The Wisconsin football team pulled off a tough win over a strong Northwestern Wildcats squad largely due to the defensive performance.
The Badgers entered the game 4-2 and left with another win after controlling the tempo of the Wildcats offense all game. Wisconsin limited big plays and stopped the momentum shifts that occurred at times after turnovers. The Badgers gave the Wildcats solid field position multiple times, but the defense stood tall and managed to limit the damage entirely at times.
Quarterback Braedyn Locke reverted back to his old ways a bit against Northwestern, but admittedly faced a strong pass defense unit. Locke threw an interception and fumbled away another turnover against the Wildcats defense. The quarterback recorded 160-yards passing, one passing touchdown, and one rushing touchdown as well.
While Locke had his own struggled during the game, he also delivered big scores when the offense needed to capitalize.
Wisconsin forces a fumble then punches it right in! Badgers up 14-0 pic.twitter.com/5XlcBtjx9w
— College Football Live (@CollegeFBonX) October 19, 2024
WISCONSIN FORCES AND RECOVERS THE FUMBLE#BADGERS #ONWISCONSIN pic.twitter.com/8wNhdp55c4
— Wisconsin Highlights (@UWHighlights) October 19, 2024
The game between the Badgers and the Wildcats ultimately came down to defensive savvy as Wisconsin shutdown the Northwestern offense. Wisconsin managed to give the offense excellent field position which led to an easy touchdown. The score and the momentum shift the defensive unit caused would ultimately be too much for the Wildcats to comeback from.
Wisconsin Football Defense Highlighted Against Northwestern Wildcats
If there is one unit the Wisconsin football staff can commend for their performance against Northwestern, it would be the defense.
The Wisconsin football team recorded two sacks and seven pass defenses against the Wildcats as the air attack was completely neutralized. Wisconsin allowed just 82-yards and nine completions all game, which was a great accomplishment for the defense. The Badgers were able to have similar results defending the air against Rutgers quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis, and aim to do so against Penn State leader Drew Allar as well.
On the ground, Wisconsin allowed 127-yards rushing and allowed an average of 4.1-yards per carry. The Wisconsin Badgers defense allowed running back Cam Porter to hit the hole at times, but often stopped the running back dead in his tracks. The longest rush allowed throughout the game was 29-yards, and it was carved out by the Wildcats quarterback.
Porter was previously the workhorse for the Northwestern Wildcats offense a season ago, and still shows flashes this season. By stopping Porter, Wisconsin put extra pressure upon quarterback Jack Lausch to make something happen on offense. Lausch was not able to find an open receiver the majority of the game besides a few check down routes here and there.
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