EVANSTON, Ill. —  Injuries, turnovers and ill-timed penalties combined for a rough afternoon as No. 20 Wisconsin fell Saturday at Northwestern, 31-17.

The Badgers (5-3, 3-2) started quarterback Jack Coan in place of Alex Hornibrook, who missed the game with a concussion, and played without several defensive starters due to injuries. Wildcats (5-3, 5-1) QB Clayton Thorson ran for two touchdowns and threw for another to help Northwestern break a two-game losing streak to the Badgers.

Coan was 20-of-31 for 158 yards and a touchdown in his first career start. Running back Jonathan Taylor was largely contained and finished with 46 rushing yards on 11 carries and two fumbles. A third fumble by Coan added to the Badgers' woes.

Despite playing shorthanded, the Badgers' defense picked off three passes from Thorson, who completed 17 of 30 throws for 167 yards. NU's Isaiah Bowser ran for 117 yards and a touchdown.

Wisconsin safety Evan Bondoc snagged a well-timed pick for the second time in as many games, while teammates Madison Cone and Zack Baun notched a pick apiece to keep Wisconsin in the mix. Ryan Connelly (14 tackles, 1 pass breakup) and T.J. Edwards (13 tackles) led the Badgers' young defense in a smashmouth Big Ten matchup.

Offensively, Garrett Groshek took lead for the Badgers' run game with 68 yards on 7 carries for the Badgers. Fullback Alec Ingold muscled in Wisconsin's first TD at 8:04 in the first quarter and Coan found Kendric Pryor in the end zone in the fourth quarter on a 10-yard pass for the Badgers' only other TD of the day.

A 36-yard field goal made UW senior kicker Rafael Gaglianone the Badgers' all-time leader with 66 for his career, surpassing the school record of 65 he shared with Todd Gregoire.

Northwestern was leading 14-10 early in the third when Wisconsin's Jack Sanborn got flagged for roughing the punter. That set up Thorson's TD pass to McGowan in the back of the end zone.

Taylor then lost his second fumble of the game when Paddy Fisher poked the ball out as he was tackled and Montre Hartage recovered at the Wisconsin 42. That led to a 26-yard field goal by Charlie Kuhbander, making it 24-10 with 2:39 left in the quarter.

The Wildcats added to their lead early in the fourth after Coan dropped the ball on a fake handoff, picked it up, scrambled and fumbled again. Bowser's 2-yard run made it 31-10.

Wisconsin returns home next Saturday to host Rutgers. Kickoff is slated for 11 a.m. (CT) at Camp Randall Stadium, with the game airing live on BTN.