Three Sack First-Half Fuels Wisconsin Badgers as team trails Tough #2 Indiana

The Wisconsin Badgers are still within striking distance of the second-ranked team in college football after the first-half of play in Bloomington.

Entering the season, the Wisconsin players and staff alike acknowledged the fact that the team has an unusually strong schedule that could pose issues. However, becoming a top team requires a certain level of difficulty within the schedule and the Badgers were more than willing to take the challenges.

With a 3-6 record, Wisconsin has played significantly better football over the course of the last two games. A tough two-score loss to Oregon in Eugene saw multiple young players start to become a larger part of the team. Then, a 13-10 win over the Washington Huskies, who had been ranked, proved that Wisconsin had the ability to hang with top teams when playing their best football.

Wisconsin Badgers’ Defense Keeps Indiana Hoosiers Clash Close After a Half of Play

In the first-half of play, the defense again was responsible for keeping the game close and preventing the Hoosiers from breaking the score wide open. Indiana has been known to be an explosive, big-play driven team this season and getting into a defensive dogfight is exactly what the Badgers needed to do.

Linebacker Mason Posa recorded an important first-half sack to extend his current streak to 3.5 sacks across the last two games. Posa, a true freshman, has been an absolute force for Wisconsin this season since earning a significant chunk of playing time. Alongside Posa has been Cooper Catalano, another successful young gun the Badgers’ staff is thankful to have.

Darryl Peterson recorded 1.5 sacks for the Badgers’ defense in the first-half which is more than double his previous season total. Peterson had just one sack heading into the game, but has been virtually unblockable for Wisconsin when blitzing against the Hoosiers.

Mason Reiger was responsible for assisting Peterson on one of his sacks, which now moves his season total up to four sacks. Reiger is currently a sack away from tying his career-high, which occurred two seasons ago, and two sacks away from breaking his own record. The defender has recorded or assisted a sack in three straight games now for Wisconsin.