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Instant recap: Indiana 31, Wisconsin 7

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Charlie Becker celebrates a touchdown catch.

Quick thoughts on IU football’s 31-7 win against Wisconsin at Memorial Stadium in front of 55,042 fans:

Three key plays in IU’s win

Charlie Becker picks up where he left off against Penn State

With Elijah Sarratt still sidelined with a hamstring injury, sophomore wide receiver Charlie Becker stepped up again on Saturday afternoon.

The Nashville, Tennessee, native hauled in a 31-yard pass from Fernando Mendoza to open the scoring for the Hoosiers against the Badgers. It capped off a nine-play, 72-yard drive over 4:25 midway through the first quarter.

The touchdown catch was the second of the season for Becker, who had seven catches and 118 receiving yards last weekend in IU’s win at Penn State.

Hoosiers open second half with second touchdown

After leading just 10-7 at halftime, Indiana got some breathing room with its first drive of the second half.

A 48-yard completion to Becker set the Hoosiers up deep in Badger territory and Mendoza finished the nine-play, 75-yard drive with a touchdown pass to Holden Staes.

Nicolas Radicic connected on the extra point to extend the IU lead to 17-7 at the 10:19 mark of the third quarter.

Stephen Daley’s forced fumble sets up Mendoza’s third passing touchdown

Indiana delivered a knockout blow to the Badgers when Stephen Daley forced Wisconsin quarterback Carter Smith with 4:52 left in the third quarter. Hosea Wheeler recovered the fumble at the IU 21.

On the next play, Mendoza found tight end Riley Nowakowski for a 21-yard touchdown pass, which put the Hoosiers up three scores.

At that point, Mendoza was 16-for-18 with 228 passing yards.

Offensive standouts

Mendoza is now the single-season IU football record holder in touchdown passes. His four touchdown passes on Saturday brought his total to 30 this season, passing the previous record of 29 set last season by Kurtis Rourke.

He completed 22 of 24 passes for 299 yards and had a quarterback rating of 251.3.

Becker caught five passes for 108 yards and a touchdown. E.J. Williams had five receptions for 52 yards, Riley Nowakowski had four catches for 65 yards and a touchdown and Omar Cooper Jr. had three receptions for 39 yards and a touchdown.

Roman Hemby carried 14 times for 58 rushing yards.

Defensive standouts

Stephen Daley had three tackles for a loss and a forced fumble. Devan Boykin had an interception in the fourth quarter.

IU’s senior leader on defense, Aiden Fisher, led the team with seven tackles.

The IU defense held the Badgers to just 168 total yards. Wisconsin did not score in the second half.

What’s next for the Hoosiers

Indiana will be back in action on Friday, November 28, against Purdue at Ross-Ade Stadium. The 2-8 Boilermakers, winless in the Big Ten, play at Washington tonight. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC.

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