The week of Homecoming festivities is over, and what better way to end it than with a Badger football win- and a crushing one at that. The Badgers dominated the No. 19 Northwestern Wildcats 35 to 6, putting their overall record at 4-2 and 2-1 in the Big Ten.
Things seemed shaky when Northwestern was the first to put points on the board, but after Joel Stave’s 63-yard pass to wide receiver Jared Abbrederis for a touchdown, the Badgers pulled ahead and never looked back. Running back James White increased Wisconsin’s lead, scoring a one-yard touchdown halfway through the second quarter.
After that, one thing was obvious: the Wildcats’ defense didn’t stand a chance against Melvin Gordon. The junior running back rushed a total of 172 yards and ran for a 71-yard touchdown that put the Badgers at a commanding lead of 21 – 3 at the half.
The Badgers secured their Homecoming victory with Stave throwing a one-yard touchdown pass to Jacob Pederson and a three-yard pass to Derek Watt.
Though it seemed like the offense stole the show with the two long plays by Abbrederis and Gordon, the win would not have been possible without the impressive Badger defense. Try as they might, the Northwestern offense could find no holes in the defensive line. Chris Borland and his fellow linebackers managed to hold the Wildcats to three three-and-outs in three drives in the third quarter, effectively destroying any chances of a Northwestern comeback.
The Badgers also sacked Northwestern quarterback Kain Colter seven times by seven different players, the most since 2001. Add to that a few injuries to their offense, and the Wildcats lost all hopes of pulling off a victory.
This Badger beat-down not only lost Northwestern its chance at winning the Legends Division, but also put Wisconsin one step closer to their Pasadena dreams. If the Badgers can pull off victories in all of their remaining Big Ten games, they have a shot at competing in the Big Ten Championship. And maybe, just maybe, we’ll be able to smell the roses once again.