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Wisconsin seems content with wearing the Northwestern defense down with John Clay. He ran for six yards on the first down and two yards on second down, bringing up a crucial third-and-two. A toss play to Clay, resulted in 15 yards and a first down. Pat Fitzgerald was furious, wanting a block in the back on the play. But the defense “put out the fire,” forcing a third-and-seven and then bringing the house on a monster blitz, forcing Scott Tolzien to throw the ball away. Andrew Brewer called for fair catch on the punt. NU will take over at its 14-yard line.

Mike Kafka started things off with a screen pass to Zeke Markshausen, who picked up eight yards but was seen limping off the field. Kafka could not set his feet on the second-down pass, bringing up third down. Kafka ran a bootleg and threw back over the middle of the field to Jeremy Ebert. The wideout got plastered upon touching the ball, and dropped it. Stefan Demos was once again called on to punt, and thanks to a holding penalty of Wisconsin, the Badgers start with the ball on their own 34.

The drive started off with a six-yard pass to Garrett Graham from Tolzien. Then Tolzien threw an incomplete pass to the sidelines. On what looked like a good pass breakup, a late flag tagged the Cats with pass interference. Clay rushed for six yards on the following play to the NU 49. Clay rushed again, picking up three yards to the 46-yard line. On the following play, Clay tried to pick up the first down, but the ball hit Quentin Davie’s helmet and popped out, shooting downfield, where Brian Peters fell on it. After a booth review, the call was confirmed, and the Cats take over at their 41-yard line.

Arby Fields started the drive to preserve the win with a 6-yard run to the 47, and Wisconsin called timeout to stop the clock. Fields rushed again, but the Badgers saw it coming and stopped him for a loss of one yard, and Wisconsin called its final timeout. NU now faces a critical third-and-five from the 46. Kafka tried a fake handoff into a quarterback keeper, but the play resulted in a loss of three yards. That brings up fourth-and-eight. The Cats will let the clock run down to 48 seconds before calling a timeout. Stefan Demos needed a good punt, and he got one, booting it out-of-bounds to the Wisconsin 20-yard line.

Tolzein threw a bomb intended for Isaac Anderson, but it was picked off by Jordan Mabin, sealing the win for the Cats. NU wins 33-31 and improves to 8-4 on the season. The students are storming the field.

Starting the final quarter at the Wisconsin 17, Mike Kafka tried to connect with Sidney Stewart in the end zone, but the pass was incomplete. That set up a 34-yard field goal by Stefan Demos, who has made four today. The Wildcats now take the lead 33-24, 10 seconds into the fourth.

Demos’ kickoff was short and low, which allowed the Badgers to get the ball to the 46-yard line, where they will start an important drive. John Clay rushed for no gain on first down. Scott Tolzien completed two passes for eight yards and nine yards to give Wisconsin a fresh set of downs. Tolzien then found Clay for a gain of eleven. Clay rushed up the middle with a full head of steam and picked up eight yards. Clay took the ball again and was upended, but not before gaining five yards on the run. Monte Ball came in to spell Clay, and rushed for no gain. On second down, Tolzien found a wide-open Garrett Graham for a touchdown in the corner of the end zone. With the extra point, Wisconsin cuts into NU’s lead. The score is now 33-31.

After a touchback on the kickoff, Kafka found Arby Fields for nine yards. After a rush for no gain by Fields, a false start cost the Cats field position, but not their drive. Kafka scrambled for 15 yards on the third-and-six. On the ensuing play, Kafka nearly got sacked, but managed to scramble to the sideline for a gain of two. Then Kafka found Arby Fields for a gain of four, bringing up third-and-four. Kafka could not get the ball to Andrew Brewer, resulting in a fourth down. Demos punts the ball rugby-style, and Jeravin Matthews stops the return for only two yards. Wisconsin will take over at its 21-yard line.

