2009 Wisconsin Badgers football team The 2009 Wisconsin Badgers football team competed on behalf of the University of Wisconsin – Madison during the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season . The Badgers were coached by Bret Bielema and played their home games at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison , Wisconsin . The Badgers finished the season 10 – 3 , 5 – 3 in Big Ten play and beat Miami 20 – 14 in the Champs Sports Bowl . Regular Season . Northern Illinois . Wisconsin opened the 2009 season at home against Northern Illinois . Both teams had gone through disappointing seasons the year before , Wisconsin finishing 7 - 6 overall and 3 - 5 in the Big Ten with a blowout loss in the 2008 Champs Sports Bowl , and Northern Illinois finishing 6 - 7 overall with a loss in the 2008 Independence Bowl . On Wisconsin ' s first play from scrimmage , QB Scott Tolzien , a surprise winner of the quarterback competition in spring practice , threw an 80 yard touchdown strike to WR Isaac Anderson . 11 seconds into the game , the Badgers led 7 - 0 . Northern Illinois responded with a 40 yard field goal by Mike Salerno late in the 1st quarter . In the 2nd quarter , after the Wisconsin offense brought the Badgers within striking range , Isaac Anderson ran 23 yards for a touchdown to extend Wisconsin ' s lead to 14 - 3 . NIU kept themselves in the game with another Salerno field goal , and the Badgers led 14 - 6 at the end of the first half . In the 3rd quarter , Wisconsin running back John Clay scored a pair of 1 - yard touchdowns to give the Badgers a commanding 28 - 6 lead going into the 4th quarter . However , Northern Illinois would not go away , as RB Chad Spann tacked on a 1 yard touchdown to cut Wisconsin ' s lead to 28 - 12 . However , the ensuing 2 point conversion failed and the Huskies trailed 28 - 12 . Spann would add a 2 yard touchdown run to cut NIU ' s deficit to 28 - 18 , and QB Chandler Harnish converted the 2 point try to make the score 28 - 20 . Northern Illinois recovered the onside kick , but their final drive stalled on the Wisconsin 36 and the Huskies turned the ball over on downs , allowing Wisconsin to come up with the victory . Fresno State . Fresno State entered the game having won their last trip to Madison , back in the 2001 season . They appeared to be well on their way to another win after Fresno QB Ryan Colburn connected with Chestin West for a 13 yard touchdown pass to give Fresno a 7 - 0 lead over Wisconsin in the 1st quarter . On Fresno ' s next drive , Colburn found WR Devon Wylie on a 70 yard touchdown strike to put the Bulldogs up 14 - 0 in the 2nd quarter . However , Wisconsin fought back ; running back Zach Brown ran 11 yards for a touchdown to cap off a long Wisconsin drive , cutting Wisconsin ' s deficit to 14 - 7 . Fresno attempted to pull away again ; Colburn found WR Seyi Ajirotutu on a 14 yard TD strike to extend Fresno State ' s lead to 21 - 7 . Wisconsin responded swiftly , with an 8 yard touchdown run off an end - around by WR David Gilreath to bring the game within a single score at 21 - 14 . Wisconsin K Philip Welch connected on the longest field goal in school history , a 57 yard try that cut Fresno State ' s lead to 21 - 17 at the end of the half . A scoreless 3rd quarter saw the Badgers needing a big play in the 4th quarter . Wisconsin defensive backs intercepted Colburn twice in the 3rd , but the Badgers didn ' t get any points off those turnovers . After a Fresno State punt , Wisconsin got the big play they needed ; RB John Clay broke several tackles and ran 72 yards for a touchdown to give Wisconsin a 24 - 21 lead . Fresno , stunned but not yet beaten , rallied and drove late in the 4th quarter for the tying field goal by Kevin Goessling . Wisconsin ran out the remaining clock and the game went to overtime . Fresno State elected to play defense first in overtime , but Wisconsin scored on their first possession , as QB Scott Tolzien connected with WR Nick Toon for a 6 yard touchdown pass to give Wisconsin a 30 - 24 lead . Philip Welch converted the PAT to give Wisconsin a 31 - 24 lead . Fresno State too scored a touchdown on their first overtime possession , Colburn finding Ajirotutu for a 7 yard touchdown strike and his fourth touchdown pass of the game . Goessling made the PAT , and the game headed into