HOME IS WHERE HURT IS
Badgers keep Cats winless at Ryan Field with blowout victory
Things seem to be getting worse for Northwestern.
Graham Mertz threw for a career-high 299 yards and matched another with five touchdown passes — three to Chimere Dike — and Wisconsin handed the struggling Wildcats their fifth consecutive loss with a 42-7 rout Saturday at Ryan Field.
The Badgers (3-3 overall, 1-2 in the Big Ten) dominated in every phase in their first game under interim coach Jim Leonhard, who was promoted from defensive coordinator after Paul Chryst was fired last Sunday.
NU (1-5, 1-2), meanwhile, continued its tailspin after its seasonopening victory against Nebraska in Ireland. The Wildcats fell to 0-4 at home this season, including losses to FCS member Southern Illinois and mid-major program Miami (Ohio).
‘‘Our lack of focus and discipline to execute is my responsibility as their coach,’’ NU coach Pat Fitzgerald said. ‘‘What are we doing between Thursday walking off the practice field and the game?’’
The Wildcats gave up 515 yards on defense and didn’t score until Anthony Tyus III caught a one-yard touchdown pass from backup quarterback Brendan Sullivan early in the fourth quarter.
Sullivan’s performance was NU’s only positive. He completed 11 of 17 passes for 114 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions after replacing starter Tyler Hilinski, who was 10-for-22 for 147 yards with two interceptions before being hooked.
Mertz was 20-for-29 and connected on touchdown passes of 15 yards to Skyler Bell in the first quarter, 52 and 21 yards to Dike in the second and six yards to Dike and 19 yards to Markus Allen in the fourth. Dike finished with 10 catches for a career-high 185 yards, easily surpassing his previous single-game best of 106 yards.
Wisconsin also got 135 yards rushing from Braelon Allen, who threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to Chez Mellusi in the second quarter.
The Badgers decided to make a leadership change after losing their last two games by a combined 55 points to Ohio State and Illinois. Chryst was let go in his eighth season and replaced by Leonhard, a former All-America safety who was in his sixth season as defensive coordinator and seventh on staff at his alma mater.
‘‘There was a lot more nerves throughout the week than there was today,’’ Leonhard, 39, said afterward. ‘‘Game day is game day. I’ve been a part of a lot of these, [but] obviously not in this role.
‘‘This is the reward. You put in the work, you put in the time and you should have confidence when you step off that bus that you have the right plan, you have the right guys [and] you put them in position to have success.’’