18. Wisconsin 38, Michigan State 0 (2019)

Wisconsin had shut out three of its first five opponents, including a 48-0 shellacking of Kent State the previous week. Michigan State was 4-2 and in the midst of a tough three-game stretch against three top 10 foes. Being in the opposite division, this was only the second time the Badgers had played the Spartans since 2013, a 30-6 domination in East Lansing in 2016. It was also the first meeting since 2012 that was played at Camp Randall Stadium, a 16-13 Michigan State win in overtime.

The 2019 meeting was more along the lines of the 2016 game than the 2012 matchup. The Badgers held MSU to fewer than 40 yards of total offense in the first half and 149 overall. Only three of the drives finished with double digit yardage and all but two were of 13 yards or fewer. It was a defensive clinic by the Bucky defense.

While the defense was shutting down the Sparty offense, the offense scored points on three of its first four drives to take a 17-0 lead at halftime. They never looked back as the Badgers crushed the Spartans 38-0. The loss was the second of five straight defeats suffered by MSU, which dropped the Spartans to 4-6.

As I mentioned above, the Badgers scored points on three of their first four possessions. The only one of the first four they didn’t score on was the very first drive. The Badgers had a nice start to the drive going, moving to MSU territory, but a holding penalty and a Jack Coan fumbled snap put an end to the drive.

Following a 3-and-out forced by the Wisconsin defense, the offense went to work. Stud running back Jonathan Taylor, who was held to 80 yards on 26 carries, rushed seven times for 25 yards and a touchdown.

The touchdown was set up by a Jake Ferguson 27-yard catch on a 4^th-and-2. On the fourth down play, Coan ran play action and found a wide open Ferguson, but he tripped over the 10-yard line even though he could have moon walked into the end zone. Even Taylor’s touchdown was hard-fought. He was tripped up at the line of scrimmage, but JT dove into the end zone for the score.

Wisconsin got back in the end zone with a Quintez Cephus touchdown on its third possession. Runs for 19 by Nakia Watson and 11 by JT 23 set the Badgers up for the score. On the first play of the second quarter, Coan went back to throw and fired over the middle to Quintez, who bobbled it but hauled it in for the score.

A 29-yard field goal by Collin Larsh made it 17-0 going into halftime.

Michigan State had something going on its first drive of the second half, as it tried to fight back. On a 4^th-and-8 from their own 38, the Spartans ran a fake punt. The snap went to upback Tyriq Thompson, who went around the left side for 20 yards down to the Wisconsin 42. The Spartans picked up another first down on an 11-yard pass from Brian Lewerke to Darrell Stewart Jr. down to the 27.

But from there, back-to-back sacks by Chris Orr and Isaiahh Loudermilk pushed them back to the 39 and they would have to punt.

Wisconsin responded by going on a 92-yard drive that essentially ended the game. The Badgers converted two third downs, including a perfect pass from Jack Coan to Ferguson for 21 yards on 3^rd-and-8 from the MSU 22. That set up Taylor’s second score of the game early in the fourth that pretty much ended the game.

On MSU’s following possession, Lewerke threw a pick six into the hands of Zack Baun. His 34-yard interception return made the score 31-0 with a little less than 13 minutes to play.

Kendric Pryor finished the scoring on a 66-yard touchdown run on a jet sweep to put salt in the wound to make the final 38-0 Badgers.

They may have been a bit too cocky after shutting out four of their first six opponents, as they dropped their next two, including an embarrassing loss the following week a below average Illinois team. But the Badgers rebounded to win their final four regular season games to win the Big Ten West and earn a trip to the Rose Bowl for the fourth time in the decade.

19. Wisconsin 59, Utah State 10 (2017)

Coming into the 2017 season, people thought Wisconsin had a chance to go 12-0 in the regular season due to its schedule, especially since all their challenging games were at the friendly confines of Camp Randall Stadium. However, nobody told Utah State about how great the Badgers were supposed to be. The offense had trouble moving the ball, especially on the ground. That is when they unleashed a freshman running back who helped turn around the game and help the Badgers reach their full potential.