Nine plays after Gilreath’s long punt return, Stefan Demos kicked his third field goal of the game to extend the Wildcats’ lead to six. Northwestern marched 30 yards, setting up the 45-yard field goal attempt, giving it a 30-24 lead. Mike Kafka completed a series of passes to Andrew Brewer, Zeke Markshausen and Jeremy Ebert to move the ball down the field. But a Kafka rush on third-and-long gained only two yards to set up the boot.

John Clay moved the ball into NU territory on a 20-yard run. Scott Tolzien threaded the needle several times into and around Northwestern’s defense, which was playing zone. But on fourth-and-two from the 33-yard line, Tolzien was dropped for a loss of five by Vince Browne. Corey Wootton also applied pressure from the outside, and delivered a late hit to give NU the ball.

The offense took the defense’s momentum and went with it, as Kafka went long down the right sideline on a streak to Sidney Stewart. Stephen Simmons gained two yards, and Kafka was sacked for a loss of three, bringing up third-and-12 once the fourth quarter starts.

As the sun went down, the lights that have been on the entire game are actually making a difference. The Badgers came out of the half firing on all cylinders, getting within field goal range less than a minute into the half. Their momentum was delayed by a holding call on Isaac Anderson, which brought Wisconsin back to its 35. On the ensuing play, Sherrick McManis made an athletic pass breakup to force a second-and-long. Nick Toon picked up eight yards on the reception, which brought up a third and seven. Scott Tolzien connected with Toon again and picked up a first down and more, to the 11-yard line. Tolzien tried finding Toon once again, but it was thrown too far away from the wideout near the goal line. Tolzien connected on a touchdown pass, but Anderson was hit with yet another penalty, this time an illegal shift, which negated the play. On the second-and-15, Tolzien threw a pass to Zach Brown, who caught it behind the line of scrimmage for a loss of two. On the third down, Tolzien had a lot of time but no one to throw to, so the Badgers were forced to settle for a 35-yard field goal by Philip Welch.

Jacob Schmidt took the kickoff back to the 33-yard line, but Stephen Simmons was called on an illegal block, which negates the nice return. The Wildcats now start at their own 6-yard line. Arby Fields started things off with a 9-yard rush, and a facemask penalty puts NU at the 29. Mike Kafka fired a pass to Andrew Brewer on the outside for a gain of 12. Kafka found Fields on the following play for only one yard. Fields took the carry for no gain, and to make matters worse, a holding penalty set the Cats back to the 32-yard line. On second-and-19, Kafka settled for a check-down pass to Jeremy Ebert for three yards. On third down, Kafka threw the ball away in the midst of another holding call.

On the Stefan Demos punt, David Gilreath returned the punt 68 yards for a touchdown, evading just about every NU defender with ease. All of a sudden, the momentum has shifted and the NU lead is down to three.

Wisconsin went three-and-out on its next drive. John Clay rushed for no yards, Scott Tolzien completed a pass for six yards to the 44, and then Tolzien fired incomplete to Anderson on third down. For the second time in the game, Anderson dropped a pass right off his hands.

Then, Northwestern made another statement. Its offense is on fire. Mike Kafka went 2-for-2 for 42 yards, but the best play of the drive came on a 38-yard pass from Zeke Markshausen to Sidney Stewart. Offensive coordinator Mick McCall went to his bag of tricks – Kafka fired to Markshausen on a screen in the flat on the right side – instead of tucking the ball and running with it, Markshausen looked down field and fired a spiral to Sidney Stewart who was virtually wide open. Stewart shrugged one tackle and got into the end zone for the score, putting NU ahead 24-14.

John Clay got 14 yards and a first down on the ensuing play, but ran into one of the field referees on the rush. He had an open lane and could have gained another 20 yards, but the official earned an assist on the play. Tolzien completed a five-yard pass to Nick Toon, and it looked like the Badgers would keep moving the ball down the field. But Tolzien got tripped by one of his offensive lineman and lost five yards on the “rush”, then he fired incomplete for Toon on the next play. Brad Nortman punted 48 yards, and instead of calling for a fair catch, Andrew Brewer returned the ball five yards to the 39.

