Purdue vs. Wisconsin: A look at another impressive Badgers' defensive effort

Simply put, the Wisconsin Badgers (5-2, 2-1) took care of business defensively on Saturday afternoon in their 24-7 win against the Purdue Boilermakers at Camp Randall Stadium.

Led by the effort of redshirt freshman T.J. Edwards, who recorded 16 tackles -- including 1.5 tackles for loss and his first career forced fumble -- the Badgers held Purdue to 191 total yards in the game. That's the lowest it's allowed to a Big Ten opponent since that fateful Nov. 15 game last season against Nebraska, where running back Melvin Gordon outgained the Huskers 408-180.

The defense's dominance also established new season-lows for the struggling Purdue offense. As a reminder, 93 of Purdue's 191 yards on the afternoon came after Wisconsin scored its final touchdown in the fourth quarter, a.k.a. "garbage time."

The Good

1. Edwards' performance. Not a bad day at all for the redshirt freshman after being challenged by defensive coordinator Dave Aranda. He consistently flew to the ball and asserted his presence.

The converted outside linebacker and former prep quarterback now leads the team in tackles with 54.

2. Third down conversions allowed. Purdue went 4-of-13 on the afternoon. Wisconsin's only given up 34 percent of third-down conversions so far this season.

3. Rush defense steps up. Holding Purdue to 55 yards on the ground, the Badgers are now 13th in the nation, allowing only 103.3 yards per game. The front seven of Wisconsin dominated up front, even when the Boilermakers tried to establish the run with nine consecutive runs to start the game (they ran only six plays in the first quarter -- all runs).

The Bad

1. Purdue's only touchdown. This might be the only blemish I've written about regarding senior outside linebacker Joe Schobert so far in 2015. On quarterback David Blough's touchdown run in the first quarter, he lost containment and went for the running back. That opened the door for Blough to scamper right for a two-yard score.

We have a tie! David Blough runs it in for a touchdown to pull @BoilerFootball even at Wisconsin. http://t.co/sHnKUcnkYv

— Purdue on BTN (@PurdueOnBTN) October 17, 2015

Schobert still showed up nicely on Saturday, recording seven tackles, one tackle for loss, and 0.5 sacks.

Coming up: Illinois

137.5: Average rushing yards per game (T-100th in FBS)

256.5: Average passing yards per game (38th in FBS)

394: Total offensive yards per game (73rd in FBS)

Leading rushers: Ke'Shawn Vaughn (392 yards, 4.1 yards per carry, 3 touchdowns, 48 long), Josh Ferguson (381 yards, 5.4 yards per carry, 3 touchdowns, 52 long)

Leading receivers: Wide receiver Geronimo Allison (40 receptions, 601 yards, 3 touchdowns), wide receiver Marchie Murdock (20 receptions, 194 yards, 3 touchdowns)

Quarterback: Wes Lunt (136-for-233, 58.4% completion percentage, 1,424 yards, 9 touchdowns, 2 interceptions)

Highest point output: 52 vs. Kent State, Sept. 5

Lower point output: 14 vs. North Carolina, Sept. 19; vs. Nebraska, Oct. 3

Stat to know

Wisconsin allowed a total of only 12 plays to be run by Purdue in its territory on it in the last two quarters. In their last three games, UW's opponents have run just 20 plays on Wisconsin's side of the 50-yard line.