39. Wisconsin 24, Northwestern 15 (2019)

Despite the success of the Wisconsin Badgers football program the past several years, the Northwestern Wildcats have always been a thorn in the side of the Badgers. To this day, Wisconsin has won just once this millennium on the road against Northwestern. Even games at Camp Randall are generally closer than supposed to be. This one was no different. The Wildcats came in at 1-2 with the only win coming against UNLV. In the two games against major conference teams, Northwestern had scored a total of 17 points in the two games, including being blasted by a mediocre Michigan State team 31-10 the week before. Wisconsin, on the other hand, had allowed just 14 points total in the first three games, including two shutouts. The Badgers were coming off a demolition of No. 11 Michigan in Madison by the score of 35-14.

The game was a defensive struggle, as neither team reached 260 yards of total offense. The Cats actually finished with more total yards than Wisconsin, but the Badgers scored twice defensively to give the Badgers a 24-3 lead in the fourth quarter. But the Badgers had to hold on as Northwestern scored twice in the span of five minutes made the game interesting. However, the defense held strong twice in two-point attempts and the Badgers went to 4-0.

There were just 10 points total scored through the first 42 minutes of the game (seven for Wisconsin, three for Northwestern), but the Wisconsin defense came away with the biggest play of the game with two and a half minutes left in the third quarter. On the first play of the from its own 16 for Northwestern , Wisconsin safety Eric Burrell blitzed off the edge and nobody picked him up. Wildcat quarterback Hunter Johnson didn’t see him coming and was blasted, losing the ball in the process. Defensive end Matt Henningsen fell on the ball in the end zone to give Bucky a bit of breathing room with a 14-3 lead.

In the fourth quarter with the Badgers leading 17-3, the defense struck again. The Wildcats had matriculated the ball down the field into Wisconsin territory at the 45. On third down, new Northwestern quarterback Aidan Smith went back to pass and was hit as he threw by fierce edge rusher Zack Baun. The ball floated into the air and it was intercepted by fellow linebacker Noah Burks. The Carmel, Indiana, native ran 68 yards down the left sideline for the touchdown to give the Badgers the 24-3 lead.

Smith led the Wildcats to two consecutive touchdowns in a matter of three possessions, but they went for two both times and failed. Smith’s 15-yard touchdown pass to JJ Jefferson cut the deficit to 24-15. The Wildcats tried to get the two back they missed last time, but the conversion failed.

They had one more opportunity and moved it into Wisconsin territory, but a Colin Wilder sack backed the Wildcats up and the Badgers defense forced a turnover on downs and it cemented the nine-point win.

While the Badgers didn’t score their second touchdown until late in the third, Bucky took the opening kickoff and drove down the field for the opening score. Jonathan Taylor was featured on the opening possession, rushing six times for 27 yards and adding a 16-yard catch on third down. It took the Badgers 10 plays to travel 54 yards, but they finally broke through. On a 4^th-and-1 from the Wildcats 13, Taylor broke through and strolled into the end zone for the opening score.

Wisconsin had a chance to put distance between itself and its friends from Evanston when the Badgers forced a punt from inside its 5 with less than four minutes to play in the first quarter. The punt was fair caught by Jack Dunn at the Northwestern 5. However, there was a facemask penalty on the punt by Rachad Wildgoose, which bailed out the Windy City Kitties. The next three plays resulted in a total of 68 yards by Northwestern, setting up the Cats for a short field goal to cut it to 7-3.

The offenses were stagnant until the fourth quarter with neither team posting more than three first downs on any drive until the final period. But the Badgers defense was able to make the Cats pay for their mistakes.

Bucky began the season 6-0 before an upset loss at Illinois, but the Badgers rebounded for a Big Ten West title and berth in the Rose Bowl for the fourth time in 10 seasons.