Utah State actually took a 10-0 lead and it remained that way until late in the second quarter. Ten late points tied the game going into the half, but then Jonathan Taylor gave the team a boost, sparking them to 49 points in the second half to turn a tight game into a rout as Wisconsin was on its way to a record-breaking season.

To say Wisconsin’s offense got off to a slow start would be an understatement. In its first three drives, it gained just seven yards of total offense. On the second drive, there was a poor center-quarterback exchange and Suli Tamaivena recovered the ball and returned it to the 16. Two LaJuan Hunt runs later and it was 10-0 Aggies and the hometown fans were getting a little restless.

Wisconsin gained 33 yards on its fourth possession, but had to punt anyway. The Badgers had a 15-play drive late in the second to give them some life. Wisconsin converted five third downs, including a 3^rd-and-12 with a 15-yard pass to Troy Fumagalli. Bradrick Shaw finished off the marathon drive by crashing in from three yards out to cut the deficit to a field goal.

On the first play of the next drive for the Aggies, Kent Myers threw it over the middle, but it hit off the intended receiver Carson Terrell and ricocheted to T.J. Edwards for the interception. That led to a 29-yard field goal from Rafael Gaglianone to tie the game going to recess.

In the second half, the Badgers unleashed the freshman phenom, and Taylor provided the spark. On the first play of the second half, JT23 broke an arm tackle and raced 41 yards down to the Utah State 31 after Wisconsin rushed for fewer than two yards per rush in the first half. He ran twice more for eight yards, forcing a 3^rd-and-2. Hornibrook rolled left and found a wide open Fumagalli for a 23-yard touchdown to give Wisconsin its first lead of the evening.

After that, the floodgates opened.

Two plays into the next possession, Myers threw an ill-advised deep ball that was easily picked off by D’Cota Dixon. Three plays after that, Hornibrook dumped it off to tight end Zander Neuville, who received a terrific block from freshman wide receiver Danny Davis, and tight roped the sideline for the score and it was 24-10 less than four minutes into the second half.

The Badgers never looked back, and the freshman put his stamp on the game with an impressive 13-yard score to make it 31-10. For the game, that fabulous freshman ran for 89 yards on just nine carries. It was the start of a remarkable freshman season, rushing for 1,977 yards and 13 touchdowns.

In the second half, Wisconsin had seven offensive possessions and scored six touchdowns, not punting once. The only blemish in the half was a Chris James fumble with five minutes left in the third. The defense even found the end zone, as Barry Alvarez’s grandson Joe Ferguson picked off Myers and returned it down the left sideline 99 yards for the score.

Wisconsin didn’t make believers out of anyone that night since it was a Utah State team that won just six games, but it past its first test when facing adversity. The Badgers faced adversity in the first half, trailing for virtually the entire half as a heavy favorite, but they bounced back in a big way. It helped as the season went along when they were in more tight games. Wisconsin was able to have its best season ever and it all started with scoring 59 straight points in a win over Utah State.

20. Wisconsin 20, Minnesota 17 (2020)

It was a very difficult season for everybody in the country, but especially the Wisconsin Badgers. They lost starting quarterback Jack Coan before the season with a broken foot. And then Wisconsin had a COVID outbreak, forcing them to cancel two games, against Nebraska and Purdue. But after two weeks, Wisconsin had another game cancelled, this one against Minnesota. The stop-and-start season and the rash of injuries on the Wisconsin offense put the Badgers at 2-3 and on the verge of not making a bowl game for the first time since 2001. But there was one game left: championship week. With the earlier meeting having to be cancelled due to COVID problems within the Minnesota football program, the conference decided to make it right. Since neither Minnesota or Wisconsin were playing for a Big Ten title in Indianapolis, the conference announced the battle for Paul Bunyan’s Axe was being played on the final week in Madison.