a second overtime . Colburn would not be so fortunate though , as he was intercepted in the end zone by S Chris Maragos . Philip Welch kicked a 22 yard field goal to win the game for the Badgers . With the win , Wisconsin improved to 2 - 0 on the season . Wofford . Wisconsin played extremely well in all phases of the game , as they defeated FCS foe Wofford 44 - 14 . The Badgers improved to 3 - 0 on the season . Michigan State . Both Wisconsin and MSU looked to win their first Big 10 Conference game of the year . Michigan State entered the game on a 2 game losing streak , having lost to Notre Dame and Central Michigan in consecutive weeks . Wisconsin entered the game at 3 - 0 . After Wisconsin LB Mike Taylor intercepted Michigan State QB Kirk Cousins in the 1st quarter , Wisconsin QB Scott Tolzien connected with TE Garrett Graham for a 15 yard touchdown pass to give Wisconsin a 7 - 0 lead . In the 2nd quarter , Michigan State responded , as Cousins found WR Mark Dell on a 14 yard touchdown pass to tie the game 7 - 7 . Wisconsin struck back with a long touchdown drive of their own , Tolzien finding Graham on a 6 yard touchdown pass to take the lead back , 14 - 7 . After another Michigan State interception , Tolzien drove the Badgers down the field , and RB John Clay ran for a 1 yard touchdown to give Wisconsin a 21 - 7 lead . Both teams traded punts , and the score remained 21 - 7 at the end of the first half . In the 3rd quarter , Wisconsin RB Zach Brown lost a fumble and Michigan State recovered . MSU drove deep into Wisconsin territory , but the Badger defense stopped MSU in the red zone and the Spartans were forced to try a field goal . MSU K Brett Swenson converted the 28 yard attempt , and cut Wisconsin ' s lead to 21 - 10 . Wisconsin drove the field on the next drive , but MSU ' s defense held the Badgers out of the redzone and forced a field goal . Philip Welch converted to give the Badgers a 24 - 10 lead . Michigan State would not go away so easily , and drove the field for a touchdown , this time from Cousins to B . J . Cunningham . Swenson converted the PAT and Wisconsin led 24 - 17 at the end of the 3rd quarter . In the 4th quarter , Tolzien found Nick Toon for a 19 yard touchdown pass to extend Wisconsin ' s lead to 31 - 17 . After a penalty backed the Spartans up , MSU RB Glenn Winston fumbled the ball and Wisconsin DE J . J . Watt recovered , setting up the Badgers with excellent field position . On 3rd and 1 from the Michigan State 23 , Tolzien found Garrett Graham on a 23 yard touchdown pass , his 4th touchdown pass of the game to give Wisconsin a 38 - 17 lead with 12 : 14 remaining in the 4th Quarter . Michigan State , now desperate , drove into Wisconsin territory again , but Kirk Cousins was sacked on a 4th and 10 from the Wisconsin 32 by LB Chris Borland and the Spartans turned the ball over on downs . Wisconsin drove right back into Michigan State territory , but John Clay was stopped short of the first down on a 4th and inches from the MSU 20 by LB Greg Jones . Michigan State again drove into Wisconsin territory , but Keith Nichol threw an ill - advised pass into coverage and was intercepted by Wisconsin S Chris Maragos . Wisconsin was forced to punt , however , and Michigan State made the most of it , as Nichol found WR Keshawn Martin for a 15 yard touchdown . MSU head coach Mark Dantonio elected to try for two , but Nichol ' s pass fell incomplete . Wisconsin punted on their next drive , and Dantonio earned the ire of the Camp Randall crowd after Nichol threw a 91 yard touchdown pass to Martin with the game hopelessly out of reach . Despite the garbage - time score from Michigan State , Wisconsin rather handily won this game and improved to 4 - 0 on the season . Michigan State ' s 3rd straight defeat dropped them to 1 - 3 , matching their regular season loss total from the previous season . Minnesota . Wisconsin looked to improve to 5 - 0 on the season , and win a 6th consecutive game over the rival Golden Gophers . Minnesota entered the game at 3 - 1 , having defeated Northwestern the week before but having been blown out in a home loss to California the week before . In the first quarter , Wisconsin led 7 - 0 after a 2 yard touchdown run by John Clay . Minnesota fired back with a pair of 1st quarter scoring drives ; a 28 yard FG by kicker Eric Ellestad