Melvin Gordon and the rest of the Badgers’ rushing game got the Wisconsin offense back on track Saturday against Bowling Green at Camp Randall Stadium in a 68-17 rout.

After only putting up 167 rushing yards against Western Illinois two Saturdays ago, and only 38 from Gordon, there was reason for concern regarding the Badgers’ rushing game.

The Badger running attack definitively quelled those concerns. And then some.

UW (2-1) set a school record for rushing yards against the Falcons (2-2), accumulating 644 on the ground. That surpassed the previous team record of 573 yards set against Indiana in 2012. The 644 rushing yards are the most rushing yards in the modern Big Ten era, which began in 1946.

Led by redshirt junior Gordon, who had a career-high 253 and reeled off five touchdowns, another career-high, the Badger rushing attack showcased its dominance. Gordon’s five touchdowns tied the UW record for most touchdowns in a single game. The last Badger to achieve the feat was P.J. Hill who did it against The Citadel in 2007.

“Melvin is determined for his football team. I promise you that’s the driving force between Melvin wanting to have success,” head coach Gary Andersen said. “He found out that the rushing totals were a record in total offenses record. Brought a great big smile to his face to know he was a part of it, not just what he did.”

In the first half alone, Gordon had four touchdowns and 179 rushing yards on just 11 carries, averaging 16.3 yards per carry at the half.

Gordon’s second touch of the second half went for 69 yards up the sideline for his fifth touchdown of the day. That would be his last touch of the game.

Gordon’s day did not start out as well as he and Badger fans hoped. On his first carry of the day, he fumbled the football for the first time in his career. That broke a streak of 332 carries without losing the ball. Bowling Green would score on the next play, tying the game at seven.

The fumble would motivate Gordon for the rest of the game.

“I didn’t let it get me down too much,” Gordon said. “It’s a lot of football left to be played, can’t let that get me down. But I definitely felt I had to make up for it and I did that.”

He sat out most of the next drive as the Badgers marched down the field, with sophomore Corey Clement carrying the load at tailback. Gordon’s next touch was a two-yard touchdown run that he bounced to the outside.

On the next drive, Gordon was re-inserted as the number one back and reeled off a 40-yard run that reminded everybody of vintage Melvin Gordon. The drive was killed the next play when redshirt junior quarterback Tanner McEvoy fumbled the snap and Bowling Green recovered.

With 12:16 remaining in the second quarter, Gordon trucked ahead for a 13-yard gain. Two plays later, Gordon burst between the tackles and streaked right down the middle of the field, threw a vicious stiff-arm to a retreating safety, and scampered into the end zone for his second score of the game.

The next drive for Wisconsin took 11 plays and covered 57 yards, all on the ground between McEvoy, Gordon and Clement. Gordon capped off the drive with a three-yard touchdown.

Gordon’s fourth touchdown came with under a minute remaining in the first half from 21 yards out, when he broke two Bowling Green tackles and pin-balled his way to the outside for the score.

Gordon said the two weeks he had to digest the Western Illinois performance allowed him to focus on what he wanted to accomplish.

“As a player, as a competitor, that’s not the type of performance you want to have,” Gordon said. “So I just kept thinking about that every day in practice and it motivated me.”

Clement took over the running duties during the third quarter. The compact, bruising-back finished off a 87-yard drive with a tough 13-yard run and punched it in from one-yard away later in the quarter.

Clement finished with 111 yards on 16 carries, and was proud to be a part of this record-setting attack.

“He’s a great guy,” Clement said of Gordon. “Trying to keep up with him in practice, me and him compete, and that’s what I think gives us the best results.”

Clement also added that this game was a confidence booster for the entire running back unit after that disappointing showing against Western Illinois.

However, the rushing yards didn’t just come from the running back position. McEvoy had a big game running the ball as well, showing why he’s considered a dual-threat quarterback, going for 158 yards on 11 attempts. His longest run of the day was 62 yards and set up Clement’s first touchdown in the third quarter.

McEvoy started the Badgers’ scoring on their first play from scrimmage in the game, keeping it on a read-option play and taking it to the end zone for a 24-yard touchdown run.

Wisconsin has now had three rushers individually eclipse the 100-yard mark in five of its last 18 games. And they were just six yards away from having four 100-yard rushers.

Redshirt sophomore Dare Ogunbowale entered the game in the third quarter to attempt his first career touches. The former defensive back and special teams player converted to running back this week after the coaching staff saw the potential he had at the position.

“The offensive coaches saw him in a drill during camp that we call speed in space … and Dare was very hard to tackle in those situations,” Andersen said. “I was all for the it [the change]. And the young man was all for it.”

Ogunbowale carried the ball 14 times for 94 yards in his debut at running back. Ogunbowale said that he was able to experience success because of the play of his offensive line, which calmed his nerves.

“First game, I was pretty nervous,” Ogunbowale said. “After I broke through, we have an unbelievable O-line … the hole was huge so I just ran as far as I could. After that, the butterflies got out of my stomach.”

This unit now knows how great its potential is, and they intend on reaching it every outing. However, they know that the main goal is to keep winning football games.

“I think we all had fun as a group,” Clement said. “It’s a great accolade to come across, but as long as we get the ‘W’ in the end that’s all that really matters.”