Wisconsin 34, Eastern Michigan 7: The Badgers relied on their running game for an early lead and an easy victory

MADISON – This turned out to be, as expected, a get-well game for Wisconsin coach Paul Chryst and his players.

Save for one botched red-zone series early in the game and a late turnover by backup quarterback Chase Wolf, UW dominated Eastern Michigan on Saturday night at Camp Randall Stadium.

The final score – UW 34, Eastern Michigan 7 – didn’t fully illustrate the magnitude of the mismatch in front of an announced crowd of 70,967.

"It's good to get the first win of the season," Chryst said. "A lot of guys contributed to that and that's always good to see."

UW built a 24-0 halftime lead thanks to rolling up 275 rushing yards and 377 total yards.

Eastern Michigan couldn’t sustain anything against UW’s defense. The Eagles finished the half with 23 yards on 18 plays, one first down and four three-and-outs.

UW (1-1) now gets a week off before taking on No. 7 Notre Dame (2-0) on Sept. 25 at Soldier Field in Chicago.

The Irish had to rally for a 32-29 victory over visiting Toledo on Saturday.

UW’s offensive game plan Saturday was obvious. The Badgers wanted to establish the ground game, which had been spotty in the season-opening loss to Penn State.

UW ran the ball on its first 15 plays and finished the half with 32 runs and 12 passes.

Chez Mellusi (15 carries, 134 yards, one TD), Isaac Guerendo (4-92-1) and Jalen Berger (12-54-1), who did not play in the opener, led UW in the opening half Saturday.

That trio was done for the night before the start of the fourth quarter and combined for 298 yards and three touchdowns on 39 carries.

Mellusi finished with 144 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries. Guerendo finished with 92 yards on four carries. Berger finished with 62 yards on 15 carries. 

"We wanted to set the tone," said tight end Jake Ferguson, who had three catches for 17 yards and did most of his work blocking for the backs. "We wanted to get back to Wisconsin football where we (can) literally run the ball every play.

"It felt really good. The front seven was really moving guys. That is the stuff we need to do to."

Graham Mertz, who in the opener turned the ball over three times (two interceptions and one fumble), was efficient in the first half Saturday.

One pass he threw should have been an interception but he finished the half 10 of 12 for 102 yards. A 36-yard touchdown pass to tight end Clay Cundiff was wiped out by a holding call on Danny Davis. 

Mertz played less than three quarters and finished 13 of 15 for 131 yards.

"If you're running the ball it opens up some other parts," Chryst said. "And I thought it gave us some other things today. ...

"I thought he did some good things."

UW’s defense, which recorded seven three-and-outs in the opener and limited Penn State to 297 yards, took the field Saturday without cornerback Faion Hicks and safety Collin Wilder. Both players were on the sideline, out with unspecified injuries.

With Hicks and Wilder out, defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard gave time to cornerbacks Alexander Smith, Dean Engram, Semar Melvin and Donte Burton and safeties John Torchio and Travian Blaylock.

Smith started for Hicks and Torchio for Hicks.

Leonhard's unit was predictably dominant but the Badgers lost a shutout when Wolf threw an interception that was returned 98 yards for a touchdown by David Carter Jr. with 9 minutes 38 seconds remaining.

Eastern Michigan finished with three first downs, one by penalty, 16 rushing yards on 18 attempts and 92 total yards on 38 plays. 

"Defensively we played really well," Chryst said. "It takes a lot of guys to do that."

UW got the ball first Saturday but the red-zone issues returned on the first series.

Mellusi ripped off a 60-yard run to the Eastern Michigan 7 on UW’s second offensive play but the offense failed to get the ball into the end zone.

Mellusi tripped for a loss of 1 on first down as it appeared he had to avoid hitting Mertz's leg Mertz on the exchange. Mellusi gained a combined 7 yards on the next three runs to set up fourth and goal from the 2.

Mellusi tried the left side but the line didn’t get much of a push and Eastern Michigan held Mellusi to a 1-yard gain with 11:16 left in the quarter.

UW’s defense recorded a three-and-out, the offense got the ball at its 45 and ran the ball nine consecutive times to take the lead.

Mellusi started the drive with an 11-yard run and capped it with a 5-yard touchdown run with 4:39 left to help UW take a 7-0 lead.

UW had run 15 plays to that point – all on the ground – for 129 yards.

"Getting the runs is awesome," left tackle Tyler Beach said. "Because you can just cut it loose and kill guys. When you destroy somebody on a block and see the back going 60 or 70 yards, big satisfaction."

The Badgers’ defense recorded another three-and-out and Engram gained 20 yards on the punt return to the UW 36.

Mertz hit three consecutive throws to help UW move the ball to the Eastern Michigan 36 and then appeared to hit Cundiff for a 36-yard score. Davis was called for holding on the perimeter, however, and UW settled for a first down at the 18.

The drive stalled when Mertz was sacked for a 5-yard loss to the 15 on third and 3 but Collin Larsh hit a 33-yard field goal for a 10-0 lead with 13:39 left in the half.

After another three-and-out by Eastern Michigan, UW used a mix of runs and passes to drive 75 yards in 11 plays for a touchdown, an 8-yard run by Berger for a 17-0 lead with 7:02 left in the half.

UW’s defense recorded its fourth three-and-out on four tries and the Badgers needed one offensive play to score from its 18 after the punt.

Guerenedo took a handoff and started to his right. He got outside a defender near the 25 and outran the defense to the north end zone to help UW build its lead to 24-0 with 4:54 left in the half.

Eastern Michigan picked up its first first down on the next series, with 4:05 left; UW took over at its 5 after a put and ran out the final 1:55, content with a 24-0 lead.

The numbers to that point were staggering:

UW rushed for 32 times for 275 yards and three touchdowns and had 377 total yards on 23 plays.

Eastern Michigan rushed six times for minus-13 yards, had 23 total yards on 18 plays, went three-and-out four times and had just one first down.

The theme of dominance continued after halftime.

UW’s defense recorded another three-and-out and the Badgers then drove from their 40 to the Eastern Michigan 24 before the drive stalled.

Larsh capped the drive with a 39-yard field goal to push his season mark to 3 of 4. His only miss came on a block in the opener.

Freshman Braelon Allen got his first work at tailback and capped a 32-yard touchdown drive, set up by Donte Burton's interception, with 4:16 left. 

Eleven UW defenders recorded at least two tackles. Linebacker Mike Maskalunas, end Isaiah Mullens and Torchio recorded three apiece. 

"The No. 1 job of the defense each week is stopping the run," said defensive end Matt Henningsen, who had a sack. "I think we did a good job of that. And then as a defensive line just getting to the quarterback, not letting him have time."