College Football: Taylor over 200 yards again in Badgers’ win over Cornhuskers

LINCOLN, Neb. — Nebraska always brings out the best in Jonathan Taylor.

The Wisconsin star ran for 204 yards and two touchdowns in the No. 15 Badgers’ 37-21 win on Saturday in a performance that further etched his name into the record books.

Taylor became the first Football Bowl Subdivision player since at least 2000 to run for 200 yards three times against the same team, according to Sportradar. He recorded his 11th 200-yard game, moving into a four-way tie for most in a career by an FBS player. And now with 5,634 career yards, Taylor moved past Georgia’s Herschel Walker (1980-82) into first place for most yards rushing through a junior season.

“I’m a big fan of him, right?” Wisconsin coach Paul Chryst said with a smile. “Who he is and how he goes about this is the thing that you appreciate the most. It is hard to run the ball, and to do what he’s been doing, and he’d be the first one to say, it takes everyone. I feel blessed, being able to be around him. And the best part is we’ve still got more games to play. He is truly special, and in so many ways.”

Taylor had 221 yards against the Cornhuskers last year and 249 in 2017. Taylor averaged 8.2 yards on his 25 carries, often dragging defenders for extra yards. He had his third 200-yard game of the season against a Nebraska defense that was missing starting linemen Darrion Daniels and Carlos Davis.

“You can’t really come with the same scheme on offense each and every single year,” Taylor said, “so (coaches) always do a good job just putting little wrinkles in for this game in order to keep Nebraska on their toes and make it so they don’t know really what’s coming all the time.”

The Badgers (8-2, 5-2 Big Ten, No. 14 CFP) quickly erased a 14-10 deficit in the second quarter. Jack Coan threw over the middle to A.J. Taylor, who spun away from two defenders and ran the rest of the way untouched for a 55-yard touchdown.

Wisconsin linebacker Jack Sanborn intercepted a tipped ball on the first play of Nebraska’s next series, and Jonathan Taylor ran in from the 1 to finish a short drive that put the Badgers ahead 24-14.

The Huskers (4-6, 2-5) have lost four straight and five of their last six. They’ve dropped 10 in a row against Top 25 opponents.

All the way

Aaron Cruickshank ran back a kickoff 89 yards in the first quarter for Wisconsin’s first kick return for a touchdown since 2015. It came in the first quarter, right after the Huskers had taken a 7-0 lead.

Up next

Wisconsin hosts Purdue on Saturday.