Mike Kafka stayed hot, finding Drake Dunsmore on a go route down the left side for a gain of 26 yards to the Wisconsin 35. Kafka completed a series of passes to Sidney Stewart, Jeremy Ebert and Zeke Markshausen, but Jacob Schmidt failed to carry for a first down on a third-and-short. Instead, the Cats opted to boot a field goal. Stefan Demos connected on the 38-yard kick, putting NU ahead by 13 points with 34 seconds left in the first half.

Wisconsin went for the long strike to shorten the lead, but Scott Tolzien was sacked for a loss of six to end the half. Wootton’s pressure off the edge was relentless, and he ripped the quarterback to the ground.

Three plays into the second quarter, John Clay put Wisconsin on the board. The Wisconsin Winnebago pounded the ball off right tackle for a 2-yard touchdown rush. The Badgers moved inside the Wildcats’ 5-yard line on an 18-yard bullet from Scott Tolzien to Garrett Graham on a post pattern. All told, the drive went 57 yards in seven plays and took just more than three minutes of clock time.

After Stephen Simmons broke several tackles and returned the ball to the 35-yard line, Scott Concannon coughed the ball up. Mike Kafka’s handoff was clean, but Concannon was stripped by Chris Borland. The ball was recovered by Jaevery McFadden at the NU 37-yard line. The Badgers rushed the ball four times, the first for seven yards and the next three for one yard to move the chains. The final rush had to be measured — but it went past the chains by the nose of the football. After lulling the Cats’ defense to sleep, Scott Tolzien connected with Garrett Graham again, this time for 27 yards over the middle for a touchdown. Jordan Mabin played the route perfectly, but Graham used his body to shield the ball. Brad Phillips was late to rotate over on the play, delivering a hit after Graham caught the pass, but it was too late. In less than three minutes from their previous score, the Badgers scored again. And in less than four minutes into the quarter, Wisconsin has taken a 14-10 lead.

But Stephen Simmons did the best he could to give NU good field position to take the lead on his return. The junior running back exploded for 64 yards down the right sideline, breaking two tackles before being pushes out at the 34-yard line by Aaron Henry. Then, Kafka completed 4-of-5 passing attempts, including a 15-yard drag to Drake Dunsmore, an eight-yard out to Zeke Markshausen and a four-yard dump off to Arby Fields. Then, on third-and-10, Kafka hit Andrew Brewer once again, this time on a corner-post route over the middle of the field for a 12-yard score. Brewer started on the outside of trips right, but cut outside quickly and then back inside over the middle. He dove for the scorching pass and got his hands under the ball. The play was reviewed and upheld. Sophomore running back Jacob Schmidt made a nice block on the play, stepping up to the line and delivering a blow to the blitzing linebacker. Kafka’s second touchdown pass to Brewer gave NU a three-point lead.

Blake Sorenson returned the ball to the 30-yard line, where the ball was ripped out by Jacob Schmidt and recovered by Demetrius Dugar on a tackle by Jared Carpenter. The play was reviewed and overturned this time, though. The Badgers will take over at their own 38-yard line after the timeout.

After going three-and-out, Northwestern forced one of its own. Brad Phillips is taking Senior Day seriously. After a short run by John Clay and a six-yard pass from Tolzien to Nick Toon, Phillips tackled David Gilreath for a loss of five yards on an end around. Phillips celebrated again after the takedown. It’s safe to say Phillips wants to remember his final game at Ryan Field.

Brad Nortman booted the ball into the end zone for a touchback, giving the Wildcats the ball at their own 20. Stephen Simmons carried up the middle for a gain of five to get the drive going, then Mike Kafka hit Andrew Brewer on another skinny post streak down the left side for a gain of 34 yards. Simmons kept the drive alive with a 12-yard zone rush up the gut. But the Cats stopped once they got to the Badgers’ 29, and coach Pat Fitzgerald sent Demos on to attempt a 45-yard field goal from the left hash. Demos connected, splitting the uprights and having enough distance to add another 10.

