It always seems as though, at least in recent years, the Badgers rely almost entirely on a strong front four and relentless running attack to win Big Ten slugfests. While the Badgers have had their share of shutdown corners over the years'Troy Vincent, Jamar Flectcher'Wisconsin's defensive secondary hasn't been known for making big, game-changing plays.
In Saturday's 31-20 victory over Purdue, that is exactly what the secondary did. Junior defensive backs Roderick Rogers and Joe Stellmacher, along with freshman Jack Ikegwuonu, accounted for four turnovers between them. The Badgers forced five in all, the highest total in nearly three years.
Rogers' 84-yard interception return for a touchdown late in the third quarter gave the Badgers a 17-13 lead and provided a spark for Wisconsin that would lead them to two more scores on the day, the last of which was a 62-yard interception return for a touchdown by Ikegwuonu to seal the win, his second pick of the game.
'The turnovers certainly were the key to the game,' head coach Barry Alvarez said. 'I really thought our secondary, our safeties in particular'Jack Ikegwuonu especially'the way they played, we contested a lot of balls that were thrown in there.'
They did more than contest throws'they caught them. And no interception was bigger than Rogers', which gave Wisconsin a lead it would never relinquish.
'That was such a huge turning point for the game. Rod made a great pick on the ball, made some nice cuts, took it to the house and really put the momentum back in our favor,' sophomore linebacker Andy Crooks said. 'They were marching down the field. If they would have scored, they would have gone up 10. It was a huge play. We never really lost momentum after that.'
Stellmacher set the tone for the day when he caused the first turnover, knocking the ball loose from Purdue's sophomore quarterback Curtis Painter for senior Bret Bell to recover just short of midfield, though that was one of the few defensive highlights of the first half. Purdue ran effectively in the first two quarters and moved the ball with relative ease until defensive coordinate Bret Beilema helped them regroup.
'We got in at half and knew there were some things we had to change defensively, as far as what we were doing up front and some different reads with the linebackers,' Beilema said. 'We talked extensively, they took it all in, adjusted well and really responded in the second half.'
Clamping down on the Boilermakers' run game gave UW's secondary control of the game's destiny, something the coaches felt their young secondary was prepared for.
'The coaches told us they were going to try to hit the slants all day and I just read [Painter's] eyes,' Ikegwuonu said of his first pick.
'Coming into the game, we knew the back-up quarterback would look at his target. He was looking right at me, I just sat there and he just threw it right to me,' he added.
The maturing secondary anticipated Painter's passes all day, though Rogers made the best read of all'not only on his interception but on his return.
'The interception and score by Roderick was ... that's one of the finer ones I've seen,' Alvarez said, who watched Rogers score the team's first touchdown on an interception return this year.
Of his 84-yard march, Rogers said, 'At first I wasn't thinking endzone but, to be honest, the reason why I cut it back was because I actually saw two 300-pound linemen coming at me from the left, so I cut it back to the sideline and found the wall.'
He may have found his wall of blockers, but more importantly, on a day when the offensive was not clicking, he and his injury-depleted defense found a way to win.
