MADISON, Wis. — Jonathan Taylor ran for three touchdowns and caught another, Quintez Cephus scored his first two touchdowns of the season and No. 17 Wisconsin cruised past Central Michigan 61-0 in its home opener Saturday.

While Wisconsin (2-0) had 599 yards of total offense, Central Michigan (1-1) managed just 58 yards — the second-fewest ever allowed by the Badgers — and three first downs.

Junior quarterback Jack Coan found Cephus for a 36-yard score and a 46-yard strike on his way to finishing 26-of-33 passing with 363 yards, three touchdowns and zero turnovers (201.2 pass efficiency rating). Coan set career highs in completions, attempts, yards and touchdowns in his first start at Camp Randall Stadium. His 363 yards marked the fifth-highest single-game total in school history and helped the Badgers hit the 400-yard passing mark as a team for just the third time ever, and the first since 1993.

Cephus finished with six receptions for 130 yards — both career highs — and tied his career high with his two scores.

Taylor had 102 rushing yards on the ground with 19 carries , surpassing the 100-yard mark for the 24th time in 29 career games. The 2018 Doak Walker Award winner also added three catches for 17 yards and had his third receiving score of the season.

The Badgers put up 44 points in the first half, the most in a half since the Badgers scored 45 in the second half of an 83-20 win over Indiana on Nov. 13, 2010. The Badgers dominated the first downs category, 37-3. The marks UW's most first downs and fewest allowed since at least 1998.

Through two weeks of the season, Wisconsin is the only FBS team to not allow a point and has surrendered just 215 total yards and 41 rushing yards.

2-0h it feels good #OnWisconsin

— Wisconsin Football (@BadgerFootball) September 7, 2019

Freshman quarterback Graham Mertz made his Badgers debut, entering in the third quarter, going 4-for-5 for 35 yards. Fellow QB Chase Wolf also appeared in the game, earning his first-career pass, a 2-yard completion to FB John Chenal. Redshirt freshman running back Nakia Watson scored his second-career touchdown on a two-yard run. He carried the ball eight times for 29 yards.

Inside linebackers Leo Chenal and Mike Maskalunas led the Badgers with four tackles a piece. Senior outside linebacker Zack Baun recorded his second sack in as many games, giving him 4.5 in his career, while sophomore inside linebacker Jack Sanborn recorded the first interception of his career in the second quarter, returning Dormady's pick 39 yards.

Looking ahead, Wisconsin will enjoy a bye week before returning to Camp Randall Stadium to open Big Ten play against No. 7 Michigan on Sept. 21. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. CT and the game will be broadcast on FOX.