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As the second quarter wound down Saturday afternoon, Wisconsin sophomore wide receiver Kyle Jefferson was hit by Minnesota linebacker Simoni Lawrence after receiving a pass over the middle. Jefferson was unconscious when the Wisconsin medical staff reached him. He was taken off the field via ambulance on a stretcher but was able to speak and move his arms and legs by the time he was taken away.

“Any time one of your players is injured the way that Kyle was, you become very afraid of bad news and results that may come soon after,” head coach Bret Bielema said. “But preliminary reports are very, very encouraging.”

Jefferson was tested for head and neck injuries following the hit. He was released from the hospital Sunday after it was determined he suffered a concussion.

Anderson has career day

Last week, sophomore wide receiver Isaac Anderson was praised by his coaches for his impressive downfield blocking abilities. Saturday, Anderson did a little more than just block. He finished the game with a career-high 114 yards on six catches.

“Any receiver is waiting for a game where he can break out for 100 yards,” Anderson said. “It’s just a blessing to have this opportunity to make plays.”

His teammates weren’t surprised with the breakout game.

“I definitely knew Isaac had this in him,” cornerback Allen Langford said. “Isaac is a guy who’s always working hard. Even when I’m staying after practice, Isaac wants to come and work with me.”

Anderson dropped a ball in the second quarter that could have been a 63-yard touchdown.

“I just dropped it, flat-out,” he said. “No excuse. It’s a ball I should have caught.”

But he rebounded on the very next snap, converting a first down on a pass over the middle.

“I just really thank the coaches for giving me another opportunity to make another play,” Anderson said. “I appreciate the opportunity that (offensive coordinator Paul) Chryst gave me the very next play, gave me a nice little slant pattern. I got a confidence boost from that also.”

Anderson also connected on a fourth-quarter 39-yard strike from Dustin Sherer that was initially called a touchdown, but was overturned after further review.

“We lined up and (wide receiver David Gilreath) said, ‘This ball’s coming to you,’ and luckily it did,” Anderson said.

Jump Around battle

During the famous Jump Around tradition between the third and fourth quarters, both the Wisconsin and Minnesota sidelines started to get riled up, almost egging each other on.

“(Defensive line) coach (Charles) Partidge told us, ‘If they’ve got more guys jumping around than we do, it’s a problem,’ so we all were jumping around,” defensive end O’Brien Schofield said. “Coach Partridge started jumping around, and it just became a battle from sideline to sideline.”

“It was almost like we were competing,” safety Chris Maragos added. “Everybody kept inching closer.”

Although Bielema had to settle things down, the scuffle did seem to light a fire under the home team, which outscored the visiting Gophers 18-8 in the final frame.

“The way that crowd reacted to start the fourth quarter was huge and something our kids really fed off of,” Bielema said.