POSTGAME NOTES ▪ #11 WISCONSIN VS. #8 MICHIGAN STATE ▪ SEPT. 24, 2016 ▪ EAST LANSING, MICH. (UW ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS)
14 Big Ten Championships ▪ 14 Straight Bowl Games ▪ 70 Wins in Last 7 Seasons ▪ 13 First-Team All-Americans Since 2010 ▪ 28 Academic All-Big Ten in 2015
TEAM NOTES
Today's captains: senior OLB Vince Biegel, senior RB Dare Ogunbowale and sophomore OL Michael Deiter and junior DE Chikwe Obasih.
With wins over No. 5 LSU and No. 8 Michigan State, UW has defeated two teams ranked in the top 10 of the Associated Press Top 25 in the same season for the first time since 1962 — when they downed No. 1 Northwestern, 37-6, and No. 5 Minnesota, 14-9. The Badgers also defeated two top-10 teams during the 1959 (No. 9 Iowa and No. 2 Northwestern) and 1954 (No. 5 Purdue and No. 10 Minnesota) seasons.
The Badgers are the first Big Ten team to tally a pair of top-10 wins by Oct. 1 since Penn State turned the trick in 1999.
Wisconsin claimed its first road win over a team ranked in the top 10 of the AP poll for the first time since a 20-17 win at No. 5 Purdue on Oct. 16, 2004.
The 24-point win was UW's largest against a top-10 team since beating No. 8 Nebraska 48-17 on Oct. 1, 2011.
The 24-point win was also UW's largest margin of victory in a road game vs. a ranked team since a 42-17 win at No. 12 Ohio State on Oct. 2, 1999. Coincidentally, that game also marked the first career start of UW redshirt freshman QB Brooks Bollinger.
Wisconsin won its seventh-straight game away from Camp Randall Stadium, dating back to last season.
The Badgers won for the 11th time in their last 12 Big Ten road games.
The last time Wisconsin opened its BIg Ten schedule with a road win was a 38-20 win at Illinois to begin conference play in 2003.
Wisconsin claimed its first win at Spartan Stadium since 2002, snapping a four-game home win streak in the series for Michigan State.
Wisconsin improved to 13-0 when leading at halftime under Paul Chryst.
Michigan State was held without a touchdown at home for just the second time since 2000. The only other instance was a 20-3 loss to Notre Dame on Sept. 15, 2012.
That 20-3 loss to Notre Dame was also the last time the Spartans were held below 10 points in a regular-season game.
Wisconsin's defense has surrendered a TOTAL of just three touchdowns this season.
The Badgers held MSU to just 75 rushing yards, marking the third consecutive opponent that has failed to reach the century mark on the ground vs. Wisconsin. Dating back to last season, five of UW's last six opponents have been held under 100 yards rushing.
Wisconsin was a perfect 3-for-3 in the red zone, scoring a touchdown on each of its trips inside the 20-yard line.
Wisconsin's first scoring drive in the first quarter covered 65 yards in 16 plays and 7:38. The Badgers converted 3 of 5 third-down opportunities and went 2-for-2 on fourth down on the drive.
The possession marked UW's longest scoring drive since a 16-play, 97-yard TD drive vs. Hawai'i on Sept. 26, 2015.
Including four vs. Michigan State, the Badgers have forced nine turnovers (6 interceptions, 3 fumbles) through their first four games. That's UW's highest total since forcing nine in the first four games of the 2003 season.
The last time the Badgers forced at least four turnovers came in a five-turnover effort at Minnesota on Nov. 28, 2015.
Wisconsin held the ball for 10:44 of the first quarter. Through four games, the Badgers own a cumulative time of possession edge of 50:27 to 9:33 over their opponents.
The Badgers were flagged for a disconcerting signals penalty in the second quarter, marking UW's first penalty drawn since the second quarter of its game vs. Akron on Sept. 10. That snapped a stretch of seven consecutive quarters without a penalty.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
Redshirt freshman QB Alex Hornibrook made the first start of his career, finishing 16-for-26 for 195 yards and 1 touchdown.
