Wisconsin 24, USC 7: Badgers win the ground game and the turnover battle

Wisconsin beat No. 16 USC 24-7 on Saturday at Camp Randall Stadium. The Badgers took the Trojans' run game away and did not give the ball back.

USC finished with minus-17 rushing yards. It threw two interceptions. Wisconsin had zero turnovers. Total yardage was nearly even, 204 for USC and 201 for Wisconsin, so the result came down to who could run the ball and who protected it.

Wisconsin moves to 5-2. USC falls to 6-2. The Trojans came in off a 31-23 win at Penn State, and the Badgers came in off a 17-7 loss at UCLA.

How it was won

Gavin Lahm opened the scoring with a 33-yard field goal at 7:20 of the first quarter. USC answered at 9:44 of the second when Jayden Maiava found T. Tupou for a 4-yard touchdown, and C. Chittenden's kick made it 7-3.

That was all the scoring USC would manage. Bryan Jackson II ran 5 yards for a touchdown with 1:51 left in the half, and Wisconsin led 10-7 at the break.

The Badgers pulled away in the second half. Colton Joseph hit Chris Brooks Jr. for a 16-yard touchdown at 9:21 of the third quarter. R. Schwendeman added a 1-yard touchdown run at 5:02 of the fourth. Lahm converted every extra point.

Wisconsin barely threw. Joseph went 12 of 14 for 58 yards and the score to Brooks, whose only catch was the touchdown. Eugene Hilton Jr. led the Badgers with 3 catches for 18 yards. The offense ran through Abu Sama III, who had 71 yards on 17 carries, and Jackson, who added 38 yards on 7 carries. Wisconsin rushed for 143 yards and held the ball for 31:55.

USC put the game on Maiava, who threw 43 times. He completed 27 for 221 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. Trent Mosley caught 5 passes for 45 yards and Tanook Hines caught 4 for 44. The ground game never got going. Shahn Alston had 28 yards on 7 carries, and King Miller had 8 yards on 11.

USC led in first downs, 19 to 16, and both teams converted six third downs: USC went 6 of 13 and Wisconsin 6 of 12. The difference was that USC's drives either stalled or ended in turnovers, while Wisconsin turned three second-half possessions into 14 points.

Against the number

USC closed as a 1.5-point favorite. Wisconsin covered by winning outright, by 17.

The moneyline closed at USC -125 and Wisconsin +105, so the home side paid as the underdog.

The total closed at 50.5. The teams combined for 31 points, and the under cleared by 19.5. Two offenses that each finished near 200 yards never threatened the number. USC's 7 points were its lowest output of the season by 14. Its previous low was 21 against Washington.

The closing prices and full market history are on the game page.

What's next

The next opponents for both teams were not in the schedule information available for this recap. We will post prices for each team's next game once the market opens.

For Wisconsin, this is the second win over a ranked opponent this season, after the 24-20 win at No. 13 Penn State. The Badgers' two losses came against ranked teams, No. 4 Notre Dame and No. 12 UCLA.

For USC, this is the second loss, after a 41-27 defeat against No. 20 Oregon. The run game will be the question. Minus-17 yards on the ground put the full load on Maiava, and Wisconsin's defense made him pay for it twice.