MADISON, Wis. — Montee Ball ran for three touchdowns in his first career start, replacing injured running back John Clay, and Scott Tolzien threw for three more as No. 6 Wisconsin routed Indiana 83-20 on Saturday.
Wisconsin (9-1, 5-1) put up the most points by an FBS school this season and matched the highest scoring total by a team in a Big Ten conference game since Ohio State's 83-21 victory over Iowa in 1950.
It was the most points for the Badgers since an 85-0 win over in-state rival Marquette in 1915.
Ball ran for 167 yards and freshman James White added 144 yards and two scores in place of Clay, who missed the first game of his career after spraining his right knee in last Saturday's win at Purdue.
Indiana (4-6, 0-6) kept it close for a quarter, but quarterback and team leader Ben Chappell left late in the first half favoring his left knee and hip.
Wisconsin is hoping to go to the Rose Bowl for the first time since 2000, and certainly made a statement with its eye-popping performance.
If the Badgers, Michigan State and Ohio State all win out, the Big Ten representative will be the highest-ranked team in the BCS ratings. Wisconsin was two spots ahead of the Buckeyes and four up over the Spartans going into Saturday's action.
Wisconsin was back at home for the first time since beating then-No. 1 Ohio State on Oct. 16, and the Badgers picked right up where they left off at Camp Randall Stadium.
Wisconsin scored on all 12 possessions beginning when Ball carried the ball five straight times for 50 yards to make it 7-0 on a 1-yard TD run.
Indiana managed to tie it at 7-7 and again at 10-10 on a 2-yard TD pass from Chappell to Tandon Doss in the first quarter and Mitch Ewald's 48-yard field goal early in the second.
But Indiana never found a way to stop the Badgers, who scored four times in the final 9:27 of the first half beginning with another 1-yard TD run by Ball that made it 17-10.
On Wisconsin's next possession, Ball's first run went for 36 yards and White scored on the next play from the 30 as the offensive line opened huge holes straight up the middle. White even had a blocker to spare, with right tackle Ricky Wagner running down the field unable to find another Hoosier to flatten.
Meanwhile, the Badgers defense harassed a frustrated Chappell, who limped off favoring his left side after a scramble. He left late in the first half, finishing 8 of 14 for 63 yards, for Edward Wright-Baker.
It soon got a whole lot worse for the Hoosiers, who have lost 11 straight conference games and 14 in a row on the road.
Wright-Baker fumbled the handoff exchange with Trea Burgess on his first play, and defensive end J.J. Watt recovered. Ball scored for the third time five plays later to make it 31-10.
The Badgers tacked on one more score before halftime when Tolzien went 4 for 4 in the final 57 seconds, hitting Nick Toon for a 4-yard TD pass to take a 38-10 lead.
In the second half, Tolzien threw two more touchdown passes, White punched in another score and Aaron Henry picked off a pass and returned it for a 37-yard score. Backup Jon Budmayr threw a 74-yard TD pass to Jared Abbrederis that made it 76-13 and third-string quarterback Nate Tice scored on a bootleg from 17 yards out.
Wisconsin beat FCS-member Austin Peay 70-3 this season, but this performance was much more impressive.
To put it in perspective, Wisconsin's basketball team failed to score 83 points in 30 of its 34 games last season, while the school's mascot Bucky did 573 pushups over the course of the game.