Last week didn’t go as planned for Wisconsin in a 16-10 upset loss to Penn State at Camp Randall Stadium. Luckily, the Badgers had a chance to right the ship in Week 2 against Eastern Michigan.

They did just that, cruising past the Eagles 34-7 Saturday night in Madison to get into the win column. Wisconsin led 24-0 at halftime and despite scoring just 3 points in the third quarter, coach Paul Chryst put his backups in for the fourth. Well, until backup quarterback Chase Wolf threw a 98-yard pick-six in the fourth quarter. That’s when starter Graham Mertz came back in.

But Wisconsin had enough of a cushion that it didn’t matter in the long run.

All of Wisconsin’s touchdowns came on the ground, including an 82-yard touchdown run from Isaac Guerendo in the second quarter. The Badgers running game was running like a well-oiled machine, totaling 329 yards and 3 touchdowns on the ground.

Mertz looked better than he did against Penn State in Week 1. He completed 14 of 18 passes for 141 yards — a stark contrast to his 22-of-37 passing, 185 yard and 2 interception game last time out. His efficiency was key, and it will continue to be down the stretch into B1G play.

Defensively, Wisconsin held Eastern Michigan to just 92 yards of total offense — 76 of which came from the passing game. The only touchdown the Eagles scored was on defense, so the Badgers did their job on both ends of the ball. Wisconsin’s defense wasn’t much of an area of concern after Week 1, but it’s promising to see it pick up where it left off against Penn State.

This was the type of game Wisconsin needed after a season-opening loss at home. A low-stakes, big win that serves as a tune-up for the rest of conference action — especially given how Mertz and the offense performed last week.

Wisconsin’s in a decent spot after Week 2, with a favorable schedule coming up. While there are still things to work on — as should always be the case — there was plenty of good to take away.