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Rapid reaction: Wisconsin cruises to 30-13 win over No. 25 Purdue
By Nick Schultz
Published:
Purdue jumped into the AP Top 25 this week.
It’s probably going to be a short-lived ranking.
The Boilermakers looked to build off last week’s upset of then-No. 2 Iowa as they took on Wisconsin at home on Saturday. But the turnovers mounted, and the Badgers came away with the 30-13 victory in West Lafayette.
Aidan O’Connell looked sharp against Iowa last week at QB, but couldn’t repeat that performance against Wisconsin. He completed 24 of 32 passes for 200 yards and a touchdown, but threw 3 interceptions. Wide receiver David Bell was also quiet, catching just 6 passes for 33 yards.
On the Wisconsin side, the Badgers continued to attack through the ground game, led by a combined 289 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns from Chez Mellusi and Braelon Allen. Graham Mertz only threw the ball 8 times for 52 yards, but the running game’s success meant he didn’t have to make plays happen in the air.
Wisconsin’s defense continued its dominance, holding Purdue to 13 points and 206 total yards. The Badgers came in as the B1G’s top defense, holding teams to 225.8 total yards and 161.5 passing yards per contest. They also tallied 6 sacks, three times their average of 2 sacks per game coming in.
For Purdue, it’s a tough way to follow that performance against Iowa. The Boilermakers appeared to have momentum as they left Iowa City and jumped into the AP poll, but just couldn’t carry it into West Lafayette on Saturday. It also continues to add questions to Jeff Brohm’s quarterback situation.
As for Wisconsin, the victory pushes the Badgers over .500 overall. They also move to 2-2 in B1G play — tied with Purdue in the B1G West. As long as the running game continues to dominate and the defense holds up, the Badgers could be in good position to recover from a disastrous 1-4 start.
Purdue is set to take on Nebraska next week on the road while Wisconsin returns home to take on Iowa.
Nick Schultz is a columnist and breaking news writer for Saturday Tradition. A 2020 graduate of Loyola Chicago, he covered the Ramblers' 2018 Final Four run from beginning to end and has worked at NBC Sports Chicago. Follow Nick on Twitter @NickSchultz_7.