MADISON - Wisconsin managed to shake off a slow start and put away Georgia Southern in the final out-of-conference game of the season.

BadgerBlitz.com has grades and takeaways from Week 3.

Once again, the Badgers salvaged an abysmal first half performance offensively by coming out of the gates red hot in the second half. Wisconsin went three-and-out on five of its first eight drives, which dug the Badgers in an early hole. Had Georgia Southern hit its 48-yard field goal attempt right before half, Wisconsin may have been down 17-7 early in the third quarter.

After a mind-numbing stretch of five straight punts that spanned from the end of the second quarter in the third, the Badgers scored four straight touchdowns to close out the game. The running game, which was barely alive in the first half, woke up in the second half with Wisconsin utilizing the outside zone to free up Braelon Allen and Chez Mellusi. The Badgers collected 207 yards on the ground and five scores for an average of 5.4 yards-per-carry. It wasn't the best rushing performance, but the running game came to life when it needed to and ultimately pounded Georgia Southern into submission.

Tanner Mordecai had a serviceable but unspectacular day through the air. At the final whistle, he had complied 236 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions while completing 63 percent of his passes. Again, much like the rest of the offense, he struggled to find his rhythm early. As the game wore on, though, he settled down and guided the Badgers to victory.

It was a big step in the right direction for the offense to hold onto the ball and not turn it over for the first time this season. The fact that they didn't shoot themselves in the foot with turnovers is a big reason why they were able to run away with the game in the third quarter, even after a lackluster first half.