MADISON -- Saturday in a key Big Ten West showdown, the No. 8 Wisconsin Badgers withstood the feisty Northwestern Wildcats in a 24-15 win inside Camp Randall Stadium.
BadgerBlitz.com presents five things we learned from the tighter-than-desired victory for head coach Paul Chryst and his program.
1. A win is a win against Northwestern.
Of course, after scoring at least 35 points in the past three games, Wisconsin comes back down to earth against a divisional foe known to give it fits.
The offense sputtered after its opening drive touchdown for the rest of the game outside of a fourth quarter series ending in a Collin Larsh field goal. It only gained 243 total yards on the day. Entering the contest, the Badgers averaged 264 on the ground. Defensively, Jim Leonhard's unit held its own in allowing just 255 yards and forced three turnovers that instantly turned into two scores (more on both units in a bit).
However, Northwestern -- even with its backup quarterback in Aidan Smith in the game -- continued to be a pain in Wisconsin's side until the end of the game and actually out-gained UW. On the flip side, Mike Hankwitz's defense found ways to stop what was a dynamic Badgers' offense entering this weekend.
Yet, a win is a win against the Wildcats based on recent memory. The victory moves Wisconsin to 2-0 in Big Ten play before its non-conference finale against Kent State next week. Can we say that would be the case at the start of the year?
"Well, 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," Chryst said after the game. "Ton of respect for [Northwestern head coach] Pat [Fitzgerald] and that program. Really well-coached team that has good players, and they stress you. Obviousl,y our defense was big today, and in so many different ways, made plays and changed the game and gave us a chance.
"Certainly there are things that we got to clean up and need to improve upon to keep going forward and keep growing as a team. But it's not easy to win, and you get into conference play, you appreciate all that went into it. Want them to enjoy and appreciate that part of it -- the victory -- and then come back and find ways to keep going forward because there are plenty of ways that we can keep growing."