The Badgers fell behind early, but they came back and took the lead in the third quarter thanks to a Chase Wolf touchdown pass in place of the injured Mertz. The game went into overtime with Minnesota missing its attempt and Wisconsin’s Colin Larsh drilling a 30-yarder to defeat the Gophers 20-17 and send them to a bowl game for the 19^th straight season. It was the second ever overtime game against their border rivals and both ended 20-17 and both ended on a Wisconsin field goal.

This wasn’t the cleanest game ever since both players were missing significant pieces. By the end of the game, Wisconsin was down to Chase Wolf, who was the No. 3 quarterback going into the season. It was also without its top two running backs, top two wide receivers and its offensive line was banged up.

Players for Wisconsin needed to step up. Playing in his last game at Camp Randall Stadium, Garrett Groshek was one of the guys who answered the call. Following a Minnesota touchdown pass from Tanner Morgan to Cam Wiley, Wisconsin came right back, with Groshek right in the middle of it.

In a 75-yard drive, Groshek carried the ball three times for 48 yards, including the game-tying touchdown. On the score, Mertz handed it to Groshek, who blasted up the gut and sprinted 39 yards untouched.

Minnesota had one more good opportunity to score, but Morgan was picked off in the end zone by Eric “Master EB” Burrell.

The game was tied at 7-7 at the half.

The Gophers drove for a field goal to take the lead 10-7 from 38 yard out by Anders Gelecinskyj. But Bucky came back right down the field, but it came at a cost. On 2^nd-and-Goal from the 11, Mertz scrambled and ran, putting his head down and dove to the 4. But on the dive, he was hit in the head by a Minnesota defender.

That meant Wolf had to come in and finish the game. He was put in a tough spot, having to come into a 3^rd-and-Goal situation at the 4.

On the play, Wolf rolled left and threw the ball to the sideline just as he got drilled by a Minnesota defender. It was caught by Jack Dunn in the front left corner pylon for the score.

It looked like Wisconsin was going to run away with the game as the drove down the field after forcing a punt. Collin Larsh booted through a 31-yard field goal to increase the lead to seven.

However, the Gophers came down the field and scored to tie it up. On the drive, they converted one fourth down and two more third downs, including the tying touchdown. Morgan threw a slant to Mike Brown-Stephens from nine yards out to tie the score with 4:40 left.

Then came the craziness. Groshek ran for 19 yards on two plays to bring the ball to the Minnesota 40 with 1:52 left. But then came the mistake. On the first down play, Wolf went back to pass and threw a deep ball into the end zone. The ball was woefully underthrown by Chase and picked off in the end zone by Coney Durr as he was trying to hit Devin Chandler.

Minnesota came out firing with two plays out to its own 40 with 50 seconds left. But then disaster nearly struck the visitors. When cocking to throw the ball, Morgan was decked by Leo Chenel, who had a terrific game. The ball was laying on the ground, but Isaiahh Loudermilk was hurt and couldn’t go after the ball at the 27. Minnesota recovered the ball and then just let the clock run out so the game went in to overtime.

It was the second time the programs had met in overtime, as Wisconsin won 20-17 at the Metrodome in 1999.

Wisconsin won the toss and chose to take the ball second, so Minnesota got the ball first, just like in 1999. Morgan rolled right and threw left and the ball was dropped by Wisconsin linebacker Noah Burks.

Like Rasheed Wallace said, ball don’t lie.

Burks should have picked the ball off on the previous play, but Gelecinskyj hooked a 36-yard field goal and the score remained 17-17.

Wisconsin’s gameplan in the overtime period was simple: give the ball to Groshek. The Badgers ran five plays in overtime, and all of them were Groshek runs, totaling 13 yards. That set up a Larsh 30-yard field goal attempt for the win.

Right down the middle. Badgers win.

They kept the axe for a second consecutive season. It gave them a bowl berth, which they won over Wake Forest in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl. Hopefully the game is a springboard for the 2021 season.

