Not many teams were able to bottle up Wisconsin Badgers true freshman running back Jonathan Taylor this season. The Big Ten's Freshman of the Year, a record-breaking 8-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week, and the Badgers' Offensive Player of the Year only failed to reach 100 yards in four of Wisconsin's 13 games this season.
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And each time he didn't hit the century mark, the next was a big week for Jay TD.
Here's Taylor's game log from the 2017 season:
| Opponent | Carries | Yards | TDs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Utah State | 9 | 87 | 1 |
| FAU | 26 | 223 | 3 |
| @BYU | 18 | 128 | 1 |
| Northwestern | 19 | 80 | 2 |
| @Nebraska | 25 | 249 | 2 |
| Purdue | 30 | 219 | 1 |
| Maryland | 22 | 126 | 1 |
| @Illinois | 12 | 73 | 0 |
| @Indiana | 29 | 183 | 1 |
| Iowa | 29 | 157 | 0 |
| Michigan | 19 | 132 | 0 |
| @Minnesota | 20 | 149 | 1 |
| Ohio State | 15 | 41 | 0 |
Each time a team stymied Taylor, he came out even better the next week.
Week one he carried the ball nine times for 87 yards and a touchdown. It's safe to say Utah State didn't actually hold Taylor back, as he wasn't the lone starter then — the Badgers went into the season listing Taylor, Bradrick Shaw and Chris James all as the No. 1 RB.
His performance against Utah State earned him more carries, which he gleefully took advantage of against FAU to the tune of 223 yards and three scores on 26 carries, one of his best games of the season.
MORE: Jonathan Taylor Deserved Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year, Not Saquon Barkley
In the Big Ten opener, Northwestern made it a point to slow down Taylor and limited him to 80 yards and two scores on 19 carries. A week later, Taylor ran all over Nebraska on the road, racking up a season-high 249 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 25 carries.
Later in the season, Taylor was limited to one half of play against Illinois and left at halftime with 12 carries for 73 yards. Healthy a week later, Taylor rushed for 183 yards and a score on 29 carries on the road at Indiana.
In those three "bounceback" games, Taylor averaged over 218 yards a game and scored six total touchdowns.
He'll get his chance at one last bounceback effort this season when the Badgers play the Miami Hurricanes in the Orange Bowl.
In the Badgers' last outing, Ohio State held Taylor to 41 yards on 15 carries in the Big Ten Championship. Taylor will look to finish his freshman season in style with another bounceback effort to help the Badgers to a bowl victory.
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NEXT: Tracking Jonathan Taylor vs. Ron Dayne's Freshman Season
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