NIU suffers worst loss in 9 years

MADISON, Wis. -- Wisconsin preached about playing with passion after two straight losses derailed its season. P.J. Hill pounded home the point -- and got the stitches to boot.

Hill ran for 184 yards and 2 touchdowns as the Badgers went back to their power running game in a 44-3 victory Saturday over Northern Illinois.

Hill could have quit at halftime after taking a helmet to his knee that opened a cut needing stitches. Instead, he returned for 6 more carries in the second half, including his second touchdown.

"I just had to finish off my game," Hill said. "I just love the game so much. I want to have fun, so I put myself (back) out there."

Hill, a sophomore, reached the 1,000-yard mark for the second straight season in his best performance since a career-high 249 yards against Northwestern last year.

Wisconsin (6-2) won its 12th straight at home and handed the Huskies (1-7) their worst loss in nine years after dropping back-to-back games on the road to Illinois and Penn State.

"We got those two losses out of us," right guard Kraig Urbik said. "Now, we're back on track."

Once ranked fifth in the nation and a favorite to win the Big Ten, Wisconsin is now just a longshot for the conference crown with big games left against No. 1 Ohio State and No. 24 Michigan.

The Badgers finally put together a complete game after defensive lapses and turnovers cost them their national ranking following a 5-0 start.

"We emphasized all week to our guys to play with some passion," Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema said. "Some of the things that I think we lost over the last couple of weeks was just our overall intensity and the way we went about our business."

On Wisconsin's opening possession, Tyler Donovan found Garrett Graham for a 25-yard touchdown pass to cap a nine-play drive. On the Badgers' next offensive play, Hill broke a career-long 72-yard run to make it 14-0.

"He's a fast dude," said Chris Pressley, who had his first career touchdown on a 10-yard run on first play of the second quarter to make it 21-0. "He's a big guy, but he's fast."

Hill, who had 21 carries, has scored at least 1 touchdown in 17 of his 21 career games. He also knew going into the game his workload would be limited.

"Coach told me I was going to get like 15, 20 carries today," Hill said. "I had that in my head, so I was just going out there and playing every snap hard."

Ninth on the school's all-time rushing list, he surpassed the 2,500-yard plateau for his career on the last carry of the first quarter, a 7-yard effort.

Lance Smith scored on a 9-yard TD run midway through the second quarter to give the Badgers a 28-0 lead. When the Huskies got the ball back, the Badgers had outgained them 226-1 at that point.

"The big backs wouldn't go down," Huskies defensive end Larry English said.

The Huskies, losers of four straight, suffered their worst defeat since a 73-7 setback at Kansas State in 1998 and didn't get a first down until just more than a minute to play in the first half.

Shane Carter had 2 interceptions for the Badgers, the second coming early in the second half to set up Hill's 1-yard TD run that made it 38-0.

"We had fun today," cornerback Allen Langford said. "Coach Bielema stressed that all week, to just go out there and play football the way we've been playing ever since we were little kids."

It wasn't much fun for the Huskies, who got their only points trailing 41-0 when Chris Nendick hit a 34-yard field goal.

Justin Anderson, who came in as the nation's ninth leading rusher with five straight 100-yard games for the Huskies, had 14 yards on 13 carries. Wisconsin gained 331 yards on 55 carries, compared to minus 13 yards on 18 carries for Northern Illinois.

"Justin didn't have a chance," Huskies coach Joe Novak said. "Honestly, unless we're playing LSU, I think we can run some."

They couldn't, and it didn't help that they lost freshman running back Ricky Crider on the game's first play. Novak said Crider broke both bones in his left leg covering the kickoff. He was taken off the field in an ambulance.

Starting quarterback Dan Nicholson, who missed last week's game with a sprained right ankle, also missed the second half after Novak said he was "knocked silly."

Backup Ryan Morris finished 3 of 8 for 68 yards after Nicholson went 9 of 17 for 44 yards.

Northern Illinois has had 13 starters and 20 players on the depth chart miss at least one game due to injury. Eight of those players are out for the season.

"Everybody has injuries, and we've really had more than our share this year," Novak said.