Wisconsin running back Jonathan Taylor ended his 2018 season with an exclamation point in the Pinstripe Bowl vs. Miami, rushing for 205 yards and two touchdowns in the 35-3 win over the Hurricanes on Thursday. Taylor rushed for 28 yards on the opening drive of the game, and punched it in from 7 yards out following a Miami interception on the next drive to set the tone for the Badgers.
From there, they never looked back.
The stingy Badgers defense allowed just 169 yards to the listless Hurricanes offense, picked off quarterback Malik Rosier three times, replacement N'Kosi Perry once and held the 'Canes to 3 of 11 on third downs.
For Taylor, it was a fitting end to a sensational sophomore season. He finished the season with 2,194 yards and 16 touchdowns, topping his true freshman yardage mark of 1,977 yards on the ground. Unless there's a legendary performance from one of the nation's top running backs between now and the end of bowl season, he will be the only 2,000-yard rusher in 2018 and likely enter his junior season as one of the front-runners for the Heisman Trophy.
The win pushes Wisconsin's record to 8-5 in 2018 -- a year that saw it ranked No. 4 in the preseason AP Top 25. The Badgers even received one first place vote prior to the start of the season.
On the flip side, it's an appropriate end to a disaster of a season for the offensively-challenged Hurricanes (7-6). They entered the game ranked tied for No. 108 in passing offense in FBS with 177.3 yards per game. Rosier and Perry combined for 48 passing yards against the Badgers -- the second-worst single-game mark of the season.
After three years at the helm, Mark Richt's offense has failed to take off in Miami despite the Hurricanes hanging around the College Football Playoff picture until championship weekend in 2017.
