MADISON, Wis. -- About 15 minutes before Wisconsin played its final home game of the regular season, the Badgers were officially eliminated from Big Ten championship game contention, when undefeated Iowa held off Purdue to capture the West division.
Wisconsin then took the field for the first half as though it had nothing to play for, putting together its worst offensive performance of the season while being held scoreless in the opening 30 minutes. Things didn't get much better from there, as No. 20 Northwestern held off No. 25 Wisconsin for a wild 13-7 victory Saturday evening at Camp Randall Stadium in a game in which the Badgers committed five turnovers.