SEC & Big Ten Week 5 Roundup: Wisconsin defense shines in win over Northwestern
Heisman hopeful Jonathan Taylor rushed for 119 yards a score and the Badgers defense added two scores of their own to lead No. 8 Wisconsin to a 24-15 win over Northwestern on Saturday.
Taylor got the Badgers on the board first with a 13-yard touchdown and has now eclipsed the 100-yard rushing mark for the 26th time in 31 career games. Despite the fast start, the Badgers offense was limited on the day and was ultimately outgained by Northwestern, 255-243, marking the first time this season Wisconsin has been outgained by its opponent.
The Badgers defense came up big in the second half, however, scoring twice to seal the Wisconsin victory.
“ proud of the way the guys battled and fought against a really good football team, a team that we’ve always had tough games with,” Wisconsin coach Paul Chryst said. “Obviously our defense was big today, and in so many different ways made plays and changed the game and gave us a chance.”
The first of Wisconsin’s two defensive touchdowns came off an Eric Burrell sack that forced a fumble in the endzone with 2:34 to play in the third quarter. Defensive end Matt Henningsen, a former walk-on, covered that ball up for a score to put Wisconsin up 14-3.
Then in the fourth quarter, after a Collin Larsh field goal extended the lead to 17-3, Noah Burks took an interception 68 yards to the house to the Badgers up 24-3 with 11:29 remaining in the game.
Northwestern scored twice late in the fourth to pull within striking distance, but a pair of failed two-point conversions kept the game out of reach as the Badgers avenged last year’s 31-17 loss to the Wildcats in Evanston.
Now let’s check out a few more highlights from an exciting Week 5 in the SEC and Big Ten:
No. 5 Ohio State 48, Nebraska 7: Justin Fields threw for three touchdowns and ran for another for the No. 5 Buckeyes, and Nebraska quarterback Adrian Martinez was intercepted on three of the Cornhuskers’ first four series as Ohio State improved to 7-1 all-time against Nebraska.
Minnesota 38, Purdue 31: Tanner Morgan threw for 396 yards and four touchdowns, both career highs, to help Minnesota hold off Purdue 38-31 on Saturday. The win was just the seventh all time for the Gophers at Ross-Ade Stadium.
No. 12 Penn State 59, Maryland 0: Sean Clifford threw for 398 yards and three touchdowns, ran for a score and carried Penn State to a 59-0 victory over Maryland on Friday night. Penn State scored on its first four possessions and has now won 14 consecutive games within 250 miles of the Penn State campus.
South Carolina 24, Kentucky 7: Rico Dowdle (102 yards and a touchdown) and Tavien Feaster (107 yards and two touchdowns) gave South Carolina multiple 100-yard rushers in an SEC game for the first time since 2001, as South Carolina snapped a five-game series losing streak to Kentucky Saturday night.
No. 7 Auburn 56, Mississippi State 23: Auburn tied a school record with five rushing touchdowns in the first half, and the Tigers defense held SEC rushing leader Kylin Hill to 45 yards on 17 carries in a dominant win over the Bulldogs.
No. 23 Texas A&M 31, Arkansas 27: Quartney Davis caught two of Kellen Mond’s three touchdown passes, including the go-ahead score, as No. 23 Texas A&M held on to beat Arkansas 31-27 on Saturday. The Aggies have now won eight straight over the Razorbacks — a series record for A&M — and seven of the past 10 meetings between the teams have been decided by a touchdown or less.