Gordon, No. 19 Wisconson whallop Bowling Green
MADISON, Wis. — Melvin Gordon rushed for career highs of 253 yards and five touchdowns, and No. 19 Wisconsin ran for a Big Ten-record 644 yards to trample Bowling Green for a 68-17 victory Saturday.
Gordon had 179 yards and four scores by halftime alone before dashing for a 69-yard touchdown on his first carry of the second half. He silenced any doubters worried about his 38-yard outing the previous game.
The Badgers (2-1) forced two turnovers on back-to-back possessions by the Falcons (2-2) in the first half to break open a close game.
Gordon capitalized each time with scores before closing the half with a 21-yard touchdown run for the highlight reel.
The team rushing total was the most in the Big Ten's modern era, dating back to 1946.
The only drama left in the second half was whether Gordon would eclipse the school's single-game rushing record of 339 set by Ron Dayne in 1996.
But the junior's day ended after his 13th carry with about 12 minutes to go in the third quarter. Talented backup Corey Clement took over and added two rushing touchdowns in the second half.
Clement finished with 111 yards on 16 carries, while quarterback Tanner McEvoy had 158 yards rushing on 11 attempts before departing late in the third quarter with Wisconsin leading by 52.
Fresh off a bye week, the Badgers put together a dominating, all-around performance to squash Bowling Green's hopes for a second straight victory against a Big Ten team.
The Falcons beat Indiana last week behind a fast-paced offense that ran a dizzying 113 plays.
Two Wisconsin fumbles in the first half and terrific play by Bowling Green receivers had the visitors dreaming briefly about an upset.
Roger Lewis' one-handed grab down the sideline for a 36-yard gain on a perfectly thrown ball from James Knapke helped set up a 28-yard field goal by Tyler Tate to cut Wisconsin's lead to 14-10 with 1:01 left in the first quarter.
Bowling Green had Wisconsin defenders on their heels again driving to the 8 early in the second quarter to answer a Wisconsin touchdown.
But Knapke's third-down pass was tipped by linebacker Derek Landisch and intercepted in the end zone by Lubern Figaro, who returned it 43 yards.
The Badgers were off to the races from there.
Gordon took three straight handoffs, carrying the third one 50 yards to the end zone.
On the 21-yard touchdown, Gordon broke two tackles, sidestepped another Falcon and outraced yet another defender into the front corner of the end zone to make it 41-10 at halftime.
And to think, Gordon's day started with a fumble — the first of his career, spanning 322 carries.
Among the marks set or tied Saturday by Wisconsin:
—Gordon became the sixth Badger to score five touchdowns in a game, and the first since P.J. Hill in 2007.
—Gordon's 19.5 yards per carry set a record for a Badger with at least 10 attempts.
—The offense amassed a school-record 756 yards.
—McEvoy set the single-game Wisconsin record for yards rushing by a quarterback.
McEvoy, making his third career start, finished 9 of 16 passing for 112 yards, with one interception and a touchdown.
Fred Coppet had a 35-yard touchdown run for Bowling Green.