The Badgers played their first road game of the season on Saturday, outlasting Minnesota for a hard fought 31-28 win. It was the first Big Ten game in the brand new TCF Stadium, such a nice change from the dreary, indoor Metrodome, but the Badgers stole the show.
Running back John rushed for 184 yards and three touchdowns, the major factor in the Badger’s dominating ground attack that totaled 295 yards. It was John’s number one rushing performance of the year as well as the Badger’s as a team.
Quarterback Scott turned in another solid performance, going 16 for 26 with 159 yards and a touchdown, although he did fumble and throw an interception. Scott continues to show that he is reliable running the offense and can bounce back from costly mistakes.
The 454 yards of offense generated by the Badgers was the highest this year, balancing out the defense that allowed 328 yards, including 271 passing. Despite this, the defense got the stops when they needed to and held on during the grind it out fourth quarter.
The Badger’s win allowed them to keep the Paul Bunyan Ax for a sixth straight year, the longest a team has kept it in the series.
It was indeed a day of firsts for a Wisconsin team that is suddenly looking like a Big Ten title contender. Next Saturday’s game at ninth ranked Ohio State will go a long way in showing how much the Badger’s have improved from a dismal 2008 season.