In last week’s 42-19 opening loss to the Navy Midshipmen, the Owls struggled defensively against Navy’s running attack. This week would end the same, as the No. 9 University of Wisconsin Badgers pummeled FAU 31-14 after a competitive first half.   

Last week against Navy, the Owls surrendered 416 yards on the ground against the Midshipmen. This week was not much better, as FAU allowed 357 rushing yards against Wisconsin.

The one man wrecking crew for Navy was quarterback Zach Abbey, who had 235 yards by himself. This week it came in the form of running back Johnathan Taylor, who would run all over FAU’s defense with 223 yards of rushing and three scores.

Taylor’s presence would be felt early, as he first struck two minutes into the game. He burst into the secondary, scoring on a 64-yard touchdown run to put the Badgers on top 7-0.

Not long after this big play, Taylor had another impactful play when he rushed for another touchdown, this time for 29 yards to make it 14-0. For a third time, Taylor would hurt the defense with a four-yard touchdown, closing out the game for the Badgers.

The one bright spot for FAU was on offense. Junior wide receiver DeAndre McNeal had three receptions for 103 yards a touchdown. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Daniel Parr also had a decent performance going 9-for-19 with 142 yards and one passing touchdown.

FAU never held the lead in the game, coming as close as seven points to the Badgers. They did not score a point in the second half.

Florida Atlantic will next play Bethune Cookman at home pending damage from Hurricane Irma. The game is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 16 at 6:30 p.m.

Zach Evans is a contributing writer with the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email [email protected] or tweet him at @zackevanstweets.