UW vs. Maryland: Awards, inside the huddle, by the numbers

PLAYERS OF THE GAME

We’ll hand out the game ball to the UW secondary, particularly cornerbacks Nick Nelson, Derrick Tindal and Dontye Carriere-Williams.

Maryland wide receiver DJ Moore entered the game leading the Big Ten in receptions (44)  touchdown receptions (seven), receiving yards (624), receiving yards per game (104.0) and receptions per game (7.3).

He had 12 catches for 210 yards and two touchdowns one week earlier in a loss to Northwestern.

Unlike Maryland’s previous foes, who gave Moore plenty of room to work underneath, UW’s cornerbacks played tighter coverage. 

Their work, combined with pressure from the line and linebackers on quarterback Max Bortenschlager, contributed to Moore finishing with three catches for 44 yards. He got the bulk of his yards (38) when he caught a ball behind safety Natrell Jamerson and in front of safety D’Cota Dixon.

"Coaches put us in good situations to challenge their concepts,” Dixon said. “And in our defense, you’re going to get challenged. In the slot. On the outside. Whatever. He was challenged today.” 

OFFENSIVE PLAY OF THE GAME

UW held a 7-3 lead early in the second quarter but the offense had already turned the ball over twice when Alex Hornibrook and wide receiver Quintez Cephus combined for a 30-yard pass play to spark a crowd that sounded a bit restless and tired of the turnovers. 

One play after Bradrick Shaw lost 3 yards on first down, UW faced second and 13 at the Maryland 33. 

Cephus lined up wide to the right and was given a generous cushion by cornerback JC Jackson. Cephus quickly worked inside Jackson and Hornibrook, who was 4 for 5 for 44 yards to that point on the drive, hit the receiver in stride. Cephus gained 30 yards to the 3 and freshman tailback Jonathan Taylor scored on the next play to help UW take a 14-3 lead. 

DEFENSIVE PLAY OF THE GAME

Less than three minutes into the game, inside linebacker T.J. Edwards grabbed the team lead in interceptions and joined three of his teammates who had recorded a pick-six earlier this season.

Give outside linebacker Garret Dooley an assist on the play.

Maryland faced third and 12 from the UW 49 on the opening series of the game when Bortenschlager looked for a receiver on the right side.

Dooley ran a delayed twist to the inside, with end Conor Sheehy, and came free and drilled Bortenschlager as he was trying to throw.

“We just knew that on certain sides of the protection they were going to be man-to-man, Dooley said of the Maryland blockers. “And if we did it correctly, one of us was going to be free. It happened to be me.”

The ball fluttered into the arms of Edwards at the UW 46 in the flat. Edwards shook off one would-be tackler at the Maryland 43 and had an escort from Alec James, Leon Jacobs and Chris Orr to the end zone to help UW take a 7-0 lead with 12:18 left in the first quarter.

“I was running for my life,” Edwards said when asked if he knew he had a clear path to the end zone after eluding the one player who had a chance to bring him down. “I’m not the fastest guy out there. But when I saw my teammates next to me, it was a good feeling.”

The interception was the third this season for Edwards and the fourth returned for a touchdown by UW.

Edwards joined safety Joe Ferguson (Utah State), safety Natrell Jamerson (Northwestern) and linebacker Chris Orr (Nebraska) with a touchdown off an interception.

SPECIAL TEAMS PLAY OF THE GAME

The turnover didn’t lead to points – it should have – but special teams coach Chris Haering likely will be pleased with the work of linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel and safety Joe Ferguson on kickoff coverage.

After UW scored to take a 21-3 lead, Zach Hintze angled his kickoff to the right, with the ball carrying 63 yards to the 2. 

Maryland’s Jake Funk fielded the ball cleanly and stayed along the sideline. He was drilled by Van Ginkel at the 24, however, and Ferguson fell on the ball inches from the sideline.

The replay official reviewed the play to see if Ferguson recovered the ball in the field of play. The call stood and UW took over at the Maryland 24.

UW’s offense mustered just 2 yards on three plays, however, and Rafael Gaglianone came on for a 39-yard field-goal attempt from the left hash. The snap was high, though and Gaglianone, who had made 6 of 7 field-goal attempts this season, missed left.

INSIDE THE HUDDLE

Hornibrook’s 8-yard touchdown pass to tight end Zander Neuville with 32 seconds left in the first half was beautifully designed and executed. Cephus split wide to the left and took his route across the field to the right side. That cleared out the defense and Neuville, lined up off right tackle at the snap, blocked and eventually sneaked out toward the left side. No defender was close to him when he caught the ball and he strolled into the end zone.

“Basically the whole design was to sell a power run,” Neuville said. “So I just hit my guy and found a way to get out to the flat.

“I noticed when I was leaking out, I saw Quintez cross my face and his defender when flying with him. And that’s why it was so wide open.”

Left guard Jon Dietzen, who has been battling ankle and toe injuries this season, started for the fourth consecutive game and fifth time in seven games this season. He again split time with walk-on Jason Erdmann, however, as the staff tries to manage Dietzen’s workload and keep him as healthy as possible.

QUOTABLE

“That should be the status quo. Obviously, we’ve been shooting ourselves in the foot the last couple of weeks. We’ll clean it up…But those three, four series we had, that’s what I expect.” – Michael Deiter, UW left tackle, on UW scoring touchdowns on three of four drives to build a 28-3 lead

BY THE NUMBERS

4 TDs on interception returns by UW this season, the team’s highest mark since at least 1950

5 UW scored five times on five red-zone chances, including four TDs

6 TDs allowed by UW defense this season, on 22 red-zone chances

225 Passing yards for Alex Hornibrook, the fourth time this season he has hit the 200-yard mark

1,112 Jonathan Taylor’s rushing total through seven games, a 158.9-yard average

UP NEXT

Wisconsin (7-0, 4-0 Big Ten at Illinois (2-5, 0-4), 11 a.m. Saturday. Including a 24-17 loss to Minnesota on Saturday, the Illini have lost their last five games. The two victories came against Ball State and Western Kentucky.