Wisconsin Badgers would probably not say the last two weeks of football have been their best, but they’ve got the job done in each game. On Saturday, the team looked more impressive especially in the second half as they cruised to a 38-13 victory to give Wisconsin their seventh straight win and their first 7-0 start since 2004. Terps did not have the offense to keep up with this brooding Badgers defense, and that was really the key to this game. Any chance the Terps had at winning or pulling closer with the Badgers was shut down by this defense.

D.J. Moore gets shut down
Wisconsin’s defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard did not follow in the footsteps of Dave Aranda and Justin Wilcox when it came to defensive backs. The two former coordinators did much more with zone while Leonhard keeps guys on an island. That worked out against one of the better Big Ten receivers in D.J. Moore. Nick Nelson played the role of his shadow for most of the game. He had one big catch for 38 yards then a couple more to finish with 44 yards total. Leonhard deserves a ton of credit for the job he’s done taking over this defense.

Alex Hornibrook recovers after a bad start
After the Badgers quarterback threw an interception for the fourth straight game, some people got a little restless. It’s not that they wanted a replacement in there, but people know for Wisconsin to be in the elite company, the quarterback needs to be an elite game manager. Hornibrook didn’t look the part again early, but he figured it out for a nice afternoon. Badgers redshirt sophomore had 225 yards of passing with two touchdowns on 16 of 24 passing. Having Troy Fumagali fully healthy again really aids Hornibrook for having a good outing.

Badgers may have found something in Garrett Groshek
What do you know – Wisconsin found a walkon who could help this team down the stretch. I’ve never heard of something like that before. Garrett Groshek was a duel-threat quarterback turned into a running back, and he’s providing an alternative spark for this Badgers rushing attack. Groshek had 37 yards on five carries spelling Jonathan Taylor, and it’s his second game with over 30 yards. He powers through the hole, and runs with a purpose. He’s a nice back to spell Taylor.

Next up
Wisconsin heads on the road for the next two starting in Champaign, Illinois. The Fightin’ Illini have not had a good second season under Lovie Smith with a current 2-5 record, and 1-4 in the Big Ten. This might be their last gasp to turn around their season, so, Badgers need to be careful in this one.

Charlie.