21. Wisconsin 23, Nebraska 21 (2015)

 

Wisconsin was limping in to the second Big Ten game of the season at 3-2, but lost the Big Ten opener the week before at home against Iowa. Nebraska also lost its Big Ten opener in heartbreaking fashion at Illinois. Nebraska was coming in at 2-3 with all three losses coming in the closing seconds, including a loss on a Hail Mary in the opener against BYU. Wisconsin would only add to Nebraska’s misery, as Rafael Gaglianone nailed a 46-yard field goal with four seconds left to knock off the Cornhuskers and stay in contention for a Big Ten Western Division championship.

After a series of punts by both teams, Wisconsin took over late in the first quarter and drove 77 yards in 13 plays to take the lead on a Joel Stave pass to Troy Fumagali from seven yards out. But the rest of the half was all Nebraska. The Cornhuskers scored a touchdown in each of their final two possessions of the first half. The first was on a 14-play drive that was capped off by a Tommy Armstrong 7-yard touchdown run to tie it a 7.

That was followed by perfect throw from Armstrong to Alonzo Moore for 41 yards and Nebraska took the 14-7 lead into the break.

The only scoring in the third quarter would be a Gaglianone 45-yard field goal to cut the Wisconsin deficit to 14-10.

Then the fun began in quarter number four.

Two third down conversions, including a pass interference aided an 11-play drive that was capped by an Alec Ingold 1-yard touchdown run to put the Badgers ahead. After a Nebraska punt, Dare Ogunbowale ran for 32 yards to set up a Wisconsin field goal to put Bucky in front 20-14.

Considering the Cornhuskers offense had been bottled up by the stingy Wisconsin defense, most thought Wisconsin would hold on. Think again.

On the following drive, Armstrong converted a 3rd-and-15 with a run of 16 yards. Soon after that, Nebraska fullback Andy Janovich broke tackles and ran 55 yards to give the Cornhuskers the lead back at 21-20.

Wisconsin started deep in its own territory on the next possession, but quickly moved the ball out of the shadow of its own goal post on a 31-yard connection from Stave to Alex Erickson. The Badgers would drive down to the Nebraska 21 and lined up for a 39-yard field goal with less than a minute and a half left.

Gaglianone hit the upright and the Huskers kept the one point lead. Fortunately for him, he would get a chance at redemption.

After Wisconsin’s defense forced a three and out and using all of its timeouts, Bucky was able to get the ball back with less than 50 seconds left and no timeouts. Three plays netted the Badgers 42 yards. The longest was on a 23-yard pass to Fumagalli, down to the Nebraska 28. The drive would stall and Gaglianone had his chance to redeem himself from 46 yards out.

After making only two of his four field goals to that point in the game, Gaglianone calmly snuck this one inside the right upright to give the Badgers the lead and eventually the win with four seconds remaining.

The win kept the Badgers over .500 at 4-2 and evened their Big Ten record at 1-1. The victory over Nebraska started a run that helped the Badgers only lose one game the rest of the season, and even that loss was due to horrible officiating.

22. Wisconsin 45, Indiana 17 (2017)

The Wisconsin Badgers were coming in at 8-0, aiming for its first perfect regular season in more than a century. Indiana was coming in at 3-5, but the Hoosiers had lost three straight games by a total of 18 points, including against two ranked opponents. Wisconsin had to be cautious of overlooking the Hoosiers with two ranked opponents at home coming up.

Wisconsin looked like it was indeed overlooking Indiana to begin the game, spotting the underdogs 10 points. An Indiana fumble late in the second quarter changed the complexion of the game. It led to the Badgers taking a 14-10 lead into the break. The Badgers broke the game open in the fourth quarter with 21 points to break open a seven-point game and make the score closer than it should have been.

While the Hoosiers started out well, the Badgers actually marched down the field on their first drive, helped by a 45-yard Jonathan Taylor run on their first play from scrimmage. The Badgers converted one first down, but on the second one, quarterback Alex Hornibrook was hit from behind as he was throwing the ball and it was picked off on a diving interception in the end zone by Tegray Scales.

