The Badgers ran the ball, seemingly at will, against Purdue on Saturday afternoon. Chez Mellusi and Braelon Allen each ran for over 139 yards and found the endzone. The blocking was good when Wisconsin ran the ball and outside of Allen’s inability to hold on to the ball the running backs played perfectly.
Graham Mertz only threw the ball eight times, completing five for 52 yards, but had negative awareness on a blitz that resulted in a fumble recovery for a touchdown by George Karlaftis of Purdue. Pass protection, on the few times it happened, wasn’t good enough.