Badgers hold off Hoosiers, 31-28

The Indiana offense behind the passing of Ben Chappell gave Wisconsin everything they could handle Saturday afternoon at Memorial Stadium. The problem for the Hoosiers was each time Chappell and company found the end zone the Badger offense marched down the field in response. That included the final possession of the game where Wisconsin ran out the final four minutes of the game to preserve a 31-28 win.

The Hoosiers pulled within three with 4:01 left when Chappell hooked up with Terrance Turner for a six-yard touchdown pass. The Indiana defense then forced Wisconsin into a third and eight situation with 2:35 and with all three timeouts in hand, the stage seemed to be set for a last drive opportunity. But a last chance was not to be as quarterback Scott Tolzien hit Nick Toon down the left sideline for a 17 yard reception. The Badgers were then able to run the clock out and move to 7-2 and 4-2 in Big Ten play.

"We manned up and tried to put some pressure on the quarterback and he stepped up and had a little extra time and we needed to put more pressure on him and he found an open receiver," said safety Austin Thomas about the third down pass to Toon.

The Badgers lived up their reputation as a ball control team in the first half, rushing for 196 yards and held the Hoosiers to just one yard on the ground. Tailback John Clay accumulated 134 yards of that first half run production including a 48-yard scamper that set up Wisconsin’s first touchdown response to a Hoosier score. Indiana had jumped out 7-0 when Collin Taylor scooped up a David Gilreath muffed catch of a Chris Hagerup punt at the 10 yard line. Two plays later Ben Chappell hit Doss in left corner of end zone for an 11-yard touchdown and the game’s first score.

The Badgers excelled in the second quarter, scoring 17 points and thwarting all Hoosier attempts to run the ball. Doss did provide an acrobatic leap for a 46-yard touchdown catch from Chappell that pulled Indiana within 17-14. Again though the Hoosier defense was quickly beat, giving up a 14-yard touchdown run by Clay just over a minute later that finished off the Badger 24-14 halftime advantage.

"Early on we played pretty well but I really thought they dominated the second quarter," said Hoosier head coach Bill Lynch. "We had the two big long passes but they came back and scored."

Neither team scored in the third quarter. Indiana had the best chance on its opening drive when it moved the ball to the Wisconsin 11 yard line but Ben Chappell was hit as he released a pass and a wobbly throw was picked off by Badger safety Chris Borland at the four-yard line.

The fourth quarter was a different story as Indiana finished off an 81-yard drive with a six yard touchdown pass to Terrance Turner with 12:00 remaining. The Hoosiers had faced a fourth down from the Badger 39 just three plays earlier when Chappell connected with Belcher for a 30 yard gain. Wisconsin followed that score with an 81-yard drive that regained their margin at 31-21.

The Badgers accumulated 300 yards rushing in the game as Montee Ball took over where Clay left off in the second half. Ball ran for 87 yards in that stanza and 117 yards for the game.

"They are very good, they really are," said Lynch. "They do a great job of recruiting them because for one, they know they are going to carry it a lot and they are going to have a good offensive line in front of them."

Tolzein connected on 11-20 passes for 194 yards and one touchdown.

After watching Chappell’s big day, Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema offered his compliments on the Hoosier passing prowess.

"In my opinion, that is one of the best offenses in the league," said Bielema.

Lynch was proud of his team’s effort and contrasted it to last year’s game in Madison where Wisconsin dominated, 55-20.

"A year ago we played them in a similar situation and the second half was a completely different story," said Lynch. "Our guys responded, went out and fought like I knew they would."

Indiana is now 4-6 and will need to win its final two games to become bowl eligible  That will be tough task as the Hoosiers head to #11 Penn State next Saturday before returning home for the annual season ending battle with Purdue.