Postgame Notes: Wisconsin vs. Michigan State
October 22, 2011 | Football
Oct. 22, 2011
Recap | Final Stats | Quotes
Postgame Notes
Wisconsin at Michigan State
Oct. 22, 2011
Spartan Stadium – East Lansing, Mich.
Team Notes
• The loss snaps Wisconsin’s nine-game conference winning streak, as well as its 13-game regular-season winning streak. The loss also stopped the Badgers’ seven-game winning streak in night games.
• The home team has now won the last seven games in the series.
• Wisconsin has converted its last seven turnovers gained into touchdowns.
• Wisconsin gave up 23 points to Michigan State in the second quarter, this most points allowed in a single quarter by UW since surrendering 27 in the third quarter against Northwestern on Oct. 8, 2005.
• Kyler Elsworth blocked a Brad Nortman punt and it was recovered for a touchdown by Bennie Fowler. It was the first blocked punt for a touchdown given up by UW since Michigan State’s Travis Key recovered a blocked punt in the end zone on Nov. 13, 2004. The last blocked punt by a UW opponent was Minnesota’s Keanon Cooper on Oct. 3, 2009.
• Philip Welch’s 30-yard field goal try was blocked in the second quarter. The last time a Wisconsin field goal was blocked came on Sept. 13, 2008 when Fresno State’s Ben Jacobs did it.
• The 37 points allowed by Wisconsin was the most since a 38-16 loss at Iowa on Oct. 18, 2008.
• With Russell Wilson called for intentional grounding in the end zone, Michigan State scored the first safety by a Wisconsin opponent since North Carolina on Sept. 17, 2005.
Individual Notes
• Senior QB Russell Wilson has thrown at least one touchdown pass in 31-straight games, five short of the NCAA record.
• Wilson finished 14-of-21 for 223 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Wilson ranks 22nd all-time at Wisconsin with 1,780 passing yards, passing Ron Vander Kelen (1,582).
• The 1,780 passing yards for Wilson also ranks 14th all-time for a UW single-season mark. His 16 passing touchdowns ties for the eighth-most in one season at UW.
• Sophomore TE Jacob Pedersen has eight career touchdown receptions on just 27 career catches.
• Junior RB Montee Ball finished with 115 rushing yards, his third-straight 100-yard game and the 10th of his career. With 2,155 career rushing yards, Ball surpassed Carl McCullough (2,111) for 11th all-time at Wisconsin.
• With a rushing and receiving score, Ball has scored at least one TD in each of his last 13 games. He has 34 touchdowns over that span.
• Ball has now scored 114 points on the season, tying Billy Marek for fifth on the UW single-season list.
• WR Jared Abbrederis tied a career high with six receptions. He finished with 91 receiving yards on the day, the third time he’s gone over the 90-yard mark this season.
• Abbrederis also set a career high with 204 all-purpose yards. He had 39 kick return yards, 41 punt return yards and a career-high 33 rushing yards in addition to his 91 receiving yards.
• WR Nick Toon became the sixth receiving in school history to go over the 2,000-yard mark in receiving yards. He caught two passes for 58 yards against the Spartans and now ranks fifth all-time with 2,026 career receiving yards after passing Lee DeRamus (1,974), Tony Simmons (1,991) and Chris Chambers (2,004). Al Toon, Nick’s father, is next on the list at 2,103 yards.
• Junior CB Marcus Cromartie recovered his first career fumble, pouncing on a loose ball in the first quarter.
• Senior DE Louis Nzegwu leads the Badgers with 4.5 sacks after recording a first-quarter sack of Kirk Cousins.
• Junior LB Mike Taylor forced the third fumble of his career and second of the season, separating MSU RB Edwin Baker from the ball on the Spartans’ first offensive play.
• LB Chris Borland finished with 13 tackles, the third time he’s had double-digit tackles in a game this season.
• DE Brendan Kelly set a career high with two sacks.
