FOOTBALL UW FB: Postgame Notes (UW 30, PUR 13)

Jon McNamara · Oct 23, 2021

POSTGAME NOTES
WISCONSIN 30, #25 PURDUE 13 ▪ OCT. 24, 2021 ▪ ROSS-ADE STADIUM ▪ WEST LAFAYETTE, IND.

TEAM NOTES

Today’s captains: senior TE Jake Ferguson, senior CB Faion Hicks and senior ILB Jack Sanborn.
Paul Chryst improved to 60-22 (.732) in his seventh season as Wisconsin’s head coach, ranking 4th on UW’s all-time wins list and becoming the 4th coach in school history to win 60 games:

WINS AS WISCONSIN COACH, ALL-TIME
Coach (Years) Wins
1. Barry Alvarez (1990-2005)* 119
2. Bret Bielema (2006-12) 68
3. Phil King (1896-1902, ‘05) 65
4. Paul Chryst (2015-present) 60
5. Milt Bruhn (1956-66) 52
* Also served as coach in 2 bowl games (2012, 2014)

Under Chryst, Wisconsin is:

6-0 (1.000) vs. Purdue

29-7 (.806) vs. the Big Ten West Division

39-15 (.722) in Big Ten Conference play

22-8 (.733) in road games

Wisconsin scored its 15th consecutive win over Purdue, dating to 2004, extending the longest streak by either team in the history of the series.

o The Badgers’ run of 15 straight wins over Purdue is their longest win streak vs. a Big Ten opponent:

UW WIN STREAKS VS. BIG TEN OPPONENTS
Streak Opponent Years
15 Purdue 2004-present
14 Minnesota 2004-17
13 Northwestern 1972-84
10 Indiana 2005-19

The Badgers won their 9th consecutive meeting with Purdue in West Lafayette, a streak that dates to 1999.
Junior RB Chez Mellusi (149 yards) and freshman RB Braelon Allen (140) each topped the 100-yard rushing mark in the same game for the 2nd time this season (also at Illinois on Oct. 9).
Wisconsin out-rushed Purdue 290 to -13 yards, the third time the Badgers have held a margin of at least 300 yards this season. UW also outrushed Eastern Michigan by 336 and Illinois by 365.
The Badgers held Purdue to -13 yards rushing, marking the first time a UW opponent had negative rushing yards since Miami (Ohio) ran for -3 yards on Sept. 12, 2015.

o UW has now held an opponent to negative rushing yards 5 times since 2000, but Purdue is the only Big Ten team among that list.

UW forced 5 turnovers on the day, the team’s most since turning Miami over 5 times in the 2018 Pinstripe Bowl.
Wisconsin’s 3 interceptions are its most since grabbing 4 picks vs. Wake Forest in the 2020 Duke’s Mayo Bowl and its most in a Big Ten game since tallying 3 INTs each in back-to-back games vs. Illinois (Oct. 20) and Northwestern (Oct. 27) in 2018.
Wisconsin matched a season-high with 6 QB sacks, equaling the team’s total vs. Notre Dame.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

Freshman RB Braelon Allen posted his 3rd consecutive 100-yard rushing game and the first multi-touchdown game of his career finishing with 140 yards on 12 carries with a career-high 2 TDs.

o Allen scored a rushing touchdown for the 3rd consecutive game, opening the scoring with a 4-yard TD run in the first quarter.

o Allen broke loose on a career-long 70-yard run in the third quarter to set up UW’s go-ahead touchdown run by teammate Chez Mellusi.

o Allen also caught his first-career pass, a nine-yard connection.

Junior RB Chez Mellusi topped the 100-yard mark for the 4th time this season, rushing for a career-high high 149 yards on 27 carries with 1 TD.
Senior TE Jake Ferguson had 2 catches for 23 yards.

o Ferguson has caught at least one pass in each of his 41 career games, a school record that surpassed WR Lee Evans’ mark for consecutive games with a catch (38, 1999-2003) and extending the nation’s 2nd-longest active streak:

CONSEC. GAMES WITH RECEPTION, FBS (ACTIVE)
1. Justin Hall, Ball State *50
2. Jake Ferguson, Wisconsin *41
3. JD Spielman, TCU *40
4. Emeka Emezie, NC State (WR) 38
5. Jahan Dotson, Penn State (WR) 35
* Every game played in career

· Ferguson’s 1,370 receiving yards place him 20th on UW’s career list, and 5th among tight ends all-time at Wisconsin:

CAREER RECEIVING YARDS, TIGHT ENDS (UW)
Rk. Player Years Yards
5. Travis Beckum 2006-08 2,149
13. Troy Fumagalli 2014-17 1,627
16. Garrett Graham 2006-09 1,492
19. Jacob Pedersen 2010-13 1,394
22. Jake Ferguson 2017-pres. 1,370
25. Lance Kendricks 2007-10 1,160

Senior DE Isaiah Mullens posted his first full sack of the season, giving him 1.5 on the year.
Junior NT Keeanu Benton matched his season high with 3 tackles, including a TFL.
Senior OLB Noah Burks posted 2 tackles, including a sack in the fourth quarter.
Junior ILB Leo Chenal led UW with 9 tackles, setting career highs with both 3.5 sacks and 5.5 tackles for loss.

o Chenal leads the Badgers in tackles (51), sacks (5.0) and tackles for loss (9.5).

Senior S Collin Wilder picked off his first pass of the season and the third of his career. He also racked up 7 tackles and his first career forced fumble and fumble recovery.
Senior ILB Jack Sanborn finished with 8 tackles, including 1.5 TFLs and 0.5 sacks. For the season, Sanborn has 7.5 tackles for loss.
Senior CB Caesar Williams made his first interception since the Badgers’ win over Minnesota on Nov. 30, 2019, when he had a career-high 5 passes defended.
Junior S John Torchio nabbed his second-career INT, returning it 37 yards to the Purdue 1-yard line in the second quarter.
Senior K Collin Larsh connected on all 3 of his field goal attempts, improving to 10-for-12 on the season. He 37-yarder and a 23-yard kick in the second quarter before matching his career long with a 43-yard boot in the fourth quarter.

ramby · Oct 23, 2021