It is fair to say that Wisconsin had Minnesota on their mind heading into their game against Purdue. Badgers struggled with the Boilermakers in the first half as Purdue led at one point and scored 17 points in the first half. For the most part, Wisconsin figured it out in the second half. They outscored Purdue, 21-7 as the defense stood tall. And Jonathan Taylor ran wild as Taylor rushed for 200+ yards for the third straight game.

Player of the Game: Jonathan Taylor – What a performance. He is making a case for the Doak Walker Award. He is not going to be part of the Heisman race, and that’s okay honestly. Taylor has not played better than Joe Burrow, although, to think Jalen Hurts is number two with how bad he’s been with red-zone turnovers is laughable. He rushed for 228 with a 7.9 average. The only negative is Taylor lost two fumbles which have been a bugaboo for him throughout his career.

Honorable Mention: Kendric Pryor – Nice game for him. Pryor put together a great day on the ground and through the air. He took 49-yard reverse and rushed for 56 yards plus caught four passes for 47 yards. For non-math majors out there, Pryor had 103 yards of total offense. Badgers have done a good job in the last few weeks of involving more offensive players.

One Thing I Liked: Paul Chryst shows a new offensive look – I’m curious to know why Paul Chryst and Joe Rudolph went with more of a wildcat set-up this week. Reading about it a bit, Aron Cruickshank was a quarterback in high school at 5’9 running the ball mostly. He is electric out there and creates a real issue for opposing teams as to whether take the quarterback or Taylor, the best player on the field.

One Thing I Didn’t Like: Badgers need to fix their turnover issues – Wisconsin turned the ball over four times. That cannot happen against Minnesota or moving forward. Taylor’s fumbling tends to reemerge now and again. One was just a bad read with Cruickshank and him though. Wisconsin needs to clean this up.

Next up: Badgers take on Minnesota in what will be the most anticipated Paul Bunyan Axe game in the history of the rivalry. The game is for the Big Ten West, and a right to play Ohio State for the Big Ten Championship. The last time this game had this much meaning was 1962 when Badgers beat the Golden Gophers, 14-9. College Gameday will be there, and it should be awesome.

Charlie.