Hornibook was particularly effective on third down, going 9-for-13 for 136 yards with a touchdown (182.5 pass efficiency rating). His third-down passes also accounted for six first down conversions.
Further, on third down and 10 or more yards to go, Hornibrook was 6-for-6 for 100 yards.
Senior RB Corey Clement scored the 25th rushing touchdown of his career on a 1-yard TD run in the second quarter and the 26th on a 5-yard yard score in the third quarter. That matches Clement with Brooks Bollinger and Rufus Ferguson for 10th on UW's career list.
Senior S Leo Musso returned a fumble forced by teammate D'Cota Dixon 66 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter. It is UW's first fumble recovered for a touchdown since Beau Allen fell on a loose ball in the end zone vs. Arizona State on Sept. 14, 2013. It's the Badgers' first fumble recovery touchdown that included a return since Louis Nzegwu returned a fumble 33 yards for a score vs. Oregon in the 2012 Rose Bowl Game.
Sophomore OL Brett Connors started at center, the first start of his career.
Senior TE Eric Steffes made the first touchdown reception of his career, catching a 1-yard TD pass from Alex Hornibrook to give UW a 7-3 lead in the first quarter.
Senior K Andrew Endicott converted the first field goal of his career, hitting a 41-yarder in the third quarter to give UW a 23-6 lead.
Senior CB Sojourn Shelton logged his first interception of the season and the sixth of his career in the second quarter, picking off a Tyler O'Connor pass and returning it 8 yards. He also registered a pass breakup, giving him 31 passes defended in his career to match Devin Smith (2008-12) for No. 8 in UW history.
Sophomore ILB T.J. Edwards recorded his first career interception.
Junior CB Derrick Tindal tallied his second INT of the season and the second of his career.
Junior OLB T.J. Watt finished with six total tackles, including 2.5 sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss. Both of those are career highs. Since recording his first career sack vs. Akron on Sept. 10, Watt has notched 4.5 over his last three games.
Junior S D'Cota Dixon posted his first career sack and finished with a team-high seven tackles, the second-highest total of his career.
Junior LB Jack Cichy recorded six tackles, including one tackle for loss. He now has six TFLs in his last five games dating back to last season.
14 Big Ten Championships ▪ 14 Straight Bowl Games ▪ 70 Wins in Last 7 Seasons ▪ 13 First-Team All-Americans Since 2010 ▪ 28 Academic All-Big Ten in 2015
TEAM NOTES
Today's captains: senior OLB Vince Biegel, senior RB Dare Ogunbowale and sophomore OL Michael Deiter and junior DE Chikwe Obasih.
With wins over No. 5 LSU and No. 8 Michigan State, UW has defeated two teams ranked in the top 10 of the Associated Press Top 25 in the same season for the first time since 1962 — when they downed No. 1 Northwestern, 37-6, and No. 5 Minnesota, 14-9. The Badgers also defeated two top-10 teams during the 1959 (No. 9 Iowa and No. 2 Northwestern) and 1954 (No. 5 Purdue and No. 10 Minnesota) seasons.
The Badgers are the first Big Ten team to tally a pair of top-10 wins by Oct. 1 since Penn State turned the trick in 1999.
Wisconsin claimed its first road win over a team ranked in the top 10 of the AP poll for the first time since a 20-17 win at No. 5 Purdue on Oct. 16, 2004.
The 24-point win was UW's largest against a top-10 team since beating No. 8 Nebraska 48-17 on Oct. 1, 2011.
The 24-point win was also UW's largest margin of victory in a road game vs. a ranked team since a 42-17 win at No. 12 Ohio State on Oct. 2, 1999. Coincidentally, that game also marked the first career start of UW redshirt freshman QB Brooks Bollinger.
Wisconsin won its seventh-straight game away from Camp Randall Stadium, dating back to last season.
The Badgers won for the 11th time in their last 12 Big Ten road games.
The last time Wisconsin opened its BIg Ten schedule with a road win was a 38-20 win at Illinois to begin conference play in 2003.
Wisconsin claimed its first win at Spartan Stadium since 2002, snapping a four-game home win streak in the series for Michigan State.
