[media-credit name=”Andy Fate” align=”aligncenter” width=”1200″][Andy Fate/The Badger Herald]

Life finally started to get back to normal for the Wisconsin football team Saturday in its first game after the bizarre finish in Arizona with a Big Ten opening win turning attention to conference games.

After the Badgers’ 41-10 rout of the Boilermakers, UW head coach Gary Andersen admitted it was nice to get back on the field after leaving Tempe with so many questions.

“Well, it was an interesting week, to say the least, and I think we can put all that to bed and put it to rest,” Andersen said. “But I’m just really proud of the kids, the way they came back and prepared, didn’t miss a beat.”

Wisconsin backfield stays hot

Wisconsin fans saw the familiar sight of a man dressed in cardinal and white sprinting across the Camp Randall turf for a 70-yard touchdown dash Saturday, only this time it was number 20 that Purdue would-be defenders saw while chasing the UW running back.

It was a typical day for the Wisconsin tailbacks, running wild on the Purdue defense while racking up 388 yards on the ground.

“They’re very, very talented, especially with the way they fit into this type of offense,” Andersen said of his group of running backs. “Obviously, I believe we have two NFL backs playing for us now.  But they’re just so dynamic, their ability to make people miss.  They really kind of complement each other with the running styles in my opinion.  So they’re special kids.  The third guy out there on the field is not too bad either.”

Although James White ripped off the long touchdown run of the day, it was the country’s leading rusher Melvin Gordon yet again who led the Badgers in rushing with 147 yards on 16 carries and three trips to the end zone, giving him seven scores on the season.

Though Gordon, White and even true-freshman Corey Clement, who pitched in for 86 yards and six points, had their way with the Boilermakers’ defense, it wasn’t because Purdue wasn’t up to the challenge.

“Purdue, their line was a lot faster and more athletic than I thought they were on film, so they kind of shocked me. They had me redirecting my feet quite a bit,” Gordon said. “So I give a shout out to their D-line. Arizona State, their D-line was fast, but I thought the Purdue line was right up there.”

The Boilermakers defensive effort wasn’t quick enough to keep Wisconsin from having two 100-yard rushers for the third time this season as White put up 145 rushing yards.

It was a nice bounce-back performance for the senior who was held to just 49 yards on the ground last weekend in Tempe, Ariz.

“Last week I didn’t have a great performance, so I especially wanted to come out here this week and try and make explosive plays for me and try not to make any mistakes,” White said.

Key Players Leave with Injuries

It wasn’t all good news for Wisconsin Saturday as injuries plagued the team in some of the thinner spots on the roster.

All-Conference tight end Jacob Pederson was the first to leave the field with a left leg injury and failed to make it back on the field.

His departure was quickly followed by newly-converted outside linebacker Brendan Kelly, who left the game with an undisclosed leg injury.

Kelly’s departure did leave a silver lining though, giving sophomore linebacker Vince Biegel an opportunity to take the field during meaningful snaps.

“This will be a great learning tool for Vince because he hasn’t had a lot of opportunities, (Kelly) is taking those reps,” Andersen said. “He played extremely hard and I didn’t see a lot of blown assignments from him at all and he was ready for that moment and that’s a credit to him and the coaches. He came up to me before the game and said ‘coach, I’m ready to go.’  He didn’t look starry-eyed, he was in the moment.”

The already-young secondary lost junior cornerback Peniel Jean who also left with a leg injury and things got worse for Wisconsin when starting center Dallas Lewallen had to call it quits for the day with an injury to his left leg.

Redshirt freshman Dan Voltz filled in for Lewallen, but as the offensive line is arguably the position group with the least amount of depth Lewallen’s presence is needed on the field more than most.

“There’s some big shots that we took,” Andersen said. “Hopefully these kids get back. I don’t think any thing seems to be a huge problem, but there are some issues.”