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Wisconsin arrived in Piscataway as slight underdogs at Rutgers. The Badgers leave with a blowout Big Ten win on the road.
Saturday’s conference clash was all Wisconsin. The Badgers jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the 1st quarter and never looked back. Rutgers coach Greg Schiano hoped his team would be able to overcome a rough 1st quarter, but things did not get better for the Scarlet Knights.
Balanced Badgers can do both
Much has been made during the season about Phil Longo’s Air Raid scheme. On Saturday, Wisconsin showed that it can move the ball through the air, but it’s also going to run the ball.
In the first half, Wisconsin notched a 14-0 lead, gaining 227 yards of total offense. The Badgers passed 18 times for 135 yards on 12 completions, and rushed 22 times for 92 yards.
Wisconsin did not abandon the pass, but as the lead increased, it began to lean more on the ground game. The Badgers finished 20-of-28 passing for 240 yards and 1 touchdown, rushing 47 times for 309 yards and 5 scores.
UW’s offense was described on the Big Ten Network as Air Raid when the team passes, and old school when the Badgers run the ball. We even saw the power-I in the red zone. Fickell and his staff will hope the balanced approach continues to work on other B1G defenses.
Tawee Walker emerges with Chez Mellusi out
Chez Mellusi’s decision to step away from the Wisconsin football team made plenty of headlines. It appears the Badgers are in good hands with Tawee Walker ready to step into a bigger role.
Wisconsin had not had a 100-yard rusher in 2024. Walker changed that in a big way on Saturday, carrying the ball 24 times for 198 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns, including a 55-yard score.
The Badgers finished with over 300 rushing yards.
TAWEE WALKER ‼️
That’s the @BadgerFootball RB’s third touchdown of the game 😱#B1GFootball on @BigTenNetwork 📺 pic.twitter.com/0D7eB3hKbL
— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) October 12, 2024
I implore you to watch No. 56 for Wisconsin, Joe Brunner.
Watch the big man PULL and listen to the CRACK as he leads the way for Tawee Walker’s 2nd TD today.
Offensive line play perfection. pic.twitter.com/IRAlgc1qfy
— Ben Stevens (@BenScottStevens) October 12, 2024
With no passing attack, Rutgers had no chance
On Saturday, Rutgers had no hope of making a comeback. Most every team tries to score quickly through the air when facing a multi-score deficit. The Scarlet Knights weren’t able to do that on Saturday.
Rutgers QB Athan Kaliakmanis was a dreadful 7-of-20 in the 1st half as the Scarlet Knights fell behind by double digits. In the second half, he was just 5-of-12 before he was replaced by Ajani Sheppard. Kaliakmanis completed just 38% of his passes (12-of-32) with no touchdowns and 1 interception. Sheppard did not attempt a pass.
The rushing numbers for the Scarlet Knights don’t look too bad in the box score (35 carries, 168 yards, 1 touchdown), but having to be a 1-dimensional run-only offense to move the ball is no way to erase a sizable deficit, even in the Big Ten.
A former Florida beat reporter, Andrew writes for the Saturday Tradition News Desk.