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JJ Raffelson
WIU Visual Productions Center
J.J. Raffelson makes a tackle on Melvin Gordon.
3
Western Illinois WIU 1-1
37
Winner Wisconsin WIS 1-1
Western Illinois WIU
1-1
3
Final
37
Wisconsin WIS
1-1
Winner
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
WIU Western Illinois 0 3 0 0 3
WIS Wisconsin 2 7 14 14 37

Game Recap: Football | | WIU Athletic Communications

Badgers Push Past Western in Second Half

MADISON, Wis. – Western Illinois carried momentum into halftime, kicking a field goal as time expired to make it a one score game, but No. 18 ranked Wisconsin pulled away in the second half for a 37-3 victory. The Fighting Leathernecks and Wisconsin both moved to 1-1 overall.
 
It marked Western's first game against a nationally-ranked FBS team since taking on then No. 11-ranked LSU during the 2003 season. The start of the game against their nationally-ranked opponent, however, did not go well for the visiting Leathernecks.
 
Western won the coin flip and elected to receive. The kickoff was fumbled by Kyle Hammonds and originally ruled down in the endzone for a touchback. On review, it was determined the ball entered the field and Wisconsin was awarded a safety.
 
Both teams punted on their first drive. One play after a quarterback keep run by Tanner McEvoy put the Badgers into Western territory, McEvoy's pass was intercepted by Dallas Nichols.
 
Western drove into Badger territory, thanks to a roughing the passer penalty, pass to Hi-C Scott and run by J.C. Baker. However, inside the redzone Trenton Norvell's pass was tipped and intercepted, thwarting the drive.
 
Nathan Knuffman kicked a season-long 58-yard punt and it was downed on the Badger 3. Wisconsin picked up a couple of key first downs on 3rd-and-long, marching inside the Western 10. The defense, facing 4th-and-1 on its own seven, came up big with a run stop for no gain by Luke Venegoni and halt the Badgers' drive.
 
On the ensuing possession, the Leathernecks just missed on a 3rd-and-long pass play and were forced to punt. Wisconsin muffed the punt but recovered on its 46. The Badgers needed three plays to cover 54 yards, capped by a 7-yard TD run by McEvoy with 2:16 left in the opening half.
 
Norvell marched the Leathernecks down the field and into the redzone at the end of the first half. Western used 11 plays and moved 67 yards in just over two minutes. Knuffman booted a 29-yard field goal as time expired in the half cutting the lead to 9-3.
 
From there it was all Wisconsin, scoring on four of its drives in the second half and missed on a fifth score on a failed field goal attempt.
 
The Badgers converted twice on fourth down during their first drive of the second half, the last one good for a 3-yard touchdown pass from McEvoy to Austin Ramesh and 16-3 lead.
 
On their first drive, the Leathernecks came up short on third down when Baker was tripped up and the team was forced to punt. Wisconsin needed three plays to cover 57 yards. Melvin Gordon shook off a couple of tackles on an 8-yard TD reception from McEvoy and 23-3 lead.
 
Wisconsin drove inside the redzone early in the fourth quarter, but the defense held on third down. Rafael Gaglianone missed from 33 yards out and Western took over on its own 20.
 
Midway through the fourth quarter, McEvoy connected with Alex Erickson on a 10-yard touchdown to extend the lead to make it 30-3. Bart Houston threw a 6-yard TD pass to Corey Clement in the final minutes for the final margin.
 
At halftime, Western was out-gained overall 198-128, but only 73-to-63 on the ground. The Badgers defense allowed just two first downs by Western over the final 30 minutes to pull away. Overall, Wisconsin held a 456-162 edge in total offense. The Leathernecks held one of the top rushing teams in the country to 167 yards – and limited Gordon to only 38 yards on 17 attempts.
 
"It was a tales of two halves. The first half I was really pleased with how we played. We did a great job containing the run game, which is one of the things you have to do when you play Wisconsin. You're not going to stop it, you just have to contain it," said head coach Bob Nielson. "We moved the ball well enough, that was part of reason why they couldn't get into a good rhythm. We were able to get a couple of sustained drives, but we turned the ball over in the redzone where we had a chance to get points there in the first quarter.
 
"Coming into halftime we were in the ball game and the second half give Wisconsin credit. They found a way to throw the football in the second half. We really sputtered offensively trying to get anything going. As a result they played offense the entire time. When you play a team with a big and physical offensive line, and the talented skill players they have that's not a good resume for success," said Nielson.
 
Baker netted 60 yards on 22 rushes. Norvell completed 13-of-21 passes for 108 yards. Scott was on the receiving end six times totaling 63 yards.
 
Knuffman averaged 43.4 yards on his seven punts and he made a field goal for the third straight game (29 yards).
 
Preseason All-American Martinez Davis made a career-high 10 tackles, including one for a loss. Kevin Kintzel was one shy of his personal-high totaling nine stops. Jonathon Rollins added eight tackles. Nichols finished with seven, and Venegoni added seven in addition to a career-high 2.0 tackles for a loss.
 
Western's defense accounted for 9.0 tackles for a loss, including a sack by Eddy Holtschlag.
 
Clement led the Badger rushing attack with 57 yards while McEvoy added 55 on the ground with a score. He completed 23-of-28 passes for 283 yards and three touchdowns. Erickson caught 10 passes for 122 yards and a TD.
 
The Leathernecks return to Hanson Field next Saturday (Sept. 13), playing host to Drake. Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m.
 
GAME NOTES – That was the first safety allowed by Western since the UNI game in 2012… Nichols recorded his second career interception… Knuffman kicked a field goal for the third consecutive game dating back to last year. He had three all last year, including two in the season-finale… The officials did a review during Wisconsin's opening drive of the third quarter. The officials reversed the call giving Kintzel a TFL. However, UW would eventually score a TD on the drive… The 77,125 in attendance marked the fourth-largest crowd Western played in front of. Two of the Wisconsin games now stand among the 'Top 4' all-time (2006, #2)… WIU lost the turnover battle 2-1.
 
 
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