After two grueling weekends away from Madison, the Wisconsin Badgers finally got a taste of some welcoming home cooking.
Riding a career day from running back Montee Ball, the No. 20 Badgers (7-2, 3-2) snapped a two-game losing skid with a 62-17 win over the Purdue Boilermakers (4-5, 2-3) Saturday afternoon at Camp Randall Stadium. After two crushing last-minute losses at Michigan State and at Ohio State, a resounding victory was clearly the medicine Wisconsin ached for.
“We needed this,” Ball said. “Badly.”
Ball, a junior, rushed for a career-high 223 yards and three touchdowns on 20 carries. His third touchdown tied Brian Calhoun’s single-season school touchdown record of 24, and his 223 yards was the highest total by a Badger since Zach Brown rushed for 250 yards in 2007.
“Just from a complete standpoint – obviously the rushing numbers are there – Montee’s complete nature, his ability to be a pass [blocker] when he needs to, his ability to catch the ball that you’ve seen during the course of the season and just his mentality,” head coach Bret Bielema said. “He’s wired in a way right now where he expects success on every play. He’s extremely physical.”
After winning the coin toss and electing to receive, wide receiver Jared Abbrederis returned the opening kickoff 35 yards to UW’s 37-yard line. Five plays and 63 yards later, quarterback Russell Wilson found tight end Jacob Pedersen streaking across the back of the endzone on a two-yard touchdown pass. Wilson finished the game 15 for 20 with 205 yards and two touchdowns. He also gained 76 yards and one touchdown on the ground, rushing 10 times.
But after the score, Phillip Welch kicked off and Purdue wide receiver Raheem Mostert brought the ball 49 yards to Wisconsin’s 41-yard line. Two plays later, quarterback Caleb TerBush connected with wide-open tight end Crosby Wright, who sprinted 30 yards untouched for a touchdown. The play highlighted a continuous struggle for Wisconsin’s secondary, which has allowed several big plays dating back to the Oct. 22 loss at Michigan State.
“We definitely had to bounce back,” cornerback Marcus Cromartie said. “We knew the first quarter, first of all, we definitely don’t want it to happen, but we knew it was going to be a long game. Our coaches told us all throughout this week, whether it was or wasn’t, get ready for a four-quarter game because we feel like we haven’t finished the way we wanted to these past couple of games.”
After a lengthy nine-play, 41-yard drive, Wisconsin’s offense sputtered and was forced to punt. The Boilermakers went three-and-out on the ensuing drive, and the Badgers finally responded. After a six-play, 75-yard drive, Wilson found Abbrederis on a five-yard touchdown pass to give UW a 14-7 lead.
Yet again, the special teams nightmare continued on the next play. Mostert returned Welch’s kickoff 74 yards to the Badgers’ 16-yard line, setting up a 25-yard field goal by kicker Carson Wiggs five plays later.
“You can probably evaluate that,” Bielema said jokingly when a reporter asked about the issues with kickoff coverage. “Again, kind of like the last kick a week ago, missed tackles kill you. You just can’t have missed tackles on kickoff coverage. So I think, A) we’re going to have to evaluate our personnel, and then B) also what we’re doing with our alignments and our coverage rules.”
After a 10-play, 76-yard drive, Ball scored his first touchdown of the day on a one-yard carry. Purdue, despite a 30-yard rush by running back Ralph Bolden, then turned the ball over on downs in five plays. Three plays later, Wisconsin committed its only turnover of the day when Wilson fumbled the ball following a 1-yard scramble.
The Badgers responded on the next play, however, as linebacker Mike Taylor recorded his second interception of the season at UW’s 43-yard line after it bounced off the facemask of Cromartie. Seven plays later, Wilson rolled into the endzone from six yards out. After Purdue turned the ball over on downs once again, Ball scored his second touchdown of the day and the Badgers extended their lead to 35-10.
A 52-yard field goal from Phillip Welch with one second remaining in the half brought the Badgers into halftime leading 38-17, and the Boilermakers did not score for the remainder of the game.
Ball scored his third touchdown of the day on a 29-yard scamper three minutes into the third quarter, and James White ran the ball in from five yards out after linebacker Chris Borland intercepted TerBush. In the fourth quarter, White scored again from one-yard out and kicker Kyle French converted a 29-yard field goal.
