Bloomington, IN (Sports Network) - John Clay and Montee Ball each rushed for
over 100 yards and combined for three touchdowns on the ground, as 24th-ranked
Wisconsin held off Indiana, 31-28, at Memorial Stadium.
Clay ran 15 times for 134 yards and Ball had 27 rushes for 115 yards and a
pair of scores for the Badgers (7-2, 4-2 Big Ten), who won their second in a
row and beat the Hoosiers for a fifth straight time. Scott Tolzien connected
on 11-of-20 passes for 194 yards with a touchdown. Nick Toon caught five balls
for 123 yards in the win.
"John Clay, in the first half, was a machine. Unfortunately, he got a slight
concussion so he missed the second half," said Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema.
"Ball was kind of like the energizer bunny. Every time he got a rep he just
kept grinning, smiling, and gaining momentum."
Ben Chappell completed 25-of-35 passes for 323 yards with three TDs and a pair
of interceptions for the Hoosiers (4-6, 1-5), who have lost three in a row and
six of their last seven contests. Tandon Doss caught six balls for 92 yards
and two touchdowns.
Ball's three-yard TD run pushed Wisconsin's lead to 31-21 with 8:18 left in
the game. It capped a seven-play, 78-yard march, highlighted by a 44-yard
connection from Tolzien to Toon.
The Hoosiers bounced right back with an 80-yard scoring march, culminated by
a two-yard run up the middle to the end zone from Trea Burgess on a fourth
down play with 4:01 remaining.
Facing a 3rd-and-8 at their own 32, the Badgers moved the chains with Tolzien
throwing 17 yards to Toon. Wisconsin ran out the remaining time.
"I thought they really controlled the first half, but I was really proud of
our guys," said Indiana coach Bill Lynch. "Given the other games we've had,
its' a stop here a conversion there, and they made them today. That's a very
good football team we played."
The Hoosiers grabbed the early 7-0 lead courtesy of Chappell's 11-yard
touchdown toss to Doss just 4:16 into the game. The score came after David
Gilreath fumbled a punt return for the Badgers.
Tolzien's 18-yard TD strike to Isaac Anderson tied the game just over two
minutes later. Clay's 48-yard run moved Wisconsin into Hoosiers territory
before the Badgers finished off the 77-yard drive.
Brown broke free on a 52-yard run on 4th-and-3 on the first play of the second
quarter, moving the ball to the Indiana one, but the Badgers were hurt by an
offensive pass interference penalty and had to settle for a Philip Welch 26-
yard field goal.
Chris Maragos picked off Chappell on Indiana's ensuing possession, and the
Badgers moved ahead 17-7 on Ball's one-yard scoring run up the middle.
Chappell's 46-yard touchdown pass to Doss got the Hoosiers within three points
again with 2:32 remaining in the half, but Clay scored on a 14-yard run with
just over a minute left.
Chappell was picked off by Chris Borland at the Wisconsin four early in the
third, but the Hoosiers later pulled within three again on Terrance Turner's
six-yard TD reception with 12 minutes left in the game.