Outside linebacker Nick Herbig and wide receiver Chimere Dike believe that Wisconsin’s final 3 games of the Big Ten season will help with taking the interim tag off of coach Jim Leonhard’s position.

The Badgers have posted a 3-1 record since Leonhard, a former Badgers safety, took over the program on Oct. 2 from Paul Chryst, who was fired after an abysmal home loss to Illinois.

“Of course, I think there’s nobody more deserving than him,” Herbig said. “It blows my mind that he’s not the head coach yet. I don’t know what to say. I think he should be our head coach.”

Dike, a junior, agreed that the Badgers’ final stretch will make a strong case for Leonhard.

“We knew we had to play better down the stretch,” Dike said. “We want him to be head coach, and I think everybody in this locker room wants him to be our guy. He is our guy.

“The better we can perform, the better chance he has to get that job. I’d be shocked if he didn’t, honestly.”

Wisconsin (5-4, 3-3 B1G West) travels to Iowa next Saturday and Nebraska on Nov. 19. The Badgers host Minnesota on Nov. 26 in their regular-season finale.

Herbig said Wisconsin’s best football is yet to come.

The Badgers defense had one of its best games of the season in Wisconsin’s 23-10 victory over Maryland on Saturday, with Herbig’s performance as a critical component.

The Badgers recorded 5 sacks for 31 yards on Maryland quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa, who completed 10 of 23 passes for 77 yards, with 1 touchdown and 1 interception.

Herbig, a junior, had 2 sacks and matched a career high with 3 tackles for loss against the Terrapins.

Herbig leads the Big Ten with 8 sacks in 8 games. He was sidelined with a leg injury in  Wisconsin’s 35-24 win over Purdue.

Safety Hunter Wohler was another player who returned from injury to make an impact. Wohler broke his fibula in the Badgers’ season-opening win over Illinois State on Sept 3.

Wohler, who missed 6 games, nabbed his first career interception against Maryland. Wohler was part of a dime package that included 3 safeties.

“The crazy thing was, we didn’t even play our best football,” Herbig said. “I’m still waiting for us to click on all cylinders.”

Wisconsin’s defense gave up just 189 yards to the Terrapins, the fewest yards by an opponent since holding Iowa to 156 during the 2021 season.

The Badgers halted the Terrapins’ 10-game streak of scoring at least 27 points.

The Badgers’ 5 sacks were 1 shy of the mark of 6 against Arizona State in the Las Vegas Bowl.

The Badgers offense did a decent job with its ground attack on a day in which weather played a factor.

The Badgers rushed for a season-high 193 yards, paced by running back Braelon Allen, who had 23 rushes for 119 yards and 1 touchdown. He surpassed 100 yards for the 6th time this season and went over 1,000 for the second year in a row.

Isaac Guerendo contributed 12 carries on 114 yards and a touchdown. Guerendo’s 89-yard score increased Wisconsin’s lead to 14-0 in the second quarter.

The efforts for Allen and Guerendo marked the first game this season that 2 players have rushed for 110 yards or more in a single game for the Badgers.