Badgers crush Huskies

MADISON, Wis. - Two plays exemplified Northern Illinois University's game at Wisconsin. The first play. And the last. Redshirt freshman Ricky Crider broke his left leg on the opening kickoff. On the final play, redshirt freshman defensive end Ed Jackson laid sprawled on the turf as players milled around the field. In between those two plays, Wisconsin treated Northern Illinois like a junior varsity team, toying with the Huskies much to the delight of the 81,883 fans at Camp Randall Stadium. Wisconsin scored touchdowns on four of its first five possessions to dispatch an overmatched Northern Illinois team 44-3 Saturday afternoon. &#8220Yeah, not a very good start,” said NIU coach Joe Novak on Crider's injury. Coming off two straight losses, the Badgers (6-2) massaged their fragile ego by taking their frustration out on the wounded Huskies. By the time the Huskies awoke from their morning slumber, Wisconsin led 14-0 following P.J. Hill's 360-degree, tackle-breaking 72-yard touchdown scamper at the 8:50 mark of the first quarter. The Badgers knocked out the Huskies with a powerful running game and high percentage conversion rate on third downs. Hill carried the ball 21 times for 184 yards and scored two touchdowns. The Badgers rolled up 331 yards rushing on 55 attempts, averaging 6.0 yards per rush. The Huskies, playing with a depleted roster, had trouble bringing down the 5-foot-11, 227-pound Hill. &#8220We didn't tackle well,” said defensive end Larry English. &#8220That's not us.” In comparison, the Huskies registered minus-13 yards rushing. Seldom-used UW junior fullback Chris Pressley, who had one carry for five yards this year, had 30 yards rushing in the first half compared to 31 total yards for Northern Illinois. The Huskies ran the ball 11 times for zero yards after halftime. The UW defense dominated the line of scrimmage, holding tailback Justin Anderson, who was averaging 157.4 yards over his last five games, to 13 rushes for 14 yards. The Badgers didn't allow the Huskies to hit the three-digit mark for total offense. The Huskies had 99 yards of total offense in 43 plays. &#8220Justin didn't have a chance,” Novak said. &#8220We didn't block well enough and we didn't tackle. Honestly, unless we're playing LSU, I think we can run some. This team (Wisconsin) is more talented than everybody we've played this year and we knew that going in.” The Huskies (1-7) did figure out a way to silence the large crowd. They played matador defense before UW coach Bret Bielema called off his troops. The Badgers put the game out of reach by jumping out to a 38-0 lead, prompting a church-like atmosphere in the stands most of the game. The Badgers didn't allow a first down until 1:01 remained until halftime. Northern Illinois junior Dan Nicholson started at quarterback. Nicholson needed a can of Rustoleum to remove the rough spots after missing last week's game. The Badgers ended Nicholson's misery by knocking him silly right before halftime. Nicholson suffered a concussion and did not return. Reserve Ryan Morris didn't fair any better, completing three passes for 68 yards. The positives for Northern Illinois can be summed up rather quickly. Wide receiver Matt Simon's four receptions for 86 yards, Chris Nendick's 34-yard field goal to extend his consecutive scoring streak to 45 games and Zach Larsen's 10 tackles were the extent of NIU's addition to its 2007 highlight tape. The Huskies were resorted to using offensive lineman Dan Keller and 220-pound Mike Lepper on the final series at defensive tackle. Novak said he figured out the Huskies were without nine of their top 11 defensive linemen. &#8220Everybody's had injuries, but we've really had more than our share this year,” Novak said. Nobody was immune to the getting treated rudely by the Badgers. The Wisconsin fans even got into the act, heckling an NIU sports information employee while he was walking down the steps to the field. The Huskies started the game with six three-and-out series, and punted the ball eight times. &#8220We wanted to go out there and take it to them,” said UW defensive back Allen Langford, who had a team-high five tackles. &#8220We wanted to make a statement on defense. We've been taking a lot of heat this whole year.” Consider it mission accomplished. Bobby Narang can be reached at bnarang@daily-chronicle.com.