The University of Wisconsin football team — 3-2, 1-1 Big Ten — returned home after a trip to Southern California to face Purdue — 1-4, 0-2 — in its first home Big Ten game of the season.
The Badger faithful, 76,091 strong, packed Camp Randall in another sellout on Saturday, setting the stage for an electric matchup against the Big Ten rivals.
The Badgers were coming off of a tough week, losing 38-21 to the USC Trojans, and the announcement that starting running back Chez Mellusi announcing that he’d be stepping away from football to try and recover from the injuries that have hampered his Badger career.
“I know [the season has] been tough on these guys… they want nothing but the best, and they understand that nothing is guaranteed to us,” head coach Luke Fickell said postgame.
Tawee Walker, who missed the second game of the season against North Dakota with an injury, took over as the starting running back, ending the first half just one yard shy of a season-high 66 yards on 14 carries.
The Oklahoma transfer ended the game with 94 yards on 19 carries, both season highs.
First Half
Neither team could get the ball moving initially, with the first four drives ending in quick punts. But, in what’s becoming a trend in Badger games, Purdue muffed the second punt of the game, which the Badgers recovered at the 12-yard line.
Walker punched in a 12-yard touchdown on the first play following the fumble recovery, scoring his fourth touchdown of the season and putting the Badgers up 7-0 halfway through the first quarter.
The Badger defense did a great job of stopping Boilermaker running back Devin Mockobee, who ended the game with only 45 rushing yards after putting up 168 rushing yards and a touchdown two weeks earlier against Oregon State.
Good defensive play set the Badgers up for a 91-yard touchdown drive, capped off by a great throw from Badger quarterback Braedyn Locke to receiver Vinny Anthony II. Locke rolled out of the pocket to his right before finding Anthony II for a 52-yard touchdown pass, extending the lead to 14-0.
But, the Badger’s momentum stalled when Locke threw interceptions on consecutive drives. The defense again held strong, though, forcing the Boilermakers to kick short field goals on both drives, narrowing the score to 14-6.
With only three minutes left in the first half, Locke regained his composure, passing to receiver Trech Kekahuna on back-to-back plays for 28 total yards. Walker then went to work, rushing the ball on five of the next seven plays and running over a Boilermaker defender for an easy Badger touchdown.
Injuries didn’t seem to stop plaguing the Badgers in the first half, as receivers Bryson Green, Will Pauling and Tyrell Henry all left the game with lower-body injuries. Henry was ruled out, and though Green and Pauling were listed as questionable to return in the second half, neither did.
Second Half
The break did a lot of good for Locke, as he came out at halftime and almost immediately threw a 69-yard touchdown pass to Kekahuna to put the Badgers up 28-6.
The defense forced a quick three-and-out from the Boilermakers, largely thanks to a sack from linebacker Jaheim Thomas.
Locke continued to quash any doubts fans may have had about him in the first half, finding running back Darrion Dupree for a diving 18-yard catch. On the very next play, Locke found Kekahuna for a 25-yard touchdown despite a defensive pass interference call to put the Badgers up 35-6.
The Badgers began playing like a team possessed, with the defense forcing quick stops and the offense driving down the field with ease.
After another Purdue three-and-out, the Badgers’ offense picked the defense apart. Locke found running back Cade Yacamelli for a 17-yard pass, tight end Riley Nowakowski for a 15-yard pass and Anthony II for a 14-yard pass on three consecutive plays, setting up Walker for a 17-yard touchdown rush, his third of the game.
Less than two minutes later the offense was back out on the field.
Locke found tight end JT Seagreaves for 21 yards for his second career reception before Yacamelli took over, rushing the ball four straight times ending in a 30-yard touchdown, extending the lead to 49-6.
The Boilermakers’ next drive only lasted one play, as running back Jaheim Merriweather fumbled the ball after a 35-yard run, which the Badgers recovered.
Backup quarterback Mabrey Mettauer entered the game for the first time in his career on the final true drive for the Badgers, completing his first pass to tight end Jackson McGohan, which ironically was his first career catch.
Postgame
Thanks to a late field goal from Nathanial Vakos, the Badgers walked away with a statement victory, 52-6, over Purdue.
“[The team] really did what we expected them to do today, and they did it together,” Fickell said.
There were too many career-high stats from this game to count, but most notably Kekahuna put up career highs in receptions with six, receiving yards with 134, and scored his first two career touchdowns.
Locke also set career highs, throwing for 359 yards, three touchdowns and a longest pass of 69 yards.
Freshman running backs Dilin Jones and Gideon Ituka got their first major touches of their careers. Jones rushed for 65 yards on 7 carries, including a 47-yard breakout run, and Ituka rushed for four yards on two carries.