MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin celebrated Homecoming in a big way Saturday, rolling to a 48-3 victory against Illinois. Corey Clement ran for 123 yards and three touchdowns and the seventh-ranked Badgers intercepted Illinois quarterback Jeff George Jr. four times to seal a decisive Big Ten West Division win.
Dare Ogunbowale added 103 yards on seven carries for Wisconsin (8-2, 5-2 Big Ten) and the team rushed for a season-high 363 yards at Camp Randall Stadium. The victory marked the first time in Paul Chryst's tenure that Wisconsin had a pair of 100-yard rushers in a game. Clement has also now topped 100 yards rushing in four of the last five contests.
The Badgers had a breather following week after week of close games against the league's tougher teams.
"It's very frustrating when you have to win games by seven or 14, and it kind of gets old," Clement said. "I would like to get back to this style of football to where we can close out the game."
Wisconsin led by 18 after the first quarter with two scores from Clement, and 31-3 at the half. George was 5 of 16 for 79 yards in the first half against the Badgers before getting pulled for former starter Wes Lunt. That didn't work either. Illinois (3-7, 2-5) mustered just 60 yards and three first downs in the second half.
Wisconsin's defense continued to shine and held Illinois without a third-down conversion (0-for-9), the first time the Badgers have completed that feat since at least 1998. Safety Leo Musso had two of the Badgers' four interceptions, a total pick count not seen since they grabbed four INTs vs. Northwestern in 2010. The Badgers held a season-best 42:03 to 17:57 advantage in time of possession, the third time this season UW has possessed the ball for at least 40 minutes.
Illinois managed a few big rushing plays in the first half against the Big Ten's best run defense but finished with 99 rushing yards.
"I thought our defense was really good," Chryst said. "It was a good team win, and it didn't just happen. It was a good week of preparation."
Wisconsin, conversely, ran the ball on 29 of the final 30 plays to put the game away.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
