Game notes: No. 8 Wisconsin vs. Michigan State

Quotes

• Paul Chryst on Wisconsin’s ability to get out to early leads and what it takes to do so:

“It comes down to execution; guys gotta make plays,” said Chryst. “Obviously, you’ve got to convert on third down, and a couple of times we had to use fourth to get it, but that’s gotta be a manageable situation.

“I think you always go back and look at it. It’s guys doing things to give yourself a chance and someone takes advantage of that.”

• Jonathan Taylor on Jake Ferguson’s reception where he fell down short of the goal line:

“I didn’t know what happened,” Taylor said. “For a second I thought that i tripped him because I didn’t know what happened. But I definitely went up to him after the fact and told him I have to do something for him because that was definitely a touchdown for him.”

Photo by Lawrence Iles/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

• Taylor on each win and if he views them differently:

“I feel like every win is a statement win,” Taylor said. “If you go 1-0 each week, then everything will fall into place at the end of the year for you.”

• Zack Baun on his pick-six:

“It came from preparation. really. A lot of work in the film room and understanding [MSU’s] route concepts,” Baun said. “They had a bust bunch to the field and two split out to the boundary, and we know that out of that formation they like to run double slants, and I dropped and entered the zone and he threw it right to me.”

Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images

• Baun on Wisconsin’s ability to hold teams back on offense:

“We’re just stingy,” Baun said. “The opposing team has to work for whatever they’re going to get. We’re not going to make it easy.”

• Baun on whether Wisconsin’s mentality has changed since the beginning of the season as it continues to climb in the polls:

“It doesn’t really change whether we’re ranked or not ranked or top-10, top-5, whatever. It may be we’re just the same team, same Wisconsin and that something we pride ourselves on,” Baun said.

“We don’t change for the media; we don’t listen to whats out there or whats happening; we don’t listen to people trying to gas us up or whatever. It’s just play Wisconsin football every week.”

• Chris Orr on the preparation each week and how the coaches impact the preparation of the players:

“I think we’re pretty good preparing during the week, and I think our coaches do a good job as well of not changing their approach,” Orr said. “I feel like sometimes coaches can - our coaches do a great job of not doing that, but sometimes coaches when it’s a bigger game, they get on their players more and it creates a feeling of discomfort, a feeling of low self-esteem within the team, but our coaches do a great job.

“We have the same approach this week, as we did last week, same approach as we did against South Florida, it doesn’t matter who we play, it’s just nameless faceless opponents and we just focus on us.”

• Kendric Pryor on his 66-yard touchdown:

“I ain’t gonna lie, when I saw [Quintez Cephus] and I think it was [Ferguson] on the edge, I was just thinking I gotta get it, I gotta get into the endzone,” Pryor said. “If it really wasn’t for Q, he got a great block and Ferg got a great block on the edge... and that’s just me taking advantage of my opportunities.”

Matt Fleming; @B5QPhotos

Game notes (courtesy UW Athletic Dept.)

• The Badgers are bowl-eligible for the 18th consecutive season. UW’s run of 17-straight bowl games is the longest active run in the Big Ten and tied for the fifth-longest nationally.
• Wisconsin’s fourth shutout of the season lowers its NCAA-best 4.8 points allowed per game.
• UW is the only FBS team that has not trailed at any point this season.
• For the sixth time in the modern era (since 1946), the Badgers have begun the season 6-0. UW also began 6-0 in 1993, 1998, 2004, 2011 and 2017.
• Taylor is tied for eighth in program single-season touchdowns with John Clay (2009) and Montee Ball (2010) with 18. Ball is also tops the list with 39 touchdowns in 2011.
• Taylor is now fifth in Wisconsin history with 47 career touchdowns scored. If he scores three more touchdowns, he will surpass James White (48) and Melvin Gordon (49) for third place.