But Indiana dominated the nine minutes, scoring 10 points to give Wisconsin its biggest deficit since also trailing 10-0 in the opener against Utah State. Indiana took a 7-0 lead on a Richard Lagow 23-yard toss to a wide open Devonte Williams on the left side of the end zone. After a 3-and-out, Indiana connected on a short field goal by Griffin Oakes to make it 10-0 a minute into the second quarter.

But just like the Utah State game, Wisconsin came back to end the half.

Already down 10-0 and facing a 3^rd-and-8 from its own 28, Wisconsin needed to make a play. And that is exactly what happened. As he was hit, Hornibrook threw a perfect pass down the seam to A.J. Taylor for 32 yards. It helped that the defensive back fell down, but a good pass nonetheless. Four plays later, Hornibrook ran play action and found a wide open fullback Alec Ingold at the goal line for the easy touchdown.

Midway through the second, replay reviews on back-to-back plays helped put Wisconsin into the lead. On the Badgers punt, Wisconsin was initially called for kick catch interference, but replay showed Derrick Tindal was blocked into the return man, so no flag. On the first play of the Indiana drive, Morgan Ellison ran for a yard, but was brought down by Tyler Johnson, forcing a fumble. The runner was ruled down before the fumble. Replay overturned it and Wisconsin clearly recovered the ball. That set up a two-play drive for the touchdown, as Hornibrook threw an 8-yard touchdown to Quintez Cephus, who Moss’d his coverage man in the end zone.

That gave the Badgers a 14-10 lead, one that they’d take into the locker room.

Bucky scored 10 quick points out of recess to take a 24-10 lead. With Wisconsin leading 17-10, Hornibrook found Kendric Pryor along the sideline on a great catch for 14 yards on 3^rd-and-2. That helped set up Taylor’s 32-yard touchdown run. JT23 lined up at wide receiver and then went in motion. He found a hole and maneuvered his way through defenders and came out the other side and strolling to the end zone for the score.

Indiana came right back with a touchdown pass from Lagow to Simmie Cobbs and forced the Badgers to punt on their next drive. Starting with the ball at their own 10 with a chance to tie, disaster struck early in the drive.

With the Hoosiers facing 2^nd-and-20 from their own 11, Lagow was drilled as he threw it over the middle. Safety Joe Ferguson stepped in front of the receiver and intercepted it at the Indiana 27.

Seven plays later, Wisconsin made it a two-score game again with an Ingold 1-yard touchdown run. No play on the drive went for longer than six yards.

The Hoosiers did not respond to the adversity well, as Lagow was intercepted again by Ferguson on the first play of the next drive. That led to another Ingold touchdown run, his third total and second rushing one of the day.

A turnover on downs set up Wisconsin’s final touchdown to cement the win. It was not as much of a blowout as the score indicated, but the Badgers won by 28.

Wisconsin would indeed go on to finish the regular season undefeated and finished the campaign with a program-record 13 wins.

23. Wisconsin 35, Miami 3 (2018)

Wisconsin was at the tail end of a disappointing season. The 2018 Wisconsin Badgers came into the season with high aspirations, beginning the season at No. 4, but a loss to BYU in week three derailed expectations. The season was a roller coaster, as the Badgers alternated wins and losses the final eight games of the regular season. Well, the Badgers were coming off an embarrassing loss to Minnesota in Madison to end the regular season, its first loss to the Gophers since 2004 and first home loss to their border rivals since 1994. So….it would only make sense to see the Badgers come out strong in the Pinstripe Bowl against Miami, its second straight meeting in a bowl game against the Hurricanes after beating them 34-24 at the Orange Bowl in 2017.

The Badgers scored two touchdowns in the first four minutes of the game and were never threatened, as Wisconsin drilled the Hurricanes by 32 points to finish the season 8-5. Wisconsin out-gained Miami 406-169, including rushing for a whopping 333 yards and forced five Miami turnovers.

Looking back on it, the opening kickoff was an omen for the entire game for Miami, as Bubba Baxa booted the first kickoff of the game out of bounds. Jonathan Taylor rushed for 28 yards in his first four carries to set the Badgers up to take the first lead. With Wisconsin facing a 3rd-and-9 from the Canes 35, quarterback Jack Coan received great protection and found an open Kendric Pryor inside the 20 and he waltzed the rest of the way for the 35-yard score. Coan threw for nearly half his yardage total for the game (73) on the one play.

