Key Stats Fueling Wisconsin Over Indiana

Wisconsin football rolled over Indiana by the deceivingly impressive final margin of 45-17.  So what were the key stats the led to the victory?

The Wisconsin Badgers are now 9-0 including a spotless 6-0 mark in Big Ten play.  We’re going to look at some of the key stats that explain the Badger win.

As is too frequently the case, Wisconsin muddle through a dreary opening half.  But then roared away from the opposition over the third and fourth quarters.

So what were the key stats for Wisconsin football in its road victory over host Indiana on Saturday?

Related Story: Wisconsin Runs Away from Indiana On the Road

Offensive Stats

For starters, the Badgers were an efficient 8/15 on 3rd down.  We wrote going into the game that was going to be an important statistic to watch.  The Hoosier defense and Badger offense are great on that down.  Edge to Wisconsin.  As you would expect, seven of those 3rd down conversions came on Badger scoring drives.

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On a related noted, the Badgers bossed the time of possession as they typically do.  Wisconsin rolled up a big edge controlling the ball for 39:23 and limiting Indiana to just 20:37.  As a result Wisconsin built a sizable edge in plays.  Wisconsin had 52 runs to 22 passes (74 total) while Indiana had 34 passes and 21 runs (55 total).

This also led to Wisconsin finishing +8 in first downs with a 24-16 edge.  The luckiest Badger stat is that Wisconsin fumbled three times (Nick Nelson, Jonathan Taylor, Alex Hornibrook) and recovered all of them.

Defensive Stats

The most important one here is turnovers.  The Badgers tossed a bad interception on a 3rd-and-goal and Indiana went on a long touchdown drive right after.  But Wisconsin senior safety Joe Ferguson recovered one fumble and snagged a pair of second half interceptions.  The Badgers scored a touchdown off the fumble.  The first of Ferguson’s two interceptions came with Wisconsin leading 24-17.  The Badgers then led 38-17 and the game was essentially over.

Wisconsin shut down the Indiana ground game to the tune of 40 yards on 21 carries.  In addition, while Bucky was good on 3rd down, the Hoosiers were just 3/9.  Two of Indiana’s 3rd down conversions came on its first quarter touchdown drive.

Finally, Wisconsin also added seven tackles-for-loss including four sacks.  Notably, five different Badgers recorded a TFL.

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Summary

As you well know, the formula doesn’t change.  On Saturday Wisconsin ran the ball well and forced negative plays via three turnovers and seven TFLs.  The schedule is about to get a lot more imposing.  But the Badgers are still in firm command of the Big Ten West and staying relevant for the College Football Playoff.