Badgers Flatten The Hoosiers » Brats & Beer

October 1, 2006
posted under: Badgers football

Now that was an impressive blowout. Granted it came against an Indiana team that was woefully outmanned at almost every position, but to score 35 unanswered points in the first half against any Division I-A opponent is a striking feat, especially for a UW team coming off a tough loss to Michigan. Hopefully coach Bielema can use this as a confidence builder and keep Wisconsin rolling the rest of the season.

John Stocco responded like a pro after struggling last week and put up some pretty sick numbers yesterday. He completed 15 of 17 passes for 304 yards and three touchdowns, his best performance since winning the Capitol One Bowl. Junior Paul Hubbard caught six for 123 yards and one score, while tight end Travis Beckum had four catches for 70 yards and another TD. UW’s other tight end, Andy Crooks, made the third scoring catch.

On the ground, PJ Hill rushed for 129 yards and three touchdowns on 23 carries, and now has almost 600 yards rushing through the first five games of the season. If they can keep up the running attack, he’ll easily become the first freshman to gain 1,000 yards for the Badgers since Anthony Davis.

The defense, too, came ready to play, limiting the Hoosiers to just 285 total yards and coming up with two turnovers. Most of those yards came from Josiah Sears, who rushed for 105 yards on nine carries lat in the game against the second team defense.

Penalties were still a problem for Wisconsin; the Badgers were flagged 10 times for 93 yards, though six of those came late in the game with the second units on the field. Still, that is one area coach Bielema and his staff need to work on vigorously.

Next week the Badgers play Northwestern at home with a chance to advance their Big 10 record to 2-1. The Wildcats got pummeled by Penn State 33-7 yesterday, so hopefully another big win is on its way for Wisconsin.