Final score: #8 Wisconsin 38 Michigan State 0

Brief recap: Wisconsin put on another show on Saturday, this time against Michigan State. The Badgers didn’t jump out to a huge lead out of the gate as it has in other games this season, leading just 7-0 after the first quarter and taking a 17-0 advantage into halftime. But the defense was so stifling that a three-score game felt pretty much like an insurmountable lead. At halftime, Michigan State had just one first down and had the ball for less than seven minutes. Wisconsin added insurance with a third quarter touchdown and sealed the victory with a fourth quarter pick-six by Zack Baun.

Key moment: Quintez Cephus made an impressive catch in the end zone in which the ball was tipped and he was still able to come down with it. The catch gave the Badgers a 14-0 lead in the first half. And we’ve all learned by now that a two-touchdown lead for Wisconsin might as well be 100 points.

Key stat: Michigan State finished the day with 149 total yards of offense. The team’s most productive play came on a fake punt. The Spartans had just seven first downs. Those are all pretty miserable stats for the Spartans.

Key player: Not to be too general here, but this was a dominant performance from Wisconsin’s entire defense from start to finish. The entire group gets credit for completely shutting down the Spartans on Saturday.

What it means for Michigan State: Back-to-back losses is bad enough, but Michigan State has suffered both losses in really ugly fashion, being outscored 72-10 in the last two games. Clearly the Spartans aren’t quite the B1G power they once were. After showing promising signs offensively in games against Northwestern and Indiana, Michigan State hasn’t looked good on that side of the football, and the defense doesn’t look nearly as good as a year ago. That’s a recipe for disaster. The good news? at least Ohio State and Wisconsin are over with.

What it means for Wisconsin: We were already talking about the Badgers as a College Football Playoff contender, but this obviously adds to the conversation. Wisconsin has pitched four shutout games this season and looks like a team that can actually compete with Ohio State — which is really saying something. The Badgers have one of the B1G’s best defenses, one of the top running backs in the country and a quarterback who performs well under pressure. All the pieces are in place.