Despite another phenomenal season from running back Jonathan Taylor, the Wisconsin Badgers have failed to make enough noise in the Big Ten.
In just two seasons, Wisconsin Badgers running back Jonathan Taylor has taken the college football world by storm. Unfortunately, the Badgers haven’t been able to capitalize on having arguably one of their most talented runners in school history.
The Badgers lost another tough one on Saturday, falling 22-10 to the Penn State Nittany Lions. It definitely wasn’t for a lack of effort from Taylor, however. The sophomore running for 185 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries, including this explosive 71-yard score early on.
Jonathan Taylor breaking through traffic and runs away for a 71 yard touchdown! #OnWisconsin #Badgers pic.twitter.com/ipccboa9gd
— Duddy Sports (@DuddySports) November 10, 2018
Despite the big run, the Badgers have now fallen to 6-4 with a 4-3 conference record in the Big Ten. That record likely won’t be good enough to keep up with the likes of Northwestern and Purdue for a chance at playing in the Big Ten championship, officially wasting an incredible season from Taylor.
As a true freshman, Taylor broke Adrian Peterson’s FBS record for rushing yards by a freshman with 1,977 yards on the ground to go with 13 rushing touchdowns. So far, Taylor has lived up to those sky-high expectations from last year as a sophomore.
In 10 games this season, the talented 19-year-old has already run for 1,548 yards and 12 touchdowns, putting him well on pace to match last season’s numbers.
Unfortunately, the Badgers haven’t had the balance on offense to be as successful this season. Saturday was another great example of this, with backup quarterback Jack Coan going just 9-of-20 through the air for 60 yards and two interceptions.
There are plenty of deserving Heisman Trophy candidates this season, and although Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is the clear front-runner, Taylor could have made a strong argument for the award had the Badgers been a legitimate contender in the Big Ten.
Unfortunately, the Badgers just haven’t seemed to put everything together like they have in previous seasons, and at this point all Taylor can hope for is to hear his name called as a Heisman Trophy finalist.