Chris Borland returned the ensuing kickoff to the 28-yard line, but the ball was moved to the 43 because Stephen Simmons committed an unnecessary roughness penalty. Wisconsin moved the ball down the field with a series of rushes from John Clay and Monte Ball, at least until it crossed the NU 40. Scott Tolzien completed a 20-yard pass to Garrett Graham on a deep cross for a 20-yard completion, which concluded the opening period. The Badgers will have the ball in the Cats’ red zone to open the second quarter, after the media timeout.

So far, NU has been willing to go vertical offensively, and Mike Kafka has been effective. Brad Phillips is leading the Cats’ stout defense, which has done a good job containing 250-pound back John Clay.

Northwestern won the opening coin toss and opted to receive, taking the Kirk Ferentz approach to the game. Stephen Simmons returned the opening kickoff 24 yards to the 25-yard line. Ten plays and 75 yards later, the Wildcats were in the end zone. Mike Kafka executed the drive to perfection, first hitting short outside passes to Drake Dunsmore, Scott Concannon and Arby Fields. On a third-and-10, Kafka hit Zeke Markshausen for a 21-yard post corner — a similar route to what worked so well against Illinois last week. Then, on second-and-five in Wisconsin territory, Kafka hit Andrew Brewer on a strike down the left hash for a 26-yard touchdown. In 3:35, NU made a big opening statement. The Cats are here to play and win on Senior Day — and further their status as a strong bowl squad.

It looked like Wisconsin would strike immediately, on its first play of the ensuing drive. Scott Tolzien went long to Isaac Anderson on a corner route, but the ball bounced in and out of his hands. Tolzien was able to connect with Anderson for a 24-yard cross on the fourth play of the drive, but the Badgers wouldn’t get past NU’s 43-yard line. On third-and-seven, defensive coordinator Mike Hankwitz sent a safety blitz, and it paid off. Brad Phillips went right up the middle of the line and dropped Tolzien for a loss of eight. Phillips celebrated with a Corey Wootton’s trademark fist pump. Brewer called for a fair catch at the Cats’ 14-yard line on the punt by Brad Nortman.

Three plays later, the Badgers got the ball back where they last had it. NU couldn’t get anything going offensively on a run by Concannon, a run by Kafka and a failed long pass down the field to Brewer. Stefan Demos punted 31 yards to NU’s 47-yard line. Even if Wisconsin hasn’t scored yet, there’s something about Wisconsin’s all white uniforms that’s intimidating — much like Penn State’s white and blue, the Badgers mix in a little red.

Sophomore linebacker Bryce McNaul will start in place of sophomore David Arnold at Northwestern’s strongside linebacker position. NcNaul was injured early in the year, but has worked his way into the starting lineup for the final game of the season. Now, the Wildcats have started three different players at the outside linebacker position — McNaul, Arnold and sophomore Ben Johnson. McNaul wears No. 51, the former number of coach Pat Fitzgerald. Maybe he’ll flash some of Fitzgerald’s magic.

Hello Northwestern fans, and welcome to The Daily Northwestern’s live-blog of the Wildcats’ final game of the regular season, a Big Ten matchup against Wisconsin in Evanston. NU (7-4) is playing Wisconsin (8-2) in a game that will go a long way in deciding the bowl pecking order in the Big Ten. Wisconsin is out of the hunt for the Big Ten’s BCS bid, but it can still earn at least a share of the Big Ten title. Heading into this contest, the Cats could go to bowls ranging from Little Caesar’s to the Alamo. Badgers fans have taken over Evanston for the day, and fans from both sides are beginning to fill Ryan Field. We’ll be providing live updates and analysis throughout the game, so be sure to keep it here for our comprehensive coverage. It’s a sunny 51 degrees outside, perfect afternoon weather for a big game. Both teams look focused as they go through their warm-ups. We’ll have football in 30 minutes.