MADISON, Wis. – The Wisconsin football team fell at the hands of No. 4 Alabama, 42-10, Saturday to suffer its first defeat of the season on Saturday at Camp Randall Stadium.

Wideout Will Pauling starred in front of UW's second consecutive sell-out crowd, reeling in nine catches for 83 yards and a touchdown. The Illinois native led the team in receiving yards and receptions for the ninth and 10th times in his career, respectively. Pauling also eclipsed the 1,000 receiving yard-mark in his UW career during Saturday's matchup. 

The Badgers put together a strong opening drive despite losing Tyler Van Dyke early to an injury. Redshirt sophomore Braedyn Locke took over in his absence and led the Badgers to the game's first points thanks to a 53-yard field goal from Nathanial Vakos. Vakos is the first Badger in school history to hit a 50-plus-yard field goal in back-to-back weeks. 

Alabama got on the board two possessions later as quarterback Jalen Milroe connected with freshman wideout Ryan Williams for a 31-yard touchdown. Following a Wisconsin fumble, Milroe found the endzone again on a 3-yard rush to put the Tide up 14-3. 

The two sides traded punts before a Badger missed field goal set up a 73-yard touchdown drive by the Crimson Tide to go up 21-3 into halftime.

Alabama came out of the break and hit paydirt again following a 34-yard rushing touchdown from Jam Miller. 

Pauling cut into the lead on the next possession, reeling in a 3-yard touchdown catch from Locke to make it 28-10 Tide. The Badgers marched 75 yards on the drive, using 17 plays to cross the goal line.

A fourth-quarter Alabama score ultimately sealed the deal as the Badgers suffered their first setback of the 2204 campaign.

Locke went 13-for-26 on the day for 125 yards and a touchdown. Van Dyke was 5-of-5 for 16 yards during the first drive before the injury.

Chez Mellusi was yet again a force for the offense, rushing for 66 yards on 11 carries and being second on the team in receptions with four. Mellusi's running back mate Cade Yacamelli had a strong outing for the second straight week, racking up 39 yards on just eight attempts.

Defensively, four Badgers recorded the team-high of five tackles, including linebackers Tackett Curtis, Leon Lowery Jr., and Darryl Peterson, as well as lineman Aaron Witt. Witt also posted two tackles for loss, while Lowery and linebacker Christian Alliegro picked up the Badgers' two sacks. 

Up Next: The Badgers will have a bye next weekend as their sights shift to a road match up with No. 11 USC on Saturday, September 28. The Trojans are on a bye after two wins to start their season against No. 16 LSU and Utah State. They'll travel to No. 17 Michigan on Saturday, September 21 before heading home to host the Badgers.