BY ANDY BAGGOT
UWBadgers.com Insider
MADISON, Wis. — The numbers made Wisconsin junior left tackle Ryan Ramczyk grin broadly through a bushy, unkempt beard.
UW had just pulverized Illinois 48-3 in a Big Ten Conference encounter at Camp Randall Stadium on Saturday and several statistics were hard to ignore.
The seventh-ranked Badgers ran the ball 64 times, their most in a game since 2012, on the way to their fourth-consecutive victory.
They amassed 363 yards on the ground, easily the high water mark of the year, in the process of winning their seventh straight in the series with Illinois.
They had two 100-yard rushers in a game — senior tailbacks Corey Clement (123) and Dare Ogunbowale (103) — for the first time since the 2014 season.
They hogged the ball for 42 minutes, 3 seconds, the most in a game since 2009.
"It was really fun to be able to run the ball a lot," Ramczyk said.
It's been a while since Wisconsin (8-2 overall, 5-2 in the Big Ten) had an outing like this.
Fueled by four interceptions, the offense was a season-best 8-for-8 converting in the red zone and its third-down conversion mark (7-for-13, .538) was second-best out of the first 10 games.
The result was a rare one-sided decision for a club that has had its share of stomach-churners. Consider some of the fourth-quarter realities for the Badgers through the first nine games.
They trailed LSU 14-13, Georgia State 17-13 and Ohio State 20-16.
They were tied with Michigan 7-7 and Nebraska 17-17.
They led Iowa 14-6 and Northwestern 13-7.
Four of those opponents — LSU, Ohio State, Michigan and Nebraska — were ranked in the Associated Press' top 10 at the time of the meeting.
This time UW carried a cozy 34-3 advantage into the fourth quarter and watched as its reserves closed things out with a flourish against the Illini (3-7, 2-5).
"It felt kind of weird to be in that position," redshirt freshman left guard Jon Dietzen said.
But it felt good and fortified the psyche of the Badgers, who lamented this week about having a small margin for error even though they control their destiny in the Big Ten West Division.
"It helps a lot," Ogunbowale said after his second 100-yard outing of the season and fifth of his career.
"Being in different types of games is important for us. Obviously we've had some close nail-biter games that went to the wire, but also being able to be ahead and make sure we continue to execute, continue to have an edge every play. I think that's big for us."
Clement helped fuel the romp, equaling a career high with three touchdown runs and catching a 24-yard pass that set up another touchdown.
It marked the fourth time in the last five games that Clement has topped 100 yards rushing in a game. He was sitting on 319 yards overall after four outings. Now he has 928 and at least three games to surpass 1,000 yards for the first time in his career.
"I've kicked into a different mindset as to not let this team down in any circumstances whether it's in the pass, run game or blocking," Clement said.
On a day that Clement moved closer to becoming the 17th back in school history to reach 1,000 yards for a season, he also attempted his first pass.
It didn't go well.
With time winding down in the first period and the Badgers already up 21-3, Clement took a first-down pitchout from senior quarterback Bart Houston and angled toward right end from the Illinois 43.
Clement stopped and turned to throw the ball to Houston in the left flat and didn't like what he saw.
The Illini were in their cover two defense, which meant Houston was accounted for by a defender.
"I didn't want to lead my quarterback into smoke," Clement said, referring to a collision. "I tried to hit him on the back shoulder, but Bart slipped."
Houston tumbled awkwardly to the turf trying to catch the pass, which fell incomplete.
"That was one of our go-tos throughout practice this week," Clement said of the play he called a Truck Pass. "It looked way better in practice. Way, way better."
The robust UW running game this day can be traced to a recent development on the offensive line. After sifting through a half-dozen combinations during the first seven games — dictated by health and performance — offensive line coach Joe Rudolph has used the same five starters for the last three outings.
"Us — as a unit — and the backs have really been trusting the process the last few games and that shows," Ramczyk said.
"There definitely is a correlation," Dietzen said. "The chemistry we've got going with these five guys is really good.
"We know we can count on each other. The backs can count on us and we can count on the backs. More so than just chemistry, there's trust between us and the backs."
A similar development with the offensive line took place late last season when a specific unit was settled upon in November.
"We knew, just as last year, that the (offensive) line was going to grow as the season went along," Ogunbowale said. "They're doing just that. "The running backs are being able to kind of find a rhythm within, a connection within, and it's been fun to be a part of.
"It's just being in the flow and being comfortable."
Rudolph, a former All-Big Ten offensive lineman, preaches small improvements every week.
"That's kind of what we've been priding ourselves on," Ramczyk said.
Clement said Ramcyzk set the tone for the game when he scrawled a quote on the meeting room white board earlier this week.
"Whether you think you can do it, or whether you think you can't do it, you're right," Clement recalled. "That was a powerful message that he shared with us. I think everybody lived by it and executed it today."
