BY ANDY BAGGOT
UWBadgers.com Insider
EVANSTON, Ill. – Moments of truth don't do subtle.
You hear a scream, not a whisper.
You feel a jolt, not a nudge.
You taste habanero, not a scoop of vanilla.
The moment of truth for the Wisconsin football team on Saturday at Ryan Field was similarly distinctive.
The eighth-ranked Badgers exorcized a ghost and enhanced their Big Ten Conference title hopes with a 21-7 victory over Northwestern.
They won here for the first time since 1999, doing just enough on offense and special teams to validate another memorable outing by the defense.
The Wildcats were limited to a season-low 39 rushing yards, were able to convert just 5 of 18 third downs and went three-and-out five times in 13 possessions, excluding end of half drives.
It was the fifth instance – and third away from home – that the UW defense has allowed one touchdown or fewer in a game this season.
The moment of truth was built around that unit, but not in the way you might think.
In a word, there was some adversity.
It came when Northwestern zoomed 87 yards in eight plays to pull within 10-7 right before halftime.
The possession lasted just 1 minute, 6 seconds, included three big plays, and suggested the Wildcats had found a rhythm on offense and Wisconsin was a bit vulnerable.
"Uncharacteristic of us," junior safety D'Cota Dixon said.
"That touchdown drive kind of took it out of us a little bit," junior outside linebacker T.J. Watt said. "We had to come back out and set the tone early."
The fact Northwestern would get the ball to open the second half clearly defined the moment of truth.
"We knew going into that it was going to be one of the biggest drives of the game," sophomore inside linebacker T.J. Edwards said. "We needed to make a statement that we were fine and everything's OK."
The Wildcats ran three straight pass plays on their first drive of the second half, but after quarterback Clayton Thorson found wide receiver Austin Carr for a 4-yard gain on first down, Thorson misfired on the next two, leading to a punt.
"A big stop for us," Dixon said. "You don't want to let the game get out of hand too much."
On its next two possessions, Northwestern got a quick first down but was forced to punt four plays later.
The Badgers (7-2 overall, 4-2 in the Big Ten) labored to pull away, but did so thanks in part to a fourth-quarter takeaway. Junior nose tackle Conor Sheehy sacked Thorson, forcing a fumble that Dixon recovered and returned 22 yards.
The only turnover on this gorgeous fall day was notable for Wisconsin. It had lost the last two meetings with the Wildcats in large part because it had nine total giveaways.
The recovery and return by Dixon led to a 2-yard scoring run by senior tailback Corey Clement. A two-point conversion run by sophomore fullback Alec Ingold gave UW a two-touchdown lead.
It was an emphatic answer by the UW defense, which had a couple uncharacteristic lapses during the scoring drive by the Wildcats (4-5, 3-3).
On third-and-1 from his own 22, Northwestern tailback Justin Jackson peeled off a 28-yard run off right guard. Edwards drilled Jackson at the line of scrimmage, but failed to wrap him up.
On fourth-and-1 from the Wisconsin 41, Thorson found slot back Garrett Dickerson along the right sideline for a 28-yard catch-and-run. Along the way Dickerson eluded a tackle attempt by senior cornerback Sojourn Shelton.
"Like some previous games, we weren't the best tackling team today," Watt said. "Obviously we'll go back and fix that."
On the ensuing play from the UW 13, Thorson threaded a throw between three defenders to Carr in the end zone.
"We just didn't play as well as we could in the first half," Edwards said. "It's not what we're used to. So we had a little adversity.
"But it was nice to come back out like we did. We got some great energy from our coaches in the locker room and they really gave us a boost.
"We were calm, but we knew we had to step up big time."
Could UW players sense a momentum shift?
"I like to think of momentum as a non-factor for us because we're always focused on the next thing," Sheehy said.
"A little bit, but not really," Watt said. "I feel we always need to bring our own momentum and that's a big part of our defense. When we're not being energetic it makes things hard."
Watt said the Wildcats are difficult to defend when their short passing game begins to click. Thorson typically works off a three-step drop, which makes it difficult to put consistent pressure on him.
"A lot of quick (pass) routes and we just could not get tackles," Watt said.
Thorson finished the day 28-for-52 for 277 yards and a TD. He utilized seven pass catchers, but mostly had his sights set on Carr, who finished with 12 catches for 132 yards.
"Just a couple breakdowns here and there, a couple miscommunications," Watt said of the scoring drive. "I feel like we sorted through it, but it took a little longer than it should have."
As UW players obliged autograph seekers outside their locker room, one fan thanked them for ending the "curse" that was the 17-year-old gap between wins here. Most of the players were toddlers in 1999 when the Badgers came away with a 35-19 triumph.
"Good to get that off our back," Watt said.
"It's good not to have to hear that anymore," Edwards said.