and an 11 yard touchdown pass from QB Adam Weber to WR Eric Decker . Minnesota led 10 - 7 at the end of the first quarter . Wisconsin answered with a 39 yard FG by Philip Welch to tie the game at 10 - 10 , but Minnesota would lead the game at the end of the first half 13 - 10 after another FG by Ellestad . In the 3rd quarter , John Clay found the end zone from a yard out to give Wisconsin a 17 - 13 lead , and the only score of the touchdown by either team . In the 4th quarter , Scott Tolzien found TE Lance Kendricks for a 5 yard touchdown pass to give Wisconsin a 24 - 13 lead . Wisconsin looked to ice the game on their next offensive possession , but RB Zach Brown fumbled the ball and Minnesota S Marcus Sherels returned the fumble 88 yards for a touchdown to keep Minnesota in the game at 24 - 19 . Minnesota tried for 2 and succeeded as Weber found WR Dajon McKnight in the endzone , cutting Wisconsin ' s lead to 24 - 21 . Wisconsin refused to let the Gophers back into the game , and after a long drive , John Clay ran into the end zone for his 3rd touchdown of the day and Wisconsin led 31 - 21 . Minnesota responded swiftly , coming within 3 points of Wisconsin after RB Duane Bennett scored on a 1 yard touchdown carry to make the score 31 - 28 . The onside kick attempt failed , however , and Minnesota had to use its remaining timeouts to stall Wisconsin on the Minnesota 39 . Brad Nortman ' s punt was partially blocked and downed at the Minnesota 5 yard line , giving the Gophers one final chance at snapping Wisconsin ' s win streak . After a short drive by the Gophers , Weber was sacked on 1st and 10 from the Minnesota 34 by O ' Brien Schofield . Weber fumbled the ball as he was sacked , and Wisconsin LB Chris Borland recovered . Wisconsin ran out the remaining 30 seconds and secured Paul Bunyan ' s Axe for the 6th year in a row , and their first win ( in their first appearance ) at TCF Bank Stadium . Wisconsin head coach Bret Bielema is now 4 - 0 against the rival Gophers . The Badgers travel to Ohio State to take on the Buckeyes in Ohio Stadium next week . Ohio State . Wisconsin entered the game with a 5 - 0 record . Ohio State entered 4 - 1 with a 2 - 0 record in Big Ten play ; their only loss a heartrending defeat at the hands of USC . Wisconsin ' s defense completely shut down Ohio State QB Terrelle Pryor , holding him to a dismal 5 of 13 passing for 89 yards with a touchdown and an interception . Pryor was harried all game long and sacked repeatedly by the surprisingly effective Wisconsin defense . However , Wisconsin ' s offense was unable to capitalize on several trips into Ohio State territory , some of which got Wisconsin into the Ohio State red zone . Badger QB Scott Tolzien threw an interception to Kurt Coleman that Coleman would return for a touchdown , and on a later series , a tipped pass was intercepted by Ohio State ' s Jermale Hines and returned for another touchdown . Ohio State ' s final boost came from special teams , as KR Ray Small had a 96 yard kick return for a touchdown after a Wisconsin FG by Philip Welch . Wisconsin dominated Ohio State offensively ( with over 368 yards of total offense ) and defensively ( holding Ohio State to 184 yards of total offense ) , but failed repeatedly to capitalize on the opportunities Ohio State offered ; as Philip Welch missed a pair of field goals and Scott Tolzien failed to complete a pair of passes on 4th and long situations in the 4th quarter of the game . Wisconsin ' s missed opportunities , combined with the opportunistic Buckeye defense , saw the Badgers drop their first game of the year , 31 - 13 . The loss dropped Bret Bielema to 0 - 3 against Ohio State . Iowa . Iowa turned a 10 - 0 Wisconsin lead into a 20 - 10 Hawkeye advantage in the 4th quarter . While Wisconsin RB Montee Ball recorded his first career rushing touchdown at Wisconsin in the first quarter , Wisconsin wouldn ' t score another touchdown for the entirety of the game . RB John Clay was held in check by the Iowa defense , which stymied Wisconsin from the 1st quarter on . Iowa intercepted Wisconsin QB Scott Tolzien 3 times in the game to help turn their deficit into an eventual lead and win in Camp Randall . The loss extended Iowa ' s winning streak over Wisconsin to two games ( from the 2008 contest ) and kept Iowa undefeated at 7 - 0 . Wisconsin