As statements go, this one was blunt, delivered with the subtlety of a punch to the jaw.

The University of Wisconsin football coaches didn't think Purdue's defense could stop the run when the Badgers went to their "heavy" personnel. That was something UW coach Bret Bielema talked about with offensive coordinator Paul Chryst and offensive line coach Bob Bostad during game planning.

In all the tapes the UW coaches watched, Bielema said there were only 11 or 12 plays where they saw opponents line up with two running backs and two tight ends against the Boilermakers.

So, that's the lineup the Badgers put on the field to start the game. It turned out Purdue couldn't stop it.

The Badgers marched down the field for a touchdown, going 80 yards on 11 straight runs, setting the desired tone in their 37-0 pounding of the Boilermakers.

"That was a big statement," UW quarterback Scott Tolzien said of the first drive. "They knew it's a heavy run personnel (formation). We knew it. We were able to just stay on our blocks. It just proves, if you're on your assignments and you execute your stuff, there's no stopping it."

Tailback John Clay carried eight times for 34 yards on the drive. Backup Montee Ball had one carry for 13 yards. The changeup was tight end Lance Kendricks, who two carries for 31 yards on end-arounds.

In fact, the drive started with Tolzien faking a handoff to Clay, then giving to Kendricks for a 21-yard gain.

"We ran that one time last year with Travis (Beckum)," said senior Mickey Turner, who either lined up at fullback or tight end in the formation. "When coach Chryst saw what kind of defense they were running, he saw we could bring it back.

"It was great for us, kind of switches things up. You've got John going up the inside and Lance coming around the outside, you don't really know what to do."

That play was so effective, Kendricks ran it four times for 91 yards. He also opened the second half for UW with a 54-yard run to set up Clay's third touchdown run.

"I told him, he can have all the yards, he can get down to the 5 any time and I'll take the touchdown," Clay said.

Kendricks had not run the ball since his high school days at Milwaukee King. But he was briefly threatening Clay for the team rushing lead. Clay finished with 24 carries for 123 yards.

"I was actually trying to beat out Clay," Kendricks said. "We had a competition going."

Using Kendricks as a counter to Clay allowed the Badgers to stay in the formation as long as they wanted.

"The self-scout would probably say, we get in that personnel, we're just going to pound it with the power game," Tolzien said. "After we hit a few of those (with Kendricks), it kept the defense honest and opened up some holes."

Kendricks even showed some running back moves on the long run. Running to his left, he stiff-armed linebacker Joe Holland in the backfield, then made free safety Torri Williams miss before taking off down the sidelines. Strong safety Dwight Mclean finally pulled Kendricks down from behind at the Purdue 4-yard line.

"When he broke a couple tackles, you kind of saw that old kick returner, punt returner he used to play in high school come out of him," Turner said.

"He came over to the sideline and Garrett (Graham) and I kind of looked at him, `Where did you get those burners?' He goes, `Hey, man, I'm faster with the ball.' "

Related

• Running away with things: Wisconsin 37, Purdue 0

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