Colton Joseph passed for three touchdowns and scored on a 47-yard run to lead Wisconsin to a convincing 31-3 victory over Michigan State on Saturday in Madison, Wis.
Joseph completed 9 of 20 passes for 145 yards and ran for 141 yards on 13 carries. He connected with Jacob Harris on first-quarter touchdown passes of 20 and 15 yards to put the Badgers in front 14-0.
Joseph is a senior transfer from Old Dominion who was the Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Year. He passed for 2,624 yards and ran for 1,007 last season but had managed just 121 yards on the ground through Wisconsin’s first four games.
Wisconsin (4-1, 2-0 Big Ten) has won four straight games since a 41-13 loss to third-ranked Notre Dame in the season opener. The Badgers had a 373-235 advantage in total yards, including 228 yards on the ground at 5.4 yards per carry.
Michigan State (2-3, 0-2) dropped its third consecutive game. The Spartans lost leading rusher Cam Edwards with a season-ending knee injury last week against Nebraska, and senior linebacker Jordan Hall (ankle) did not play versus Wisconsin.
Wisconsin scored on its opening drive, marching 75 yards in 13 plays, capped by Joseph’s 20-yard touchdown pass to Harris. The Badgers ran for 53 yards, with Joseph picking up 39 yards on four carries.
The Spartans turned it over on a fourth-down incompletion on the ensuing possession and the Badgers went 59 yards in five plays. Joseph hit a wide-open Harris deep right for a 15-yard score.
Linebacker Cooper Catalano halted Michigan State’s next drive, batting down a pass on fourth-and-2 from the Wisconsin 24. The Badgers responded with a 64-yard drive, capped by Gavin Lahm’s 30-yard field goal to make it 17-0 with 3:56 left in the half.
Liam Boyd’s 31-yard field goal just before the half made it 17-3. A pass interference call against Wisconsin on a fourth-down incompletion kept the drive alive.
Michigan State again was stopped on fourth-down to open the third quarter and three plays later Joseph shook loose on a 47-yard touchdown run to put the Badgers up 24-3.
Joseph connected with Malachi Coleman, wide open behind the secondary, on a 46-yard scoring pass midway through the fourth quarter.
