Toronto Star
· collected 2026-10-03 · by Tamira Madsen The Associated Press
Colton Joseph led Wisconsin to a dominant 31-3 victory over Michigan State on Saturday, throwing three touchdowns and running for another. Joseph completed 9 of 20 passes for 145 yards and rushed for 130 yards on 10 carries, the first Badgers quarterback to reach 100 rushing yards in a game since 2014. Jacob Harris also contributed with two rushing touchdowns. The win marked Wisconsin's fourth consecutive victory, building momentum as they aim to establish consistency under coach Luke Fickell.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-03,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Colton Joseph threw for three touchdowns and rushed for another score to lead Wisconsin to a 31-3 win against Michigan State on Saturday.
asserted
Joseph → throw → Saturday
Jacob Harris rushed for two scores for the Badgers (4-1, 2-0 Big Ten), who have won four consecutive games.
asserted
who → rush → games
Harris caught a 20-yard pass from Joseph during the game’s first series.
asserted
Harris → catch → series
The Badgers shaved 8:16 off the clock, going 75 yards in 15 plays, on their first-quarter scoring drive.
asserted
Badgers → shave → drive
Joseph and Harris revisited their connection for a second week, following a 72-yard score with 1:13 left that rallied Wisconsin to a 24-20 win at then-No. 13 Penn State.
asserted
that → revisit → State
Harris said beating Michigan State was proof that the Badgers are headed in the right direction.
asserted
Badgers → say → direction
“As great of a win as last week was, it does you no good if you don’t continue to build on it,” Harris said.
asserted
Harris → do → it
“It wasn’t like we won the Super Bowl last week.
asserted
we → win → Bowl
As a good team, we won.
asserted
we → win → team
In order for this team to get where this team has to go and will go, we have to be able to stack weeks and get better every week no matter what the result is.”
asserted
result → get → weeks
Joseph, a former Old Dominion quarterback, went 9-of-20 passing for 145 yards.
asserted
Joseph → go → yards
He had 10 rushing attempts for a season-high 130 yards, making him the first Badgers QB to rush for at least 100 yards in a game since Tanner McEvoy ran for 158 yards against Bowling Green in 2014.
asserted
McEvoy → have → 2014
Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell said he’s been telling Joseph to be aggressive in the run game.
asserted
he → say → game
“We saw, or I saw him run to win,” Fickell said.
asserted
Fickell → see → ?
“Two weeks ago I challenged him: ‘Run to win. Run to score.’
asserted
I → challenge → him
And I think we saw a little bit more of that today.”
asserted
we → think → that
Fickell said the transfer portal is yielding benefits, building on a solid roster from 2025, and the combination has given the Badgers their first four-game winning streak in five years.
asserted
combination → say → years
Joseph and Harris are examples of new players stepping up.
asserted
Joseph → step → players
“We preach about being consistently good, not occasionally great,” Fickell said.
asserted
Fickell → preach → ?
This is what we hoped to continue to see.
asserted
we → hop → what
“There were a lot more pieces after spring football and as we went into fall that we felt like we had, but there’s so much new.”
asserted
we → be → fall
Gavin Lahm’s 30-yard field goal with 3:56 remaining in the first half pushed Wisconsin to a 17-0 lead.
asserted
goal → remain → lead
Liam Boyd kicked a 31-yard field goal with 9 seconds remaining in the first half to put Michigan State (2-3, 0-2) on the scoreboard at 17-3.
asserted
Boyd → kick → 17
Joseph continued his strong performance, slipping past defenders and sprinting 47 yards for a TD that put Wisconsin ahead 24-3 at 10:36 of the third.
asserted
that → continue → third
The Badgers put the game out of reach when Malachi Coleman caught a 46-yard Joseph pass for a score and a 31-3 lead with 7:56 left in the game.
asserted
7:56 → put → game
Three quarterbacks played for Michigan State.
asserted
quarterbacks → play → State
Alessio Milivojevic, the starter, was 15-for-32 passing for 103 yards.
asserted
Milivojevic → pass → yards
The Spartans failed to capitalize on a handful of Badgers’ penalties.
asserted
Spartans → fail → penalties
Wisconsin accrued six penalties for 67 yards.
asserted
Wisconsin → accrue → yards
Michigan State has lost three straight games.
asserted
State → lose → games
The takeaway
Michigan State: Coach Pat Fitzgerald said he was incredibly disappointed with the Spartans’ performance, especially with the conversion rates on third and fourth down.
asserted
he → say → down
It looks like we lost some one-on-one battles and looked like we had guys open at times and couldn’t get the ball.
asserted
we → look → ball
We win at receiver and lose at o-line or we win at o-line and lose at receiver and guys fall down.
asserted
guys → win → receiver
We’ve just got to get it to operate cleanly and 11 heartbeats as one.”
asserted
it → get → one
Tight end Jacob Harris is making an impact this season.
asserted
Harris → make → impact
Harris, a Bowling Green transfer, became the first Wisconsin tight end to catch touchdowns in back-to-back games since Jake Ferguson in 2018.
asserted
Harris → become → 2018
Up next
Michigan State: The Spartans hots Illinois next Saturday.
asserted
Spartans → hot → Illinois
Wisconsin: The Badgers play at No. 23 UCLA on Oct. 17.
asserted
Badgers → play → Oct.
The Aporia
