Minus Hill, Badgers run away with it

MADISON, Wis. -- Everything went exactly right for Wisconsin until P.J. Hill limped off.

No worries. Lance Smith and freshman Zach Brown kept the Badgers running wild.

"Unfortunately, P.J. got hurt, but me and Lance had to pick it up, and I'm glad we did it," Brown said.

Smith and Brown combined for 3 touchdowns after Hill left, helping Wisconsin to a 33-3 victory Saturday over Indiana and extending the Badgers' home winning streak to 13 games.

"Nothing really changed," Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema said of his game plan after his feature back departed.

Hill, the nation's ninth-leading rusher at 126.1 yards per game, scored a touchdown and ran for 57 yards on 12 carries before leaving less than 12 minutes into the game. Bielema said X-rays on Hill's left foot were negative and Hill was kept out of the game as a precaution with a bruise.

Wisconsin (7-2, 3-2 Big Ten) plays at No. 1 Ohio State next.

The Badgers were determined not to let Indiana (5-4, 2-4) run its explosive spread offense, and the Hoosiers had their worst output of the season after coming in averaging 35.4 points. Much-maligned during a two-game losing streak, the Badgers' defense has allowed a total of 6 points and 357 yards in the last two weeks, both easy victories.

"We started real fast and just kept it going," linebacker Jonathan Casillas said. "We've been having difficulty against the spread all year. It was up to us on the defensive side of the ball to step up. We can't just keep getting beat by one thing."

Indiana, with a three-game losing streak, is still a win away from becoming bowl eligible for the first time since 1993, the longest drought in the Big Ten. The Hoosiers had 5 turnovers, including 3 lost fumbles.

"You can't do that," Indiana coach Bill Lynch said. "That wasn't the difference in the game today, but it certainly takes away any opportunity you have of catching up."

Indiana appeared to finally get a break in the third quarter while trailing 17-3 when Marcus Thigpen broke an 84-yard touchdown run, but wide receiver James Hardy was flagged for holding.

Hardy, Indiana's all-time leader in TD catches with 31, immediately began pleading his case to the officials, while Thigpen got an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for his meaningless celebration in the end zone.

"It wasn't holding. The coaches on the sidelines told me it wasn't holding," Hardy said. "There were a couple of calls like that I was skeptical about."

Indiana, instead of trailing 17-10, ended up back on its own 12 and punted two plays later.

"We didn't bounce back from that very well," Lynch said.

Smith, suspended for the Badgers' road games because of an altercation with a girlfriend earlier this year, scored on the ensuing possession on a 6-yard run to make it 24-3 and added a 19-yard touchdown with 2:07 left to cap scoring.

"Lance has continued to make ground," Bielema said. "I know it's frustrating for him because of the situation he is in."

Wisconsin, which had the ball nearly 11 minutes more than Indiana, improved to 36-1 since 1998 when holding an advantage of at least 9 minutes.

The Badgers, who had 279 yards rushing on 55 carries, opened the game using their power running attack with seven straight carries among three backs before the drive stalled and Taylor Mehlhaff kicked a 41-yard field goal.

But the Badgers went exclusively to Hill on their next possession and he ran 10 times on the 11-play drive, including four straight at the goal line, scoring on fourth down inside the 1 to make it 10-0.

After the score, Hill, who has at least one touchdown in 18 of his 22 career games, hobbled to the sideline and did not return.

It didn't matter much since Indiana's potent offense never got started.

Before their first offensive snap, the Hoosiers called a timeout because they only had 10 men on the field, then Kellen Lewis misfired badly on his first attempt to Hardy, his favorite target and Indiana went three-and-out.

"The way our offense went today, I don't think that play would have worked too well with only 10 on the field the way we were struggling with 11," Lewis said.

The Hoosiers committed one of their five turnovers on their next possession, and Lewis continued to have problems. He finished 17-of-33 for 113 yards and 59 yards rushing, but he threw two interceptions and fumbled. Hardy managed only four catches for 17 yards and had a fumble of his own.

Wisconsin, which played with a short field most of the first half, took advantage a minute into the second quarter when Brown scored his first career touchdown from the 6 to make it 17-0.

Tyler Donovan, 12-of-21 for 144 yards, also hurt the Badgers, fumbling once and throwing a pass in the end zone that cornerback Tracy Porter easily intercepted. Indiana converted that turnover into its first and only points when Austin Starr kicked a 49-yard field goal to make it 17-3 just before the half.

But the Hoosiers never got closer.

"It's frustrating right now because it's a loss. Each week we can't be thinking about the losses before. We've still got three games left," Hardy said. "We can't quit."