MADISON, Wis. _Which version will turn out to be the Wisconsin team that shows up for the bulk of the 2017 college football season?
Will it be the UW team that made mistakes on special teams, lost a fumble inside its 30, struggled to run effectively or complete passes and fell behind by double digits in the opening quarter against unranked Utah State Friday at Camp Randall Stadium?
Or, will it be the UW team that dominated the final 2{ quarters and pulled away for an easy 59-10 victory in front of a crowd of 75,324?
UW, which opened the season No. 10 in the Amway coaches poll and No. 9 in The Associated Press poll, won't win the Big Ten West Division if it is the former.
But to be blunt, UW played over the final 2{ quarters like the team most analysts and fans expected. That team looks capable of competing for at least the Big Ten title.
Quarterback Alex Hornibrook (15 of 23 for 244 yard and three touchdowns) settled in and made accurate throws to a variety of receivers.
Tight ends Troy Fumagalli and Zander Neuville had touchdown catches of 23 and 28 yards, respectively, during UW's 28-point third quarter.
Freshman tailback Jonathan Taylor (nine carries, 87 yards) provided a spark with a 41-yard run and added a 13-yard touchdown run.
UW's defense, which allowed 88 yards on 18 plays in the opening quarter, was nearly impenetrable afterward.
Utah State finished with 304 yards on 68 plays.
The defense saved its best stand for the third quarter, with UW holding a 31-10 lead.
A fumble by tailback Chris James gave the Aggies the ball at the UW 37.
The next four plays resulted in a 1-yard loss on a running play, an incomplete pass, a 6-yard pass play and a fourth-down pass break-up by linebacker T.J. Edwards (seven tackles, two passes broken up, one interception), made plays all over the field.
Remember all that talk during camp of UW competing for a national championship?
The Badgers looked in the first quarter like a team incapable of competing for a division championship.
UW was penalized on a punt return and a kickoff return, which forced the offense to start those drives at the Badgers' 4 and 9, respectively.
Hornibrook fumbled a snap from center, which Utah State turned into a turnover and a 16-yard touchdown drive for a 10-0 lead with 3 minutes, 47 seconds remaining in the quarter.
UW finished the quarter with 26 yards and two first downs on 13 plays.
UW's offense continued to sputter and the Badgers' didn't cross the 50-yard line until Hornibrook hit Quintez Cephus for a 5-yard gain to the Aggies' 48 with 6{ minutes left in the half.
Tailback Bradrick Shaw (18-84) scored on a 3-yard run to cap a 15-play, 79-yard drive that lasted 8:25.
Utah State got the ball back with 1:08 and wasn't content to take a 10-7 lead into the locker room.
The Aggies passed on first down and Edwards intercepted a pass intended for tight end Carson Terrell.
That gave UW the ball at the Aggies 18 with 56 seconds left. The Badgers settled for a 29-yard field goal by Rafael Gaglianone on the final play to forge the tie.
Not quite the start Paul Chryst and his players anticipated.
UW's defenders appeared on skates early as the Aggies used a fast tempo and attacked the interior and edges of the defense.
The Badgers allowed gained 88 yards on 18 plays in the opening quarter in building a 10-0 lead.
UW held the Aggies to 10 yards on seven plays in the second quarter and needed just two minutes in the second half to take the lead for good.
Taylor ripped off a 41-yard run to the Utah State 31 on the first play of the drive.
Two plays later, UW faced third and 2 from the 23. With Shaw in the backfield, Hornibrook rolled left with Shaw leading the way.
He found Fumagalli, dragging across from right to left, wide open for an easy touchdown. Gaglianone's extra point gave UW a 17-10 lead with 13:00 left in the quarter.
Hornibrook added touchdown passes to Neuville and Cephus (21 yards) as UW turned a dud into a Friday night party.
The party wasn't over, however, until UW's defense recorded a touchdown.
Reserve safety Joe Ferguson returned an interception 99 yards for a score to help UW push its lead to 52-10. That set a UW modern-era record for longest interception return. Ferguson, who got a tremendous block from linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel, broke the mark of 98 yards. That was set by Billy Lowe in 1954.
Reserve tailback Garrett Groshek added a 23-yard run, set up by a Utah State fumble on the kickoff after Ferguson's thievery, to help push the lead to 59-10.
Who saw Ferguson taking a pick 99 yards to the house? Then again, who saw UW looking awful early before scoring 59 consecutive points?