fell to 5 - 2 overall and 2 - 2 in the Big Ten , having lost both games to ranked conference opponents . Purdue . Purdue entered the game at 3 - 5 overall , with a 2 - 2 record in Big Ten play . Having upset Ohio State and defeated Illinois in back to back weeks , Purdue looked for their first win over Wisconsin since the 2003 season . Wisconsin entered after a bye week , having lost two games in a row . However , Wisconsin had perhaps its finest game of the season as the Badgers used a pair of touchdown runs by John Clay , a FG by Philip Welch , and a blocked punt returned for a touchdown by Aaron Henry to race off to a 24 - 0 lead at the half . Purdue QB Joey Elliott , who had played extremely well against Ohio State , was shaky in the pocket and completed just 5 of his 23 pass attempts to Purdue receivers ; he also threw an interception and was sacked twice . In the 2nd half , the Badgers protected their big lead with a pair of Philip Welch field goals and another touchdown run by John Clay . With the 37 - 0 win , Wisconsin moved above . 500 in Big Ten conference play at 3 - 2 . The Badgers ' s 6th win of the year clinched a bowl bid for the 9th consecutive season . Indiana . After a 37 - 0 defeat of the Purdue Boilermakers , Wisconsin was ranked for the first time since their loss to Ohio State . Poor secondary play by Wisconsin kept the Hoosiers in the game , missed opportunities for the Badgers once again hurt their offensive production , as the Badgers recorded just a touchdown off of two interceptions thrown by Indiana QB Ben Chappell . Indiana scored the first points of the game on a touchdown pass by Chappell to WR Tandon Doss . The Badgers answered with a touchdown drive of their own , as QB Scott Tolzien found receiver Isaac Anderson for a 18 yard touchdown pass . The next scoring drive of the game came in the 2nd quarter on a 26 yard FG by Philip Welch . A 1 yard TD run by RB Montee Ball gave the Badgers a run of 17 unanswered points , which Indiana snapped with a 46 yard touchdown pass from Chappell to Doss . Wisconsin countered with a 14 yard touchdown run by John Clay , and the Badgers led 24 - 14 at the end of the 1st half . A scoreless 3rd quarter followed , but in the 4th quarter , Indiana brought the game within 3 points on a 6 yard pass from Ben Chappell to WR Terrance Turner , making the score 24 - 21 in favor of Wisconsin . The Badgers once again answered with a touchdown drive , and Montee Ball found the endzone from 3 yards out to give Wisconsin a 31 - 21 lead . Not quite finished , Indiana scored another touchdown with just about 4 minutes remaining in the game . After a touchback on the ensuing kickoff , Wisconsin ran out the remaining 4 : 01 despite Indiana using all 3 of their timeouts . With the 31 - 28 win , Wisconsin moved to 7 - 2 on the year . Michigan . Michigan entered the game having lost 5 consecutive Big Ten games after a narrow 38 - 31 win over Indiana in their conference opener . The Wolverines thus needed a win over Wisconsin or Ohio State to make the required 6 wins for postseason play . Wisconsin , at 7 - 2 , was hardly going to let Michigan walk into the postseason , especially in light of the previous year ' s disastrous second half collapse in Ann Arbor and looked to continue Michigan ' s struggles against Big Ten opposition . In the first quarter , Scott Tolzien found TE Garrett Graham for a 22 yard touchdown pass to give Wisconsin a 7 - 0 lead . Michigan countered with a 21 yard touchdown pass from QB Tate Forcier to RB Vincent Smith . After a field goal attempt by Jason Olesnavage was blocked by J . J . Watt , the score was tied 7 - 7 at the end of the first quarter . Michigan intercepted Tolzien on the next series , however , and converted on their next FG attempt , making the score 10 - 7 in Michigan ' s favor in the 2nd quarter . Wisconsin drove down the field on the next drive and scored on a touchdown pass from Tolzien to WR Nick Toon , and Wisconsin took the lead 14 - 10 . On Wisconsin ' s next offensive series , however , Tolzien was sacked by DE Brandon Graham , and fumbled . Michigan DE Ryan Van Bergen returned the fumble 14 yards for a touchdown to give Michigan a 17 - 14 lead . But the Badgers refused to go away , using a 9 play , 75 yard drive capped off by a 1 yard touchdown run by John Clay to take the lead right back