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Wisconsin had little trouble taking care of business in Week 1, cruising to a 34-3 win over Western Kentucky on Friday night.
The Badgers registered 491 yards of total offense in the win, led by sophomore running back Jonathan Taylor who racked up 145 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries. Quarterback Alex Hornibrook also had a solid outing, completing 17-of-29 passes for 257 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Victory came easy for Wisconsin in Week 1. Here’s what head coach Paul Chryst had to say with the Badgers starting the year 1-0:
Paul Chryst on some early struggles: You're always going to go through things. I think guys kept their poise … and that you appreciate because no game is going to go perfect.
— Benjamin Worgull (@TheBadgerNation) September 1, 2018
Chryst on Cole Van Lanen: We wanted to play (Cole and Jon Dietzen). Cole has had a good camp. He earned the right to play. I'm anxious to see how it went for him.
— Benjamin Worgull (@TheBadgerNation) September 1, 2018
https://twitter.com/JohnVeldhuis/status/1035751522875916288
Chryst commends the defense’s ability to create late game turnovers and stop the Hilltoppers offense feel in the red zone
— Badger Herald Sports (@BHeraldSports) September 1, 2018
Chryst on creating red-zone turnovers: Those are big plays and you appreciate that. There's always going to be learning that goes on in a game and you want them to learn from it
— Benjamin Worgull (@TheBadgerNation) September 1, 2018
Chryst said he thinks the defense will grow from this performance with a number of new players seeing the field for the first time.
— Danny Cunningham (@RealDCunningham) September 1, 2018
Chryst on Jake Ferguson: he was good, what you appreciate is that he was who we saw in camp. It was his first game action and that's not always the case.
— Danny Cunningham (@RealDCunningham) September 1, 2018
Chryst did not elaborate much on Dontye Carriere-Williams transfer but it sounded like the decision was not exactly mutual
— Benjamin Worgull (@TheBadgerNation) September 1, 2018
Chryst on why he kept Alex Hornibrook in the game til the end: Was gonna get the 2s in there, didn't have time so just kept Alex in. #Badgers#OnWisconsin
— Melissa Y. Kim (@melissaykim) September 1, 2018
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB