MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin finally is starting to play like Wisconsin again.
After going 9-8 in their first 17 games under second-year coach Luke Fickell, the Badgers have dismantled their last three opponents by a combined score of 117-16. They’re benefiting from a dominant defense and physical rushing attack, the hallmarks of Wisconsin’s best teams.
“Obviously Wisconsin’s always had a great tradition of defense, offensive line play and everything,” center Jake Renfro said. “I feel like we’re definitely bringing that back to life now.”
It’s tough to tell just how far Wisconsin has come because those three lopsided victories came against Purdue, Rutgers and Northwestern. Those three teams have a combined 2-10 record in Big Ten competition.
The true test comes Saturday night when Wisconsin (5-2, 3-1 Big Ten) hosts No. 3 Penn State (6-0, 3-0). The Badgers have lost their last five meetings with Penn State and are 2-13 in their last 15 matchups with ranked foes.
Wisconsin is 0-4 against Top 25 teams under Fickell, including a 42-10 loss to then-No. 4 Alabama and a 38-21 setback at then-No. 13 Southern California in back-to-back games earlier this season.
Renfro considers the USC game a turning point.
“It was just like an internal something that clicked within us,” Renfro said. “Hey, we’re not playing to what we need to do. We took it personally as an offensive line. We blamed that game on us.”
It would be presumptuous to say Wisconsin has recaptured its identity based on three lopsided wins over Big Ten also-rans, but it’s worth noting the Badgers had struggled in these types of games not too long ago.
Wisconsin was a 2 1/2-point underdog heading into its 42-7 victory at Rutgers. The Badgers are coming off a 23-3 victory at Northwestern, which won 24-10 at Wisconsin last year.
Part of the improvement is due to a resurgent defense.
Wisconsin ranked 11th or better among all Football Bowl Subdivision teams in total defense seven times in an eight-year stretch from 2015-22, but the Badgers slipped to 39th last season and couldn’t slow down Alabama or USC last month.
During this three-game winning streak, Wisconsin has allowed just one touchdown. Safety Hunter Wohler says the defense has figured out how to deliver whenever adversity arrives.
“The way our defense has responded to an offensive turnover, bad field position, just anything that can go wrong, our defense has just answered in a great way,” Wohler said.
Wisconsin’s offense has made sure its defense doesn’t face those situations very often.
The Badgers collected just 23.5 points per game while going 7-6 last year, which marked their lowest single-season scoring average since 2004. They had just 24 points per game while starting out 2-2 this season.
But they’re averaging 39 points per game during this winning streak. They’ve done that despite losing starting quarterback Tyler Van Dyke to a torn ACL against Alabama.
Wisconsin is running the ball more often behind its veteran offensive line.
Offensive coordinator Phil Longo had a background in Air Raid-style stacks, and Wisconsin passed on 50.8% of its snaps. That was the first time the Badgers had attempted more passes than runs since at least 1946, which is as far back as Wisconsin’s records on the subject go.
Wisconsin is running the ball 58.2% of the time this season. Over its last three games, Wisconsin has built big leads and has run it on over 60% of its snaps.
For the first part of the season, Tawee Walker shared carries with Chez Mellusi, who stepped away from the program three weeks ago. Walker has been the clear No. 1 back ever since, and the Oklahoma transfer has responded by rushing for 418 yards and six touchdowns on 66 carries over his last three games.
“We’re starting to recognize that Tawee in particular is a guy who’s much better with more than 18-20 carries,” Fickell said.
Walker says he owes his success to Wisconsin’s experienced offensive line. Jack Nelson, Joe Huber, Renfro, Joe Brunner and Riley Mahlman have combined for 138 career starts. They’ve allowed quarterback Braedyn Locke to get sacked only three times over Wisconsin’s last three games.
“They’re playing aggressive and going at the defense 100% of the time,” Walker said. “I’m just following behind them and matching their energy.”
That combination of a physical offense and dynamic defense has Wisconsin feeling good about itself again. As their schedule gets more demanding, the Badgers have a chance to prove how far they’ve come.
“It was definitely a little rough ride last year,” Renfro said. “It didn’t go the way we wanted it to. But I think we’re showing the world that we’re back, we’re improved. And we’re not even to our ceiling yet. There’s still so much room for improvement.”
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