Malik Rosier got the start for Miami at quarterback, but you could tell how his night would go after just one pass. Rosier went back to pass on the first offensive snap for the Hurricanes and he stared down his receiver and was picked off by Eric Burrell, who returned it to the Miami 7. The following play was a Taylor touchdown run and Bucky had a 14-0 lead just four and a half minutes into the game.

The third possession was going well for Wisconsin as well, but with the ball at the Miami 22, Coan broke out of a sack on third down and floated it down the sideline, but it was picked off on a diving interception at the 8 by safety Jaquan Johnson. A 62-yard run by Rosier set up Miami’s only points of the evening on a 33-yard field goal by Baxa to cut it to 14-3.

The previous season, Miami had led Wisconsin 14-3 in the Orange Bowl before the Badgers stormed back to win. In this game, Wisconsin led 14-3.

Unfortunately for Miami, this game didn’t follow a similar script.

However, Wisconsin missed two field goals late in the second quarter that would have really put the game out of reach.

After scoring two touchdowns in the first two minutes, the Badgers did not score again until three and a half minutes remained in the third quarter. Miami was driving, aiming to make things interested. Facing a third down at the Wisconsin 36, Rosier rolled out and tried to fire a pass, but it was picked off by T.J. Edwards.

Wisconsin began the drive with two Taylor runs for 54 yards to move it to the Canes 5, including a 41-yard run. Two plays later, fullback Alec Ingold plowed in from two yards out to give the Badgers a 21-3 lead.

Two possessions later, Caesar Williams picked off new Miami quarterback N'Kosi Perry and returned it to the Miami 34. With the ball at the 7, Coan ran one in to put the game away. Since Taylor was having such a terrific game, the defense ganged up to stop him, but Coan rolled out and jogged in untouched for the fourth timefor the score.

The Badgers tacked out another score with eight seconds left on a Taiwan Deal touchdown run. But even though the offense was really good in the second half, the defense was even better. In Miami’s five offensive drives in the final 30 minutes, the defense held the Hurricanes to just 37 yards of offense and two first downs.

This win gave them big time confidence going into the 2019 season and was a springboard as they had a really good team in 2019, going to the Rose Bowl once again for the fourth time in the decade.

24. Wisconsin 42, Wake Forest 28 (2020)

This is the first game from last year on this list. And to give you a little spoiler: all wins from last year will make an appearance on here. It was a very difficult season for the Badgers. Before the season, starting quarterback Jack Coan suffered a broken foot and was replaced by big time recruit Graham Mertz. The Badgers were also down their top two receivers after their hot stretch offensively in their first two games and the offensive line was banged up. To be honest, Wake Forest was in a similar situation with opt-outs and injuries. That made it for a sloppy game.

Wake Forest scored the game’s first 14 points, but Wisconsin fought back. Down 21-14 in the third quarter, the Badgers scored the game’s next 28 points with the help of four interceptions in as many possessions off Wake quarterback Sam Hartman. Wisconsin came away with the 42-28 Mayo Bowl victory despite being out-gained 518-266. The game will mostly be remembered for the trophy breaking while Mertz was celebrating with it in the locker room.

Like I said in the last paragraph, Wake Forest came out smoking. The Demon Deacons scored the first 14 points of the game. In the two drives, Hartman converted four third downs, with both touchdowns coming on third down as well as converting a 3^rd-and-10 and 3^rd-and-11. Jaquarii Roberson caught both touchdowns, from four and 18 yards out, respectively.

But the Badgers fought back. They embarked on a 75-yard drive with Mertz completing passes of 27 to fellow freshman Chimere Dike and 19 to Jack Dunn to help set up a 2-yard touchdown run by freshman John Chenel.

