The displeasure from the 77,125 fans at Camp Randall towards Wisconsin starting quarterback Tanner McEvoy came early on Saturday.

Not even halfway through the opening quarter of play, against Football Championship Subdivision opponent Western Illinois, McEvoy threw a pass over the middle of the field that was intercepted by the Leathernecks’ Dallas Nichols. For McEvoy, it was already his third interception in only 26 pass attempts on the season and the Badger faithful rained down “boos” as the offense exited the field.

When the first quarter came to a close, the Badgers found themselves up by only two over Western Illinois and were outgained by the Leathernecks, 51-45. McEvoy completed just one pass for eight yards.

After struggling in the opening game of the season against LSU, the quarterback situation looked bleak for UW going into the second quarter on Saturday, but the offense led by McEvoy eventually righted the ship.

The offensive attack turned around right away in the second quarter for McEvoy as he led the Badgers on a 17-play, 90-yard drive. Although the drive was stalled in the red zone on a failed fourth down attempt, there was officially life in an otherwise dull Badger offense.

McEvoy went 8-for-10 on the drive with one of those incompletions coming on a wide open pass that was dropped by Reggie Love. Had Love caught the pass, he had more than enough space to finish off what would have been a 67-yard touchdown.

Following the dropped pass by Love, McEvoy would not throw another incompletion until the fourth quarter.

With the run game struggling due to Western Illinois loading up the box, McEvoy showed why Wisconsin head coach Gary Andersen recruited the dual-threat quarterback. After the 17-play drive earlier in the second quarter, McEvoy once again marched the Badgers right down the field and took only three plays to score the first touchdown of the game for UW.

McEvoy accounted for all 54 yards on the drive including a 37-yard pass to Sam Arneson, followed by a run for 10 yards and his first career touchdown with UW that came on the very next play on a seven-yard rush. As the first half ended, those “boos” which rained down in the first quarter, turned into cheers.

McEvoy put a rough first quarter behind him to finish the first half 10-for-14 with 125 yards through the air while leading the team in rushing with 40 yards on four attempts and a touchdown.

The third quarter started out much like the second quarter ended with McEvoy attacking Western Illinois’ defense while leading the Badgers down the field. McEvoy added four more throws without an incompletion while sending UW on a 10-play, 75-yard drive. The drive ended with McEvoy’s first career touchdown pass which came on a three-yard pass to Austin Ramesh.

The next time the Badgers got the ball, McEvoy and the offense looked as good as they ever have, taking just 1:01 to travel 57 yards while adding their third touchdown of the game. Melvin Gordon’s eight-yard touchdown reception gave McEvoy his second career touchdown pass and put UW up 23-3 over the Leathernecks.

A few seconds into the fourth quarter, McEvoy finally threw an incompletion but it came after he rattled off 17 straight pass completions while helping the Badgers score 21 points on three straight possessions.

With the offense failing to move the ball against an FCS opponent, the completions streak, and the offensive turnaround led by McEvoy, could not have come at a better time.

“I found out after the game that I made that many completions in a row,” McEvoy said. “At that point in the game we were just trying to get the ball moving and get some points on the board because we started off a little slow. So we executed and we did what we had to do.”

After completing only eight passes in the season opener against LSU, McEvoy nearly tripled that amount on Saturday, going 23-for-28 with 283 yards and three touchdowns. McEvoy also got to show off his dual-threat capabilities, leading the team in rushing with 61 yards on nine carries while adding one more touchdown on the ground. At the end of the game, McEvoy accounted for 344 of the Badgers’ 456 total yards and four out of the five touchdowns.

“Tanner [McEvoy] did what we thought he could do,” Andersen said. “He did some nice things with his legs, had good command of the offense, and he threw the ball very, very well. He seemed to be pretty poised. If there wasn’t something there he got out of it, which was good to see.”

As McEvoy finally showed his potential on the field, he may have found a new favorite wide receiver by way of redshirt sophomore Alex Erickson.

Erickson finished with career-highs in catches (10) and yards (122). His fourth quarter touchdown, which came on a pass from McEvoy, was also the first of his career. With his 122 yards through the air, Erickson became the first wide receiver not named Jared Abbrederis to have more than 100 receiving yards in a game since Nick Toon did it in the 2012 Rose Bowl against Oregon.

“The plays are getting called and [McEvoy] is looking my way, so I’m just trying to make the plays when you get the opportunity,” Erickson said.

“They were loading the box, so we knew we had to get the pass game going,” Erickson added. “To get some short passes going to supplement the run game was great.”

A lot of what Erickson did on Saturday was because of what the Western Illinois defense was giving the Badgers on offense. McEvoy said that he noted the Leathernecks’ strategy, which paved the way for Erickson to have a big day through the air.

“[Erickson]’s a great player. He’s a great receiver,” McEvoy said. “[Western Illinois] was giving us those screens, those bubbles, and we have to take what the defense gives us. Jordan [Frederick] was making some great blocks, and Alex was making some great reads.”

While it was only one game, albeit one against a lesser FCS opponent, at a minimum some confidence has been restored to the Badgers’ quarterback situation. As the season progresses and the opponents get tougher, McEvoy’s play may rescind, but for the time being, the Badgers can head into the bye week feeling fairly confident about where they are at quarterback.