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Wisconsin runs over Maryland 23-10 in the rain

The Wisconsin Badgers take care of business with a 13-point win over the Maryland Terrapins.

Matt Belz

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The Wisconsin Badgers (5-4 overall, 3-3 B1G) entered Saturday's matchup with the Maryland Terrapins looking to win back-to-back games for the first time this season. 

Playing in rainy and wet conditions with 20-mile-per-hour winds inside Camp Randall Stadium, the Badgers would brave the elements to come away with a key Big Ten win. 

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Here is a breakdown of Wisconsin's 13-point win on Saturday.  

Contents

  1. Game Recap
  2. Players of the game
  3. Photos of the game
  4. Up next

Game Recap

After receiving the opening kickoff, Maryland would go three-and-out on offense. However, a 60-yard punt by Anthony Pecorella would pin the Badgers deep at their own six-yard line. 

After going nowhere with the wind in their face, the Wisconsin offense was forced to give the ball back to Maryland. Despite a poor punt due to the wind, the Badgers' defense would respond with a crucial fourth down stop in their own territory. Nose tackle Keeanu Benton got into the backfield to bring down Taulia Tagovailoa near the 40-yard line to give Wisconsin the ball back with the rain falling hard. 

After exchanging three and outs, Wisconsin would manage to pick up a first down, the first of the game after nine minutes had gone by. The Badgers would then turn to wide receiver Skyler Bell who broke off a 37-yard run on a jet sweep to move the ball into Maryland territory. From there, the Badgers would turn to running back Braelon Allen, who would find the end zone from nine yards out to give Wisconsin a 7-0 lead at the end of the first quarter. 

The two teams would once again struggle to muster any offense on their next two drives, with each resulting in early punts. 

However, Isaac Guerendo would break the game open with a huge 89-yard touchdown run to push Wisconsin's lead to 14 points moments later. After a great cut to the outside, the senior tailback tiptoed his way down the sidelines with wide receiver Chimere Dike leading the way with an excellent downfield block. 

After an initial first down with Taulia Tagovailoa connecting with tight end CJ Dippre on the next drive for Maryland, Wisconsin outside linebacker Nick Herbig came up with his seven sack of the season, ending the drive and giving the ball back to the Badgers. 

Braelon Allen would get things going once again for the Wisconsin offensive shortly thereafter, picking up a pair of first downs on the ground and giving the Badgers over 200 rushing yards with over four minutes remaining in the first half. Wisconsin tailback Isaac Guerendo was stuffed on third down later in the drive, bringing up a fourth-down punt. 

After a Wisconsin sack by C.J. Goetz on third down, the Badgers would get the ball back with around two minutes remaining. That's all the time that Graham Mertz and the Wisconsin offense needed. Mertz found wide receiver Keontez Lewis for a 21-yard gain, and then a 15-yard penalty on the Terrapins set the Badgers up for a 38-yard field goal make by Nate Van Zelst to give UW a 17-0 lead at halftime. 

Coming out of halftime, the Wisconsin offense was unable to produce much on their opening drive, despite a 32-yard kickoff return by Isaac Guerendo. 

As a result, Maryland would get the ball back, and put together their first scoring drive of the game. The drive took nearly six minutes off the clock, with Taulia Tagovailoa and Roman Hemby each coming up with long runs to put the Terrapins in scoring position. A Nick Herbig sack would ultimately force the Terps to settle for a 39-yard field goal, which Chad Ryland made to make it a 17-3 lead for Wisconsin. 

Wisconsin would regain some momentum with a 24-yard throw from Graham Mertz to fullback Jackson Acker on the next drive, but the Badgers would ultimately punt the ball back to Maryland after Mertz was nearly intercepted twice near midfield. 

The Badgers would get the ball right back after another three-and-out by Maryland. The Wisconsin offense would march down the field with an eight-play, 48-yard drive highlighted by a 17-yard reception by Chimere Dike and two costly penalties on the Terrapins. The Badgers would ultimately settle for a field goal to make it 20-3 in favor of Wisconsin. 

