Then the Badgers fed sophomore running back John Clay the ball five straight times for 28 yards and two first downs against the Purdue defense.
And just when a play-action pass seemed inevitable, freshman running back Montee Ball got in on the action, rushing for 13 yards and a first down.
By the time UW was celebrating a 1-yard touchdown plunge from Clay, the Badgers had rattled off 11 straight runs for 80 yards on the game’s opening drive and the tone was set for the eventual 37-0 rout.
Just like UW head coach Bret Bielema planned it.
“Just taking advantage of what we see on film,” Bielema said of the Badgers power run game. “We thought we would be able to do that. … I [didn’t] see them being able to match up with us in the run game and our big personnel groupings in.”
Wisconsin continued to press its advantage on the ground throughout the game, running 53 times for 266 yards while only attempting 19 total passes.
Scoring 24 points in the first half, UW quarterback Scott Tolzien went to the air merely 10 times against a smaller Boilermaker defense.
“I think our first half was real clean,” UW guard John Moffitt said. “That first drive was a great drive.
“We were lighting them up on the run game, and that was working, so when it’s working, it’s working.”
Much like Badger fans last saw against Minnesota, Clay ran with power and efficiency, finishing the game with 123 yards on 24 carries and three touchdowns.
Just as importantly, the bruising back didn’t take any negative yardage and punched in all three TD runs from the goal line.
“It’s great blocking for a guy like John,” Moffitt said. “He gets the yards, he fights for the yards. That kind of fight really gives us all a fuel. It helps us sustain longer drives.”
The proverbial dagger was driven into the Boilermakers’ heart when freshman David Gilbert — celebrating his 18th birthday — leapt over the Purdue punt wedge and rejected Purdue punter Chris Summer’s boot.
UW cornerback Aaron Henry scooped up the loose ball and walked into the end zone with less than five minutes remaining in the half to put the Badgers up by 24 points.
“Offense, defense, special teams — those guys went out there with an attitude and played for four quarters, something we have been trying to get done since that first game,” Bielema said.
While the Badgers pounding the rock on the ground should surprise no one, giving four carries to Kendricks for a whopping 22.8 yards per carry and 91 total yards was a bit of departure from tradition.
Although Bielema said the play was installed a few years back when former Badger tight end Travis Beckum was around, the changeup proved a formidable weapon to go along with offensive coordinator Paul Chryst’s favored wide receiver end-around.
The junior tight end almost took one to the house on UW’s first drive of the third quarter, churning out 54 yards on the sideline before getting stopped at Purdue’s 4-yard line
For the game, Kendricks finished with two receptions for 21 yards — less than one fourth of his yards gained on the ground.
“I was actually trying to beat out Clay,” Kendricks said. “We had a competition going.”
Joining in Kendricks’ surprise offensive contributions was true freshman wide receiver Kraig Appleton.
Limited to only run blocking so far this season, the highly-touted wideout finally caught his first ball late in the third quarter and added a second reception at the start of the fourth quarter.
As Appleton put it, “the wait is over.”
“I was just thinking, ‘Do as I would do at practice,'” he said. “How you practice is how you play, and I am a firm believer in that.”
With the Badgers on a two-game losing streak and the Boilermakers riding high after beating Ohio State and Illinois, most pundits predicted a close win one way or the other.
For most people — emphasis on most — a 37-0 blowout was completely unexpected.
“Do I think [some people] will be surprised? Absolutely,” Bielema said about the margin of victory. “But if you ask anybody that is in this football family, they wouldn’t be.”
