Chez Mellusi had 20 carries for 144 yards and a touchdown, and No. 18 Wisconsin rushed to a 34-7 win over Eastern Michigan on Saturday night in Madison, Wis.
Isaac Guerendo had 92 rushing yards and a touchdown, and Jalen Berger contributed 62 rushing yards and a score for Wisconsin (1-1), which bounced back from a season-opening loss against Penn State. Braelon Allen added his first career touchdown on the ground for the Badgers.
David Carter had a 98-yard interception return for Eastern Michigan (1-1). The Eagles fell short on the road after winning their season opener 35-15 against St. Francis (Pa.).
The Badgers improved to 4-0 all-time against the Eagles. Wisconsin also improved to 34-2 against opponents from the Mid-American Conference.
Wisconsin exploited an advantage on the line of scrimmage and leaned on the running game throughout the night. Mellusi opened the scoring with a 6-yard rush late in the first quarter to cap off a nine-play, 55-yard drive.
Collin Larsh added a 33-yard field goal early in the second quarter to make it 10-0.
Wisconsin increased its lead to 17-0 on a 6-yard touchdown by Berger with 7:02 to go in the second quarter. His score finished off an 11-play, 75-yard drive that chewed 5:17 off the clock.
Guerendo added a highlight play with 4:40 to go before halftime. He found daylight along the right sideline and evaded a pair of would-be tacklers as he raced for an 82-yard touchdown to make it 24-0 heading into the intermission.
Eastern Michigan snapped the shutout with 9:38 left in the fourth quarter. Carter stepped in front of a pass near the goal line and raced untouched down the left sideline for a touchdown.
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Wisconsin finished the scoring on a 1-yard rushing touchdown by Allen with 4:16 remaining.
Wisconsin quarterback Graham Mertz completed 14 of 17 passes for 141 yards before Chase Wolf took over late in the game.
Eastern Michigan quarterback Preston Hutchinson completed 6 of 13 passes for 53 yards and an interception. Fellow quarterback Ben Bryant completed 4 of 7 passes for 23 yards.
–Field Level Media