The Wisconsin Badgers played their sixth game of the 2024 season and third conference game on Saturday afternoon, beating the Rutgers Scarlet Knights in blowout fashion, 42-7.

Here are my three biggest takeaways from Wisconsin’s win.

For the second straight week, the Badgers won in an absolute romp.

This week's win didn't feature as many big passing plays, but the offense still maintained control of the game for all four quarters. Nobody deserves more credit for that dominance than the offensive line and running back Tawee Walker.

After Chez Mellusi’s departure from the program, he was next up in the totem pole to be Wisconsin’s top back.

Walker showed some flashes of what that could look like last week, rushing for 97 yards and three touchdowns, but he frankly could’ve done much better against Purdue’s putrid run defense.

Heading into Saturday’s game, I was skeptical of his chances against a defensive front that’s actually competent. But he looked like a true number-one Wisconsin running back on Saturday, for the first time this season.

The senior dominated the Scarlet Knights’ defense from the first time he touched the ball.

Walker ran the ball three consecutive times early in their first drive, for eight, seven and four yards, which set up quarterback Braedyn Locke’s over-the-top passes and eventual touchdown to receiver Will Pauling.

On the very next drive, Locke threw an errant interception, seemingly killing any momentum they gained on their first series.

Walker proceeded to open their third drive with runs of 18 and six yards, taking the offense to the Scarlet Knights’ 35-yard-line, then finished it with a touchdown run on fourth-and-two.

He gave the offense a hold on the game that they never let go of. Even after Rutgers finally scored in the third quarter to make it 28-7, Walker responded with a 55-yard touchdown on the very next drive, killing any thought of a miracle comeback.

The senior managed to finish with 198 rushing yards and three touchdowns, averaging a whopping 8.3 yards per carry, all with just five carries in the second half.

He’s also developed noticeable chemistry with the offensive line, who deserve about half of the credit for Walker’s career day, all at a desperately needed time in the season.

“He’s getting himself into a groove. I think there is an ability for the offensive line and running backs to kind of work hand-in-hand,” coach Luke Fickell said after the game.

“That’s what I always thought was impressive about watching Rutgers, with their ability to run the football and how their offensive line and back worked so well together. I think that’s what we’re seeing with Tawee and his ability, and [the offensive line’s] ability to understand the things he does well and how we can continue to rely upon them.”

This was the best total defensive performance of the season, and likely of the Fickell era.

They completely shut down the Scarlet Knights’ running game, which collapsed any hopes for quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis to find success.

There are no words to describe Wisconsin’s performance other than “utterly dominant”.

But the most impressive part, to me, was that they played their best during the most important moments. There were quite a few times where the Scarlet Knights had the opportunity to make their way back into the game, but the defense consistently shut down any attempts at a comeback.

After Locke threw an interception on the second drive of the game, Rutgers had the momentum and could have evened up the score midway through the first quarter.

But the defense held them to a three-and-out, which became a major theme in the first half. After their first series, the Scarlet Knights’ next four drives were all three-and-outs.

Rutgers punter Jakob Anderson had a busy day and was arguably their only standout player, finishing with nine punts for 397 total yards, an average of 44.1 yards per punt.

The only time the defense really let up was during Rutgers’ only touchdown drive of the game, when they allowed a few chunk runs. But, up 28-0 late in the third quarter, the Badgers were mostly just trying to prevent big plays. I think they’ll live with that one.

This was also the first time this season they’ve played a true hard-nosed, run-it-down-your-throat offense. The coaches couldn’t have asked for a better performance.

Rutgers running back Kyle Monangai is one of the best at his position in the Big Ten, but was silenced. He finished with 19 carries for 72 rushing yards and a touchdown, though 33 of those yards and the touchdown came on their lone scoring drive, when the game already felt over.

While there are still some pass-rush concerns from the outside linebackers, they showed out against the run on Saturday.

“I think the edges were a really critical point for us today,” Fickell said after the game.

“The back is really patient, so we had to make sure that we were patient as well.”

The Badgers’ last two wins have come by a combined score of 94-13. The offense may get more attention because of the highlight plays, but their domination begins with the defense.

It might have taken a year and a half, but it feels like we’re finally seeing the offense that Fickell envisioned when he came to Madison.

When he hired Phil Longo to be offensive coordinator, the term “air raid” became associated with Wisconsin for the first time in its history.

Even though Longo has plenty of experience with that scheme, it was never his intention to come to Madison and throw the ball 50 times per game.

He believes in running the ball, though with the intention of eventually opening up big passing plays. Hearing “running to open up the pass” had become a bit of a cliche when talking to players and coaches.

But, finally, we saw an offense that actually executed on that concept.

Many of Locke’s biggest passes directly followed many of Walker’s biggest runs.

He also allowed each of them to build a sense of rhythm. Even when Walker or freshman Darrion Dupree lost steam at times, he never went away from them. And when Locke threw an interception on the second drive of the game, Longo never stopped calling deep shots.

Receiver Vinny Anthony has begun to be a consistent playmaker for this offense, and Longo continued to feed the hot hand. When the offense needed some momentum early in the second half, he called a deep shot to Anthony that resulted in a 47-yard reception, and led to their third touchdown of the game.

The offense did benefit from the absences of notable Rutgers defenders like linebacker Tyreem Powell, cornerback Robert Longerbeam and edge rusher Aaron Lewis, who left early in the first quarter.

And there were still plenty of issues, such as Locke’s interception or their skid during the second quarter, but these past two weeks of football have inspired a level of confidence in this time that was desperately needed.

“I think that we’re playing a high level of complementary football,” said Locke.

"But I don’t think that we’re at all satisfied. I don’t think that we’re close to the border or our final destination.”

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