Things started off well for the hometown Miami Hurricanes, but the first half of the Capital One Orange Bowl reached halftime with the Wisconsin Badgers establishing control of the game. The Badgers lead the Hurricanes after one half of play in Miami, 24-14.
It took just four plays for Miami’s trademark turnover chain to make an appearance when a questionable instant replay ruled Wisconsin’s freshman running back Jonathan Taylor had fumbled. Replays showed his knee may have down, but officials felt the ball was coming out as Taylor went to the ground. Wisconsin survived the early Miami offensive opportunity when a Miami field goal sailed wide right. The Badgers responded with a field goal on the next possession, but Miami roared back with a touchdown when Travis Homer finished off a drive with a five-yard run for a score.
Afer a three-and-out by the Badgers defense, Miami kept the momentum going with DeeJay Dallas ripping off a 39-yard touchdown run to put the Hurricanes up 14-3. From there, it has been all Wisconsin. Alex Hornibrook completed a pass to Danny Davis III from 20 yards out shortly after the Badgers defense forced a turnover with an interception of Malik Rosier. Wisconsin’s defense continued to get off the field quickly with back-to-back three-and-outs, and Wisconsin took the lead on a Hornibrook pass to A.J. Taylor.
This was a great catch by A.J. Taylor for Wisconsin https://t.co/w5OfIUb4H3
— Kevin McGuire (@KevinOnCFB) December 31, 2017
Wisconsin added another touchdown pass form Hornibrook to Davis III late in the half to create a 24-14 lead. That happened shortly after Miami head coach Mark Richt was flagged for contacting an official by the arm during a timeout. What sparked the rage is not quite clear, as Richt only said “If you watch the tape, you’ll see” when asked about the incident by ESPN sideline reporter Molly McGrath.
Mark Richt grabbed an official https://t.co/DQrlBDNLDL
— Kevin McGuire (@KevinOnCFB) December 31, 2017
Let’s watch some tape https://t.co/8ll4fCW870
— Kevin McGuire (@KevinOnCFB) December 31, 2017
During the first half, Wisconsin’s Taylor set a new freshman rushing record for the most rushing yards in a season by a freshman, passing Adrian Peterson‘s record from 2004. None other than Wisconsin legend Ron Dayne offered his congratulations on Twitter.
As the Don of Running Back U 👐🏾 I would like to say I'm so proud of Jonathan Taylor for keeping it in the family 🏉 🏆 pic.twitter.com/oaMmMNQdH9
— Ron Dayne (@Ron33Dayne) December 31, 2017