It remained that way until the final four minutes when Wisconsin tied it up. With Wake Forest punting from its own 21, the snap was poor and Ivan Mora had trouble with gathering it and when he did, his punt was blocked and recovered by Jaylan Franklin and returned to the Deacons 9. Aided by a holding penalty, it took Wisconsin five plays to travel the nine yards to score the tying touchdown. Mertz scored from a yard out on a quarterback sneak with some help from fullback Mason Stokke.

The game was tied at 14-14 at halftime despite Wake dominating the first half action.

The second half started much like the first. Following a 3-and-out by the Wisconsin offense, the Wake offense went to work, rolling 50 yards in five plays to re-capture the lead. Hartman’s third touchdown toss to Roberson was the scoring play. Christian Beal-Smith had a 28-yard run down the right sideline that helped set up the score. He was initially brought down on the play, laying on top of a Wisconsin defender for a second or two, but the whistle was not blown and Beal-Smith got up and ran down the sideline before safety Scott Nelson wrestled him down at the Badgers 12.

Wisconsin wasted little time answering, though, as Devin Chandler returned the ensuing kickoff 59 yards to the Wake 33. The Badgers responded with a touchdown of their own in five plays, as Mertz took it in for his second touchdown of the game on a quarterback sneak. The biggest play of the drive was a screen to tight end Jake Ferguson, whose catch and run down to the 12 set Bucky up for the tying score.

Then came the string of interceptions. Wake had matriculated the ball down to the Wisconsin 28 and faced a 2^nd-and-10. On the play, Hartman saw the rush from Badgers safety Colin Wilder and threw it to his running back, who was not ready for the ball. But Wisconsin linebacker Noah Burks certainly was. The ball went right to the Carmel, Ind., native and he trucked his way to the Wake 32 where he was chopped down by Hartman. That set up a quick two play drive for Bucky. The first play was a reverse to Chandler, who ran around the right end for 18 yards. That set up the 14-yard touchdown from Mertz to Stokke on the fullback wheel route to give the Badgers their first lead of the afternoon.

Wake marched into Wisconsin territory again on its next possession, looking for the equalizer. But facing 4^th-and-4 from the Badgers 41, Hartman made a critical mistake. He was late on the throw and Nelson read it like a book, picking it off and slipping the tackle of Hartman and sprinting 60 yards before being pushed out of bounds at the 2. Two plays later, Groshek blasted in standing from a yard out to give the Badgers a two-score lead.

Hartman’s very next pass was intercepted too, but the Badgers could not tack on to the lead, as Jack Van Dyke missed a 48-yard field goal.

But like clockwork, Wake moved into Wisconsin territory with less than 10 minutes to play. Even with Hartman throwing three interceptions in the second half, the Demon Deacons still had a chance, only down 14. But that all changed in one play.

With Wake facing 3^rd-and-7 from the Wisconsin 27, Hartman had good protection initially, but late pressure forced Hartman to throw an ill-advised pass that Wilder stepped in front of to make the pick. He raced down the right side, but for some reason did not follow linebacker John Chenel, who would have blocked Hartman. Instead, he cut back and was brought down at the Wake 3. He should have taken it the distance, but still a nice play.

It was the first time since Nov. 26, 2016 (the day my nephew was born), that the Badgers picked off four passes in one half. In that game, they forced Minnesota quarterback Mitch Leidner into four mistakes, as Wisconsin came back from a 17-7 halftime deficit to defeat the Gophers 31-17. It was also the second time in three weeks doing just that, picking off four Jeff George, Jr., passes in a 48-3 win over Illinois on Nov. 12, 2016. I was also fortunate enough to get a shout out on air from Matt Lepay and Mike Lucas due to knowing this fact.

Freshman running back Jalen Berger reached the end zone on a 1-yard run in which he was hit at the line of scrimmage before fighting and reaching for the end zone. That touchdown capped the Badgers scoring as Wisconsin led 42-21 before winning it 42-28 at the Mayo Bowl.

With Wisconsin returning a number of players and getting Danny Davis and Kendric Pryor back from injury and a number of freshmen getting their first taste of action, it could be a tremendous year for the Badgers in 2021.