Sophomore safety Hunter Wohler would proceed to intercept a Maryland throw minutes later, to give Wisconsin another scoring opportunity. The 

While the Badgers would fail to convert the scoring opportunity with a fourth down incompletion, the Wisconsin defense would respond with a fourth down stop of their own to give the offense the ball back 45 seconds later. 

Once again, the offense could not pick up the first down, and kicker Nate Van Zelst missed a 33-yard field goal try to give Maryland the ball back. 

Following a quick Maryland punt, the Wisconsin offense would finally add to their lead on the next drive. A 20-yard Braelon Allen run and 17-yard Skyler Bell rush would set the Badgers up in the red zone, and kicker Nate Van Zelst would connect on a 28-yard field goal to extend the Wisconsin lead to 20 with 6:33 remaining in the game. 

Maryland would find some late success with Wisconsin in token defense, as Taulia Tagovailoa threw a touchdown to Tai Felton to make it 23-10 with under a minute remaining. 

However, the Badgers would salt the game away from there, coming away with a big 13-point win in the rain. 

Players of the game

  • Isaac Guerendo (Wisconsin)

Isaac Guerendo had the play of the game on Saturday, with a huge 89-yard touchdown run down the sidelines in the first half. The senior tailback ran hard throughout the game and finished with 114 rushing yards overall on just 12 carries. Guerendo also notched a 32-yard kickoff return for the Badgers, and he continues to be a big-play threat every time he touches the ball for Wisconsin. 

  • Nick Herbig (Wisconsin)

Nick Herbig was all over the field for the Wisconsin defense against Maryland. The junior outside linebacker was consistently in the backfield and made life tough for  Taulia Tagovailoa all game long. Herbig finished the game with four total tackles, two sacks, a quarterback hurry, and three tackles for loss.

The Big Ten leader in sacks, Herbig had a huge game and was a big reason for Wisconsin's defensive success against Maryland. 

  • Braelon Allen (Wisconsin)

With throwing the football difficult to do given the weather conditions, Wisconsin leaned on their run game throughout the game. Braelon Allen took the majority of carries, toting the rock 23 times for 119 yards and a touchdown. 

While he did not have many breakaway plays like Guerendo, he averaged 5.2 yards per carry for the game and helped guide the Wisconsin offense with his fourteenth 100-yard rushing performance in the last 18 games.

Photos of the game

Wisconsin RB Isaac Guerendo / Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Wisconsin running back Isaac Guerendo running with the football against Maryland on a long touchdown. 

Wisconsin QB Graham Mertz / Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Wisconsin quarterback Graham Mertz throwing on the move on a 21-yard completion to Keontez Lewis. 

Wisconsin RB Braelon Allen / Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Wisconsin running back Braelon Allen carrying the football against Maryland. 

Wisconsin HC Jim Leonhard / Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Wisconsin interim head coach Jim Leonhard looking up at the scoreboard against Maryland. 

Wisconsin OLB Nick Herbig / Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Wisconsin outside linebacker Nick Herbig recording his Big Ten leading seven sack of the season versus Maryland. 

Wisconsin NT Keeanu Benton / Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Wisconsin nose tackle Keeanu Benton sacking Taulia Tagovailoa in the first quarter against Maryland. 

Wisconsin QB Graham Mertz / Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Wisconsin quarterback Graham Mertz throwing the ball deep against Maryland. 

Up next

The Badgers will head to Iowa City next weekend for a Big Ten West battle with the Iowa Hawkeyes. The game time and television information have not yet been released for the game. 

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Matt Belz
MATT BELZ

Title: Publisher, Beat Writer for AllBadgers.com, a Sports Illustrated Channel Hello, my name is Matt Belz, and I am the site manager at All Badgers. I previously wrote for multiple years at Buckeyes 5th Quarter and have been the leading publisher here since March of 2022.  When I am not covering the Wisconsin Badgers football and men's basketball teams, I enjoy being outside and spending time with family and friends.  You can follow everything I write about on several different platforms. First and foremost on our site...AllBadgers.com You can follow me personally on Twitter at @savedbythebelz or check out our Facebook page at Wisconsin FanNation on Sports Illustrated.

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