In a highly anticipated final non-conference matchup, the No. 21 Wisconsin football team overpowered the Brigham Young University defense to seal a key 27-17 victory.

A game that saw highly executed performances on both sides of the ball for the Badgers (7-2, 4-1 Big Ten) including 425 yards of offense and holding a BYU offense that averaged 258.8 rushing yards to just 163 on the night, head coach Gary Anderson believes he witnessed the best team performance of the season yet.

“I thought that was maybe overall our best team victory of the season as far as just every aspect of the game — offense, defense, special teams — being a factor in a positive way,” Andersen said. “And it’s never perfect, but we knew this was going to be a battle. “

Atop the list of game changers was senior running back James White, scoring all three of the Badgers’ touchdowns and recording 194 yards of total offense that the Cougars (6-3) could not manage to contain. Though impressive on the run all night, the dynamic tailback looked more like a receiver at times.

White and the offense set the tone early, driving 76 yards on 11 plays to open the game. A game-long 27-yard connection from sophomore quarterback Joel Stave to White put the Badgers just four yards from the goal line and an untouched four-yard rush up the middle a play later by White put UW on the board 7-0.

“’I’m just trying to be as versatile as possible out there. Be sharp on pass protection. Be a viable option in the receiving game and don’t miss any cuts as a running back,” White said. “I’m trying to play as complete as possible.”

As the teams switched field goalas midway through the first half, the Badger offense took over with 2:22 left before halftime looking to extend its seven-point lead. A 24-yard completion to redshirt senior tight end Jacob Pedersen placed UW on the BYU 11-yard and two players later Stave, with plenty of time, found James White on the goal line, connecting a five-yard pass to give UW a 17-3 lead at half.

BYU came back in the second half to score two touchdowns with quarterback sophomore Taysom Hill finishing the night with a pair of touchdown completions. A game-long 34-yard connection to senior receiver Cody Hoffman in the third quarter handed the UW defense its first allowed touchdown in six quarters. However it was sustained offensive drives by UW kept BYU from tipping the momentum.

“It was good for us to be able to continually drive the ball. Probably one of the best things you could say about the offense today is you didn’t have a bunch of negative plays. There was some, obviously, and a sack here or a run here, whatever it may have been, but for the most part, BYU thrives on that type of defense,” Andersen said.” We were able to handle that for the most part and keep the game within our control so they don’t get in a feeding frenzy.”

Closing out the third quarter on a drive beginning on the UW 13-yard-line, White completed the 92-yard drive lasting just under five minutes with a 14-yard rush in the opening minutes of the final quarter for his final score of the night.

Wisconsin finished the game with a commanding 36:02 possession time to BYU’s 23:58 with the ball.

“Our offense prides itself on playing a lot of plays. We knew we had to have drives like that to give our defense a break, keep them off the field,” Pederson said. “That is Wisconsin football.”

The Wisconsin defense maintained pressure on Hill all night long, recording four sacks on Hill, including two from Chris Borland. The senior linebacker returned to the field looking like he had never been away. Missing last weekend’s meeting with Iowa due to a hamstring injury he sustained in the opening quarter at Illinois Oct. 19, Borland recorded a team-high 13 tackles on the night.

A standout performance by safety Michael Caputo followed right behind with 12 tackles Saturday.

“We really controlled the game for the majority of it. Slipped up a bit late, but we contained them and the quarterback, which was huge,” Borland said.

Though pleased with his returning performance, Borland was critical of his and the defensive play to end the game, as the Badgers allowed BYU to score with just under two minutes on the clock and again found themselves facing a 61-yard Cougar drive to close out the game, though this one ended scoreless.

“Those last two [BYU] drives were unacceptable I think,” Borland said. “We played on our heels and that’s not our style,”

The Cougars’ defense found its strength through senior linebacker Uani ‘Unga, who recorded 15 tackles to bring his season total to 100 on the season, after previously recording just 28 in his career. ‘Unga and the defensive squad kept Stave on his toes all night, forcing an interception from Stave in the second quarter as the ball slipped between the hands of Pedersen in double coverage and fell into the lap of senior linebacker Kyle Van Noy.

As Wisconsin looks to progress into its final three regular season games against Big Ten opponents Indiana, Minnesota and Penn State, a commanding performance showed the UW team has what Andersen called the opportunity to be a great team.

“Now everything we do is three guarantees left … in a regular season right now, we’re sitting in the Big Ten, we’re 4-1, and we have some, we have the ability to do some special things and have a special record in the Big Ten, but that’s all out there,” Andersen said. “Three games left. We’ll see what happens.”