No. 11 Wisconsin had to rally from an early two-touchdown deficit to Marshall, reeling off 51 straight points to turn a potential upset into a 51-14 walkover Saturday.
A loss would have snapped the second-longest home winning streak in major college football and cost the Badgers (2-0) momentum heading into a tough test at Fresno State.
But after watching Marshall (1-1) shut down its highly regarded running game, Wisconsin got big plays out of new starting quarterback Allan Evridge and the defense to pull out its 16th straight win at Camp Randall Stadium.
Evridge, a transfer from Kansas State who backed up Tyler Donovan last year, was 17-for-26 for 308 yards and a touchdown after throwing only 10 passes in Wisconsin's victory over Akron last week.
Wisconsin led 17-14 at halftime, but ended Marshall's first three possessions of the second half with interceptions that led to a pair of touchdowns.
Facing third-and-11 in the first series of the third quarter, Badgers cornerback Niles Brinkley intercepted Marshall quarterback Mark Cann and ran the ball back to the 22-yard line.
Evridge then connected with tight end Garrett Graham on a 21-yard pass, and P.J. Hill plunged into the end zone on first-and-goal to put Wisconsin ahead 24-14.
Safety Shane Carter intercepted Cann on Marshall's next possession, returning the ball to the Marshall 26. Evridge hit Graham for a touchdown on the next play, and Wisconsin took a 31-14 lead.
Brian Anderson replaced Cann at quarterback for Marshall, but Brinkley picked his second pass of the afternoon. The Thundering Herd forced a fumble by Evridge to fend off another scoring drive, but any thoughts of an upset had evaporated.
Marshall held Wisconsin to 25 yards of total offense and a single first down in the first quarter, taking a 7-0 lead on a 1-yard touchdown run by Chubb Small.
After a three-and-out by the Badgers, Marshall continued to execute its no-huddle offense as a late-arriving crowd paid more attention to doing "the wave" than trying to disrupt play calls by making noise. Marshall's 10-play drive ended with a 1-yard touchdown run by Darius Marshall to go ahead 14-0.
Wisconsin appeared to be in big trouble after running back John Clay barely recovered his own fumble on the Badgers' next possession. But Evridge completed a 36-yard pass to Lance Kendricks, setting up a 2-yard touchdown run by Hill.
Evridge hit wide receiver Kyle Jefferson for a 42-yard pass on Wisconsin's next possession to set up a 45-yard field goal by Philip Welch, then connected with Kendricks on a 33-yard pass to set up a 3-yard touchdown run by Zach Brown to put the Badgers ahead 17-14 at halftime.
Wisconsin's home winning streak trails only Oklahoma among major college football teams. The Sooners had won 18 straight at home going into Saturday.
