBadgers.com Insider
MINNEAPOLIS — The moment seemed to cry out for caution and moderation. When members of the Wisconsin football team plotted out their recapture of Paul Bunyan's Axe on Saturday at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, they had to factor in some diabolical weather conditions.
Temperatures dancing around the freezing mark all afternoon. Gusty, swirling winds. A wintry mix of sleet, rain and snow. It was a visual cross between a shaken snow globe and an old Motorola TV screen deprived of its signal.
Under the circumstances, it seemed the Badgers had but few tactical options if they wanted to take down Big Ten Conference archrival Minnesota and bring the Axe back to Madison.
"With the weather conditions today, most likely people expected us to run the ball, run the ball, run the ball," junior running back Jonathan Taylor said.
Wisconsin ran the ball all right, but the depth and diversity of its offensive game plan was the talk of an ecstatic visitor's locker room after the Badgers rolled to an incentive-laden 38-17 victory.
Their most prominent playmakers — Taylor, junior wide receiver Quintez Cephus and junior quarterback Jack Coan — were characteristically reliable, but they had lots of productive company.
"We knew we were going to have to pass the ball to win," Cephus said. "Whatever the weather conditions were, we knew we'd have to fight through it and we did that."
The outcome was laden with satisfaction and reward for Wisconsin, which won 10 regular-season games for the third time in five years under coach Paul Chryst.
First and foremost, the No. 13 Badgers (10-2 overall, 7-2 in the Big Ten) regained possession of the Axe after an agonizing one-year hiatus. The trophy goes to the winner of the most-played Football Bowl Subdivision rivalry. Wisconsin now leads the all-time series for just the second time in history (61-60-8).
Knocking off No. 9 Minnesota (10-2, 7-2) meant the Badgers won the Big Ten West Division tiebreaker, advanced to the league championship game for the sixth time since 2011 and enhanced their chance of playing in a prestigious New Year's Six bowl game.
Wisconsin will face second-ranked Ohio State (12-0, 9-0) in the Big Ten title game Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
Taylor amassed 115 yards from scrimmage — 76 rushing and 39 receiving — while scoring three touchdowns to boost his FBS-leading total to 25.
Cephus checked in with five catches for 114 yards and a TD, a 47-yard scoring strike that served as a foundation for the third 100-yard outing of his career.
Coan, meanwhile, completed 15 of 22 passes for 280 yards and two scores without a giveaway, significant given the gusty winds and slippery footballs.
Coan is known for his unflappable demeanor, something he brought into the day and displayed throughout. He seemed unfazed by the weather because he was.
"I don't think it was too much of a factor," he said. "It was just like I was growing up playing football in my backyard. It was fun out there."
"Got that Axe back!" -@_KPryor3 #OnWisconsin || #Badgers
— Wisconsin Football (@BadgerFootball) November 30, 2019
Taylor had a different sense of Coan's performance.
"I don't know a lot of guys who could pass like that in those conditions," he said.
Junior running back Garrett Groshek was one of four players to have at least one rush and one reception, a stat line that featured a 70-yard screen pass.
"No amount of weather can stop the Long Island Laser," he said, a playful nod to Coan, who hails from Sayville, New York. "He just trusted it today no matter what."
It helped to get so many guys involved. A closer look shows eight players gained positive rushing yards — including a 26-yard scoring jaunt off a jet sweep by wide receiver Kendric Pryor — and seven caught at least one pass. In all, eight different players recorded first downs.
"We have a lot of great playmakers on this team, so it's always good to get them the ball," Coan said.
"It feels great to know that you have a lot you can put on display in a game and that Coach is going to put the ball in our hands to let us make plays and help our team win," Cephus said. "That gives us confidence. It makes you want to go to work every day because you know you'll have a chance to do some great things on Saturday."
A new name on the playmaking roll was speedy redshirt freshman running back Isaac Guerendo, who teamed with sophomore wide receiver Aron Cruickshank for a reverse on a third-quarter kickoff return.
The Gophers had just scored to cut the deficit to 17-10 when Cruickshank ran to his right and pitched to Guerendo moving to his left. Exquisite blocks from redshirt freshman running back Nakia Watson and junior tight end Seth Currens sprang Guerendo for a 49-yard burst. Two plays later, Pryor scored his second rushing TD of the season and fifth of his career.
"He sparked momentum for us," Taylor said of Guerendo.
"We all know what he can do," Coan said of Guerendo, an Indiana state track champion in the long jump and 100 meters. "We see it every day in practice."
Guerendo was thrilled to make an impact on such a meaningful day.
"It was something we'd practiced all week and when game time came we were able to execute it," he said. "It turned into something good.
"I'm just so happy to bring the Axe back for the seniors, to make a play and contribute. It feels good."
Taylor lauded the work of Guerendo on a high-risk, high-reward sequence.
"Run a play like that, it can either go really good or really bad," Taylor said. "He put us in great position to score."
The well-rounded attack came in a big moment, a big game that carried a lot of meaning.
"There was a lot on the line for this game, but, really, the biggest thing was getting the Axe back," Taylor said. "You get that back and everything else falls into place."
