TAMPA, Fla. — Jonathan Taylor rushed for 135 yards and scored a career-best four touchdowns, helping No. 19 Wisconsin open the season with a 49-0 rout of South Florida on Friday night.
Taking up where he left off a year ago, when he lead the nation with 2,194 yards and 16 touchdowns, Taylor scored on runs of 37 and 38 yards.
The junior running back also had the first two receiving TDs of his career, scooting 36 yards up the left sideline after taking a quick flip from UW quarterback Jack Coan and later extending the ball over the goal line on a 12-yard reception that gave the Badgers a 28-0 halftime lead.
Taylor joined Melvin Gordon (2014) and Ron Dayne (1996, 1999) as the only Badgers to top 2,000 yards rushing in a season in 2018, and he looks like he's primed for another big year after gaining 100-plus for the 23rd time in 28 career games.
Coan carried his share of the load, too, finishing with 19 of 26 for 199 yards without an interception. He threw for a career-high 193 yards on 17-for-23 passing, with 2 touchdowns.
Jack Coan
Wisconsin's defense delivered a dominating performance, too, limiting South Florida to 157 yards total offense and forcing three turnovers, including a fumble that Matt Henningsen returned 16 yards for a second-quarter touchdown. The Badgers' defense held the Bulls to 26 yards rushing.
Henningsen added a sack and a quarterback hurry to his performance, while junior safety Eric Burrell recorded the second interception of his career, picking off South Florida quarterback Blake Barnett's pass in the second quarter. Overall, inside linebacker Mike Maskalunas led the Badgers with six tackles, closely followed by teammates Jack Sanborn and Leo Chenal with five each. Safety Collin Wilder made the most of his Badgers' debut with an interception in the fourth quarter.
Redshirt freshman runningback Nakia Watson made his Badgers debut and scored the first touchdown of his career on a 27-yard run in the third quarter. He finished with 14 carries for 80 yards. Senior runningback Bradrick Shaw scored the 10th rushing touchdown of his career and his first touchdown since 2017, scoring on a 15-yard run in the fourth quarter. He had 2 total rushes for 15 yards.
Wisconsin returns home to Camp Randall Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 7. The Badgers kick off against Central Michigan at 2:30 p.m. (CT).
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The AP contributed to this article.
