Wisconsin's Hornibrook shines in national spotlight

Alex Hornibrook was the picture of calm heading into his first starting assignment for Wisconsin, even though it would come before a hostile crowd of 75,000 at Michigan State against the eighth-ranked Spartans.

A redshirt freshman quarterback from West Chester, Hornibrook last week did what many thought wasn't possible for a guy with limited experience. The Malvern Prep graduate led the Badgers to a 30-6 victory over the Spartans and made them a contender in the Big Ten.

The 6-foot-4, 219-pound Hornibrook completed 16 of 26 passes for 195 yards and a touchdown. According to the Wisconsin State Journal, he was 6-of-6 for 100 yards on third-and-10 or longer. To him, however, the magnitude of the game was no big deal.

"It just seemed like another football game," he told reporters afterward.

Hornibrook, who passed for Malvern Prep records of 2,156 yards and 26 touchdowns as a senior, had committed to Pittsburgh but reconsidered after head coach Paul Chryst left the Panthers to take the same job with the Badgers. Hornibrook followed and learned last year while sitting on the sidelines.

Wisconsin now has defeated the No. 5 team in the nation (Louisiana State) and No. 8 (Michigan State). Its next game is Saturday against No. 4 (Michigan) and, after getting next week off, they come back to face No. 2 (Ohio State). It's going to be quite a ride for Hornibrook.

The Badgers have some injury issues, however. Kicker Rafael Gaglianone is out for the season after back surgery, and outside linebacker Vince Biegel reportedly had surgery for a fractured foot and could miss up to four weeks.

After saluting Army's fast start to the season last week, we turn to Navy (3-0) and Air Force (3-0), two teams that will match up as undefeated for the first time ever in their series.

The game, at Colorado Springs, marks the first leg of competition for the Commander-In-Chief's Trophy. The Midshipmen have won the trophy 10 times since 2003.

It's been a good start for the service academies. Army started 3-0 and led Buffalo by 14 points in the fourth quarter last week before the Bulls rallied and won in overtime. Still, Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo hopes it's a successful year for all three.

"It's really cool to see three institutions where it's more than just about football," Niumatalolo said in the Washington Post. "I think it symbolizes a lot of things that are great about our country."

Who would have thought through four weeks that Wake Forest would be the only undefeated Football Bowl Subdivision team in North Carolina? Under head coach Dave Clawson, a former offensive coordinator at Villanova, the Demon Deacons are off to their best start since 2006 after a pair of 3-9 seasons. They're certainly not perfect; last week they allowed 611 yards to Indiana, but intercepted six passes in a 33-28 road win over the Hoosiers.

"I think any time that the group is winning for the first time, they don't take it for granted," Clawson said. "I don't feel like our players have taken this for granted. Their work ethic has been excellent, their preparation has been good."

Clock management had been an issue recently for LSU, but who knew getting the last play off for an apparent game-winning touchdown less than a second after the clock hit 0:00 would cost Les Miles his job after 12 seasons? Weep not for The Hat, however. He'll be in Tallahassee Saturday to watch his son's North Carolina team play Florida State. And he'll probably coach again someday.

"I don't golf," he said on the Dan Patrick Show. "I enjoy shooting the gun, but I don't necessarily like to point it at animals."

His team reeling from a 1-3 start, Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly says he needs to be "a little more fiery on the sidelines" in order to get his team to play better. The Fighting Irish are at Met Life Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., to take on Syracuse coming off a shocking 38-35 home loss to Duke, a defeat that cost defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder his job. In his early days at Notre Dame, Kelly was criticized for yelling at his players but hopes to strike a balance this time.

"I don't have to be a lunatic on the sideline," he said in an Associated Press story, "but they have to feel that from me as well."

Linebacker Zaire Franklin, a Philadelphia resident who starred at La Salle College High School, has been the leader of the Syracuse defense. The 6-foot, 230-pound junior leads the Orange in tackles with 32 and is second in tackles for loss with 3.5. Franklin enjoyed one of his best games of the season in last week's win over Connecticut, coming up with 14 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and a pass breakup.

jjuliano@phillynews.com

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