How impressive were Tory Taylor's punts in Iowa's 15-6 victory at Wisconsin on Saturday? Well, put it this way: Penn State's Daequan Hardy returned not one but two punts for touchdowns in the Nittany Lions' 63-0 win over UMass on Saturday... and he had to settle for Co-Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week honors because Taylor's punting was that outstanding.
In a game in which Iowa's offense once again struggled mightily -- save one spectacular touchdown run by Leshon Williams -- the Hawkeyes were once again reliant on defense and special teams to carry the day. On the special teams side of that equation, a considerable amount of pressure was placed on the leg of Tory Taylor to pin Wisconsin deep and try to flip the field position to eventually give the offense some shorter fields and better opportunities to score.
Suffice to say, he did his job remarkably well. Taylor punted the ball 10 times (!) for a career-best 506 yards (!!) against the Badgers. Five of Taylor's punts went 50+ yards, including two that went 60+ (one of which tied his season-high of 62 yards). Four punts were downed inside the 20, including three downed inside the Wisconsin 6-yard line.
The third and final of those punts inside the Wisconsin 6 finally produced the desired effect -- the defense forced a three-and-out and Iowa took over on offense near midfield. Six plays later, they were able to kick a field goal that extended the lead to 10-6.
After the game, head coach Kirk Ferentz offered glowing praise for Taylor. "When you have confidence in the guy punting, it gives you options in terms of playcalling and situational awareness," noted Ferentz. "In today's game, it didn't look like there was going to be a lot of scoring the way it was going, so just having the opportunity to keep your opponent pinned down in there is a good thing."
He also compared Taylor's impact on this Iowa team to the impact that Reggie Roby had for Iowa in 1981. "The impact he's had on our games and the success of the team is equal [to Roby in 1981]."
Taylor credited special teams coordinator LeVar Woods for his improved play over the last few weeks as well. "I wasn't performing to the best of my ability the first few weeks. He helped me get out of that slump," said Taylor.
"He just lets us be who we are. 'You're the best punter I know, you're the best punter in the world, just go out and do that.' He just lets us be who we are and when you can be who you are, usually performance on the field is maximized."
This week's honor is also the second straight Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week honor that Taylor has won -- he was also tabbed Special Teams Player of the Week by the Big Ten after his efforts against Purdue. In that game, Taylor punted six times for 284 yards and had two punts downed inside the 20 as Iowa again relied on defense and special teams to knock off the Boilermakers.
This honor was the second such POTW award for Taylor this season and the fifth time he's received POTW honors from the Big Ten in his Iowa career. Since 2015, Iowa has received 53 Big Ten Player of the Week awards, more than any other Big Ten team except Ohio State (66).
