EVANSTON - Wisconsin kicked off the Jim Leonhard era with an emphatic 42-7 dismantling of Northwestern. A week after falling 34-10 to a Big Ten West foe Illinois, this was a return to success in the division for UW.

A pair of completions to Chimere Dike on the first two plays marked a sign of what was to follow on Saturday afternoon. Quarterback Graham Mertz and Dike led a historic day for the offense, and on the other side of the ball, Nick Herbig led a disruptive effort for the defense.

BadgerBlitz.com offers key takeaways from Wisconsin's win on the road over Northwestern.

Have yourselves a day, Graham Mertz and Chimere Dike. The two stamped their names all over the Wisconsin record book with a pair of big afternoons.

Mertz finished 20-of-29 for 299 yards and five touchdowns. The 299 yards are a career-high and the most for a Wisconsin quarterback since Jack Coan threw for 363 yards against Central Michigan in 2019. It's only the fourth time a UW quarterback has thrown five touchdown passes and the first since Mertz did so in his debut in 2020 against Illinois.

Dike tallied 10 catches for 185 yards and three touchdowns. The yardage is the eighth-most in a game by a Wisconsin receiver and the most since Jared Abbrederis had 207 yards against Ohio State in 2013. The three scores are the most since Danny Davis had three against Miami in the 2017 Orange Bowl, and the 10 catches are the most since Davis did so against Minnesota in 2018.