BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- It's November in the Big Ten Conference, though it was hard to tell from the sunny skies and balmy 64 degree temperature at kickoff Saturday at Memorial Stadium.

But even if Mother Nature didn't play along -- other than a tricky wind that caused some problems -- one thing about football in the conference hasn't changed.

The formula for success this time of year is to run the ball on offense and stop the run on defense.

That's what the University of Wisconsin continued to do in a less-than-artistic 31-28 victory over Indiana.

"It got us a win today," coach Bret Bielema said. "I know we don't get style points, but the way I understand it, our conference leader took a dive. That kind of opens things up."

The Badgers improved to 7-2 overall and 4-2 in a conference race that got more jumbled after Iowa lost its first game -- and its quarterback -- against Northwestern.

That got UW back on the fringe of the title chase and also shows what it must continue to do the rest of the way.

The Badgers rushed for 294 yards, controlled the clock for 33 minutes, 45 seconds and held the tough-luck Hoosiers (4-6, 1-5) to 63 rushing yards.

UW is 6-0 this season when rushing for at least 150 yards and managed to reach that mark without starting tailback John Clay in the second half. Clay rushed for 134 yards on 15 carries -- an average of 8.9 -- but didn't play in the second half due to a slight concussion.

"A lot of people want to say the Big Ten has kind of shifted toward more of a spread attack," UW quarterback Scott Tolzien said. "In those big games that's what it comes down to, teams that can run the ball and stop the run. That's where it all begins."

Having said that, it also helps to make a big play or two in the passing game. And maybe hold the opposing team to less than 300 passing yards.

The Badgers managed the first part but not the second. Tolzien threw for 194 yards as UW had a season-high 488 total yards, including two huge fourth-quarter completions to Nick Toon.

But Indiana quarterback Ben Chappell carved up UW's defense, completing 25 of 35 passes for 323 yards and three interceptions.

"Their quarterback was on," Bielema said. "We really tried to emphasize not giving up the deep ball and then you gave up some intermediate digs.

"I thought our defense, again, did what (it) had to do to win today. In my opinion, that's one of the best offenses in the league. For what they do, they are very, very good."

The Hoosiers deserve credit for not buckling, especially after falling behind 24-14 at halftime, on the heels of brutal back-to-back losses in which they blew fourth-quarter leads.

"We challenged them (at halftime), we have to go to battle," Indiana coach Bill Lynch said. "That's exactly what we did. A year ago, we played them in a similar situation and the second half was a completely different story."

The Badgers led 24-20 at halftime here last year, then rolled to a 55-20 win with 441 rushing yards.

They were held to a single second-half touchdown this time, though it was a big one. Indiana drew within 24-21 on a 6-yard touchdown pass from Chappell to Terrance Turner with 12 minutes left.

Tolzien answered with a 44-yard completion to Toon, setting up a 3-yard touchdown run by Montee Ball, who filled in capably for Clay. Ball had 27 carries for 115 yards, including 85 in the second half.

Even after making it 31-21 with 8:18 to play, the UW offense had to do even more because the defense couldn't stop Chappell. After holding Purdue to 81 passing yards a week earlier, UW's pass defense regressed.

The Hoosiers had eight pass completions of 15 yards or more, including three of 30 or more. Cornerback Niles Brinkley was beaten for completions of 33 and 46 yards, two plays apart, in the second quarter. The latter was a touchdown by Tandon Doss in which Brinkley had position but did a poor job playing the ball.

The second half was more of the same. "I knew at halftime, if I was them, I'd go back to the same thing," Bielema said.

Still, the Badgers were able to hold on. Leading by three, they got the ball back with 4:01 remaining and ran out the clock. "It feels good, to grind that out," Bielema said.

Ball did most of the grinding with eight carries for 30 yards. Yet, it took a 17-yard completion to Toon on third-and-8 to keep Indiana's offense off the field. Toon reached back to make a nice catch, showing it takes more than a good running game, even this time of year.

"Wisconsin is a run-based school," Toon said. "Obviously, I love to catch the ball, that's my job and that's what I do. When the running backs are having success and we're winning games, I'm perfectly fine with them running the ball. But any time I can get a ball coming my way, that's good, too."

Related

• Staff predictions: UW football at Indiana
• Ball answers bell for Badgers

Login to post your comment. If you don't have an account, you may register for one.