Wisconsin Badgers news, 10/2: Melvin Gordon has been crazy good after halftime

By Mike Fiammetta@mikefiammetta Oct 2, 2014, 6:00am CDT

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Taking stock of impressive statistics from non-conference play is a foolish exercise not worth your time. At least that's the college football curmudgeon's perspective. I, personally, will always welcome a sweet Melvin Gordon stat.

Take note:

#Wisconsin RB Melvin Gordon is averaging over 51 yards per carry (!) on his first carry after halftime against FBS opponents.
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) October 1, 2014

That's just so insane. Here are those three runs (ESPN doesn't have video of the third, unfortunately):

Game 1 vs. LSU, 15:00 3Q: Run for 63 yds to LSU 12 for 1ST down

3Q WIS M. Gordon run for 63 yds for a 1ST down

Game 3 vs. Bowling Green, 14:28 3Q: Run for 69 yds for TD

Gordon's Record 5th TD

Game 4 vs. South Florida, 15:00 3Q: Run for 22 yds to Wisc 47 for 1ST down

Great stuff. Interestingly enough, the one game omitted above is Game 2 vs. FCS Western Illinois. That was Gordon's worst rushing performance of the season (17 attempts, 38 yards), and he lost 1 yard on his first run out halftime.

Links

College football attendance down 1 percent in 2014 | CBS Sports

The biggest increases among the Power 5 conferences: Maryland (25 percent), UCLA (21 percent), Texas A&M (20 percent), Syracuse (17 percent), Tennessee (12 percent), LSU (12 percent), USC (11 percent) and Colorado (11 percent). This is Maryland's inaugural season in the Big Ten.

College football's fight to keep its next generation of fans | CBS Sports

Nineteen percent of the 87 FBS schools surveyed by CBSSports.com require a donation to purchase season tickets. That just gets you a seat into the stadium. It costs a lot more for the right to buy season tickets in good locations.

Badgers running game starts off slowly | JSOnline

Joel Stave back to his old self | JSOnline

Big Ten submits plan to help athletes | JSOnline

Recruiting Radar: David Moorman makes unofficial visit to Madison | JSOnline

Badgers freshmen watch: Game 4 | Fox Sports Wisconsin

Badgers WRs 'frustrated' but trying to stay patient, earn trust | Fox Sports Wisconsin