to Wisconsin , 21 - 17 . Wisconsin stopped Michigan QB Denard Robinson on a 4th and 6 from the Michigan 46 with 1 second remaining and led 21 - 17 at the end of the 1st half . In the 2nd half , Wisconsin marched down the field and scored on their first possession . Scott Tolzien completed a touchdown pass to Nick Toon , who made a highlight reel catch in the endzone despite defensive pass interference . Philip Welch converted the PAT and Wisconsin led 28 - 17 . Forcier led the Wolverines right back down the field and completed a 10 yard touchdown pass to WR Roy Roundtree , making the score 28 - 24 . However , that would be the last points Michigan would score in the game . Wisconsin answered Michigan ' s long drive with one of their own , and Tolzien capped off the drive by finding TE Lance Kendricks on a 7 yard touchdown pass to give Wisconsin a 35 - 24 lead . In the 4th quarter , Forcier was intercepted by Wisconsin CB Niles Brinkley and Wisconsin capitalized on a 10 play , 60 yard drive topped off by a 1 yard touchdown run by Scott Tolzien , making the score 42 - 24 . Wisconsin forced a Zoltan Mesko punt on the next series , and used a 15 play , 60 yard drive that lasted 8 : 08 . Philip Welch converted a 28 yard attempt , and Wisconsin led 45 - 24 . On Michigan ' s final drive of the game , Denard Robinson drove the Wolverines into Wisconsin territory , but again failed to convert a 4th down and the Wolverines turned the ball over with 1 second remaining in the game . Wisconsin ran it out , and won their 8th game of the year . Wisconsin ' s 21 - point win over Michigan was the biggest in series history by the Badgers , who have won 3 consecutive home games against the Wolverines for the first time in school history . Season summary . After a disastrous 7 - 6 campaign in 2008 , Bret Bielema would need significant improvements from his team if he was going to remain secure in his position as head coach . For the second time in Bielema ' s tenure as head coach , the Badgers were unranked entering the season ( they were also not ranked before the 2006 season ) . Wisconsin once again had an unsettled quarterback situation , as only Dustin Sherer had seen significant playing time the previous season . It would be Redshirt Junior QB Scott Tolzien who surprisingly won the starting job from Sherer . Tolzien led Wisconsin to a 5 - 0 start with wins over Northern Illinois , Fresno State , Wofford , Michigan State , and Minnesota . With their fast start , the Badgers then traveled to Ohio State , and the Wisconsin defense made Ohio State ' s offense miserable for 4 quarters . However , miscues on offense and special teams allowed the Buckeyes to return both of Tolzien ' s interceptions for touchdowns and return a kick for a touchdown . Wisconsin fell to 5 - 1 with their first loss , but the impressive defensive performance was cause for optimism . The very next week , the Badgers returned home and suffered a baffling 20 - 10 loss to the rival Iowa Hawkeyes in the confines of Camp Randall Stadium , which dropped them to 5 - 2 overall . After back - to - back losses to Ohio State and Iowa , both of which would go to and win BCS bowls in 2009 , the Badgers faced Purdue , who they squashed 37 - 0 for their first shut - out in Big Ten play under Bret Bielema . Wisconsin won a very close game against Indiana ( 31 - 28 ) , and went on to hand Michigan their worst loss in the series between Wisconsin and Michigan , 45 - 24 . With the win over Michigan , Wisconsin improved to 8 - 2 . But in their final game in Big Ten play , the Badgers suffered a stunning 33 - 31 loss at the hands of the Northwestern Wildcats , dropping them behind Northwestern in the conference standings ( both teams finished 5 - 3 in Big Ten play ) . In the final regular season game of the season , Wisconsin smashed Hawaii 51 - 10 to improve to 9 - 3 . In their final game of 2009 , the Badgers were matched up against a higher - ranked and favored Miami Hurricanes football team . The Badgers defeated Miami 20 - 14 for their 10th win of 2009 , and their first bowl win since the 2006 season . The Badgers finished with the 5th best rushing defense in FBS , and the best run defense in the Big Ten . Wisconsin running back John Clay finished with 1 , 517 yards rushing and 18 touchdowns , winning Big Ten Player of the Year Honors .