Wisconsin improved to 13-0 when leading at halftime under Paul Chryst.
Michigan State was held without a touchdown at home for just the second time since 2000. The only other instance was a 20-3 loss to Notre Dame on Sept. 15, 2012.
That 20-3 loss to Notre Dame was also the last time the Spartans were held below 10 points in a regular-season game.
Wisconsin's defense has surrendered a TOTAL of just three touchdowns this season.
The Badgers held MSU to just 75 rushing yards, marking the third consecutive opponent that has failed to reach the century mark on the ground vs. Wisconsin. Dating back to last season, five of UW's last six opponents have been held under 100 yards rushing.
Wisconsin was a perfect 3-for-3 in the red zone, scoring a touchdown on each of its trips inside the 20-yard line.
Wisconsin's first scoring drive in the first quarter covered 65 yards in 16 plays and 7:38. The Badgers converted 3 of 5 third-down opportunities and went 2-for-2 on fourth down on the drive.
The possession marked UW's longest scoring drive since a 16-play, 97-yard TD drive vs. Hawai'i on Sept. 26, 2015.
Including four vs. Michigan State, the Badgers have forced nine turnovers (6 interceptions, 3 fumbles) through their first four games. That's UW's highest total since forcing nine in the first four games of the 2003 season.
The last time the Badgers forced at least four turnovers came in a five-turnover effort at Minnesota on Nov. 28, 2015.
Wisconsin held the ball for 10:44 of the first quarter. Through four games, the Badgers own a cumulative time of possession edge of 50:27 to 9:33 over their opponents.
The Badgers were flagged for a disconcerting signals penalty in the second quarter, marking UW's first penalty drawn since the second quarter of its game vs. Akron on Sept. 10. That snapped a stretch of seven consecutive quarters without a penalty.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
Redshirt freshman QB Alex Hornibrook made the first start of his career, finishing 16-for-26 for 195 yards and 1 touchdown.
Hornibook was particularly effective on third down, going 9-for-13 for 136 yards with a touchdown (182.5 pass efficiency rating). His third-down passes also accounted for six first down conversions.
Further, on third down and 10 or more yards to go, Hornibrook was 6-for-6 for 100 yards.
Senior RB Corey Clement scored the 25th rushing touchdown of his career on a 1-yard TD run in the second quarter and the 26th on a 5-yard yard score in the third quarter. That matches Clement with Brooks Bollinger and Rufus Ferguson for 10th on UW's career list.
Senior S Leo Musso returned a fumble forced by teammate D'Cota Dixon 66 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter. It is UW's first fumble recovered for a touchdown since Beau Allen fell on a loose ball in the end zone vs. Arizona State on Sept. 14, 2013. It's the Badgers' first fumble recovery touchdown that included a return since Louis Nzegwu returned a fumble 33 yards for a score vs. Oregon in the 2012 Rose Bowl Game.
Sophomore OL Brett Connors started at center, the first start of his career.
Senior TE Eric Steffes made the first touchdown reception of his career, catching a 1-yard TD pass from Alex Hornibrook to give UW a 7-3 lead in the first quarter.
Senior K Andrew Endicott converted the first field goal of his career, hitting a 41-yarder in the third quarter to give UW a 23-6 lead.
Senior CB Sojourn Shelton logged his first interception of the season and the sixth of his career in the second quarter, picking off a Tyler O'Connor pass and returning it 8 yards. He also registered a pass breakup, giving him 31 passes defended in his career to match Devin Smith (2008-12) for No. 8 in UW history.
Sophomore ILB T.J. Edwards recorded his first career interception.
Junior CB Derrick Tindal tallied his second INT of the season and the second of his career.
Junior OLB T.J. Watt finished with six total tackles, including 2.5 sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss. Both of those are career highs. Since recording his first career sack vs. Akron on Sept. 10, Watt has notched 4.5 over his last three games.
Junior S D'Cota Dixon posted his first career sack and finished with a team-high seven tackles, the second-highest total of his career.
Junior LB Jack Cichy recorded six tackles, including one tackle for loss. He now has six TFLs in his last five games dating back to last season.
