[media-credit name=’JEFF SCHORFHEIDE/Herald photo’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]What a difference a week can make.

One week after being dominated in virtually every aspect of the game in a 38-7 loss to Penn State, Wisconsin was on the other end of the coin Saturday, in a 44-3 abusing of Northern Illinois.

After losing two consecutive games on the road and falling from the fifth-ranked team in the nation to out of the top 25, the Badgers finally played the complete game they had failed to do all season.

That was more like it.

“It was good to finally put a whole game together — offense, defense and special teams,” tight end Garrett Graham said.

The offense scored 44 points and racked up 431 total yards, while the defense bounced back from its worst game of the season to completely stymie Northern Illinois to the tune of 99 yards of total offense.

“We had fun today,” cornerback Allen Langford said. “That’s one thing we wanted to get back to. Coach Bielema stressed that all week, to just go out there and play the way we’ve been playing ever since we were little kids.”

The Badgers defense certainly didn’t play small.

Northern Illinois was held to zero yards of total offense going into the second quarter and didn’t pick up a first down until just a little more than a minute was remaining in the first half.

Even more impressive was the job the Wisconsin defense did containing Northern Illinois running back Justin Anderson.

Entering the game as the sixth-leading rusher in the nation, Anderson was held to just 14 yards rushing on 13 carries.

“We knew we were playing against a great running back and a great rushing attack, and we basically just stood up to the task,” linebacker Jonathan Casillas said. “Our D-line played great today. I don’t know if they played a better game throughout the year. … My hat’s off to them. Those guys hold it down and make my job easier.”

Offensively, the Badgers pounded the ball down the Huskies’ throats, rushing 55 times for 331 yards.

“We wanted to establish something that we struggled with the last two weeks in the run game,” quarterback Tyler Donovan said. “We tried to get the ball in some different guys’ hands and see what they could do, and things turned out positive today.”

P.J. Hill had the break-out play of the game, breaking through and spinning away from tackles at the line before finding some open field for a 72-yard touchdown run on the Badgers’ second drive of the game.

“That’s some balancing out there that he did,” wide receiver Paul Hubbard said. “I thought he was going to fall over, but no.

“If we keep having sparks like that throughout the game, I don’t think we’ll ever go back down the other path.”

Swan”s motivational speech

Friday night, as the team gathered in preparation for the following day’s game, senior captain Luke Swan stood up among his peers and urged them all to play with increased effort and tenacity.

Swan, who tore his hamstring Oct. 6 against Illinois and will miss the remainder of the season, told his teammates to play as if every play was their last.

“He said … ‘This is done for me for a while, and I just ask that you guys go out there and play every play like you know the next one is going to be your last, like you know you’re going to get hurt the next play,'” Hubbard said.

That speech, according to Hubbard, was one of the reasons for the improved play across the board.

“Everybody went out there and took that mentality to heart. They went out there and played 100 percent every play, and it showed.”

Hartmann injured

Thursday afternoon, UW head coach Bret Bielema mentioned sophomore Will Hartmann would see time Saturday playing on the punt return unit.

Hartmann did so, and had an eventful day — even if he might not remember it.

Hartmann nearly blocked a punt in the second quarter, but blocking on a kickoff return following NIU’s lone score, Hartmann was hit hard and suffered what Bielema characterized as a “pretty severe concussion.”

“(He) did a tremendous job for us in the punt return game, and unfortunately took on somebody with his head there on that kickoff return,” Bielema said.

When the training staff tried to help Hartmann up, he nearly tumbled over and needed to be assisted off the field by two trainers.