WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- The slogan began percolating in team meeting rooms this week, a rallying cry to galvanize Wisconsin's football players with the meat of the schedule dangling before them. Five games over a five-Saturday period would determine whether this season should be deemed a success or a failure, and the importance could not be overstated.
But just in case players needed a refresher, coaches inserted this phrase into the discussion: Make it a November to remember.
"It's a single-round elimination," Badgers safety Michael Caputo said. "We've got to keep moving forward with our head down and keep working."
So far, so good.
No. 25 Wisconsin withstood a brief comeback attempt and overwhelmed Purdue, 34-16, at Ross-Ade Stadium on Saturday afternoon. In the process, the Badgers won their fourth consecutive game and have set the stage for a thrilling race to the Big Ten West finish line.
Three teams -- Wisconsin, Nebraska and Minnesota -- stand 4-1 in conference play, while Iowa is 3-2. And it just so happens the three remaining November games on Wisconsin's schedule feature Nebraska, Iowa and Minnesota, following victories against Rutgers and now Purdue.
Given what lies on the horizon, the opportunity existed for the team to look past a Purdue unit that had surrendered 39.7 points per game over three straight losses entering the day. And though players did not admit as much, Badgers coach Gary Andersen recognized the ways in which 18-to-22-year-old minds work.
"I'm paranoid, so I think about all that stuff," Andersen said. "Trust me. There's a minute left and you're up by three touchdowns, I'm still paranoid. That's just the way I'm built. But they showed no signs of that, which was great, especially with the youth."
In order to create a chance for a special season, the Badgers needed to handle business during a typically cold, windy and rainy November game. Wisconsin (7-2, 4-1) battled those elements and put together perhaps the most encouraging performance out of its brief stint with a two-quarterback system. For the first time in four games with the two-quarterback rotation, Joel Stave and Tanner McEvoy alternated snaps mid-series Saturday.
The decision to rotate quarterbacks mid-series, Andersen noted, came earlier in the week from offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig, and it forced the Boilermakers (3-7, 1-5) to adjust on the fly.
"I thought it worked out pretty well," Stave said. "Instead of it being like here's Tanner's series, here's Joel's series, you can kind of stay more into it when you're running off the field one play, right back on the field. It's almost like you're a running back or something."
McEvoy passed just once all game, but his presence produced headaches for Purdue's defense. He carried four times for 42 yards and scored a 13-yard touchdown on a quarterback keeper around the left side to give Wisconsin a 31-16 lead with 1:05 remaining in the third quarter.
"Each week we're just getting better and better and closer to our goal of just really clicking and being a well-rounded running and passing offense," McEvoy said. "Like coach keeps saying, the games in November are the ones you remember. And we've got to keep winning, and that's our gameplan."
The real stars of Saturday's offensive show, however, were Stave and running back Melvin Gordon. Gordon, whose Heisman Trophy candidacy continues its ascent, rushed for 205 yards with a touchdown. And Stave connected on 19 of 29 passes for 219 yards with two touchdowns and an interception in his best game of the season.
During the second quarter, Stave completed 12 of 13 passes for 143 yards with both his touchdown passes despite throwing into a wind that knocked punts and passes down with brute force. The first touchdown went for 27 yards to Gordon, who leaped over Boilermakers cornerback Leroy Clark into the end zone. Stave's second score was a nine-yard pass to receiver Alex Erickson, which marked Stave's ninth consecutive completion to close the half.
"Joel got some confidence," Erickson said. "When Joel's rolling, he's hard to stop."
Stave eclipsed his season high for passing yards (155) in the first half alone. By halftime, Wisconsin's 190 passing yards represented more than the Badgers had compiled in any full game this season.
Badgers wide receiver Jordan Fredrick, who caught a season-high five passes for 64 yards, acknowledged the offense struggled to find an identity earlier this season when Wisconsin initially adopted a two-quarterback system. Neither quarterback knew how or when he would be used, which certainly didn't help create continuity with the receivers. McEvoy, for example, would handle a full series but then be asked to complete passes in third-and-long scenarios, which is not his strength.
"You get Joel out of his rhythm with the way he's been and Tanner's just trying to find his way as a quarterback," Fredrick said. "He's new to it. He says it all the time. It's not like he's a veteran quarterback out there. But he knows the game of football, and he's good at it. It's about both them playing when they get a chance. If we need one of them, they're going to step up. It's really just whoever's in there, we've got to play well."
Wisconsin certainly played well Saturday to remain in contention. And as players grabbed a boxed meal from Chick-fil-A, boarded the team bus and headed for a 40-minute chartered flight back to Madison, they couldn't contain their excitement at what is possible this season.
Next Saturday marks a battle at Camp Randall against Nebraska, which has crushed its last three opponents by an average of 20 points. If Wisconsin wins, it can still make this a November to remember -- which will create another game to play in December for a conference title.
"These last couple games are going to determine who goes to Indy," Gordon said. "That's just what it is. We want to win out, and we've got some tough teams. These are the tougher teams. Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, the tougher teams on our side. It's going to be a dogfight."
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