MADISON, Wis. – As NIU quarterback Josh Haldi’s final desperation pass fell out of bounds with less than a minute remaining on Saturday, over 77,000 Wisconsin fans breathed a sigh of relief.

The ESPN/USA Today 18th-ranked Badgers (4-0) used NIU penalties and defensive miscues to come out 24-21 over the Huskies (1-2).

“Our kids played their [butts] off,” Novak said after the game. “We went in there without six kids that started against Wake Forest; two of our captains. We should’ve won the football game; we played well enough. You people go up and look at those kids eyes … that’s what’s hard.”

With 2:55 remaining in the game, NIU was leading 21-17 when linebacker Larry Williams sacked Badger quarterback Brooks Bollinger to record his third sack of the game, and the Huskies’ 10th. The sack brought up fourth down for the Badgers, forcing them to punt.

The ensuing Huskie drive lasted 40 seconds before they punted. A 63-yard punt by Jimmy Erwin, which would have placed the Badgers at their own 36, was called back because of holding. Erwin was forced to punt again, this time only kicking the ball 46 yards — allowing the Badgers to start their drive at mid-field.

During the drive, Huskie defenders were called on two pass-interference penalties, giving NIU a total of six penalties for 50 yards. The calls eventually placed Wisconsin at the two-yard line, where Bollinger ran in his second touchdown of the game, giving them a 24-21 lead.

With 1:16 left, NIU couldn’t get any offense going as Haldi was sacked twice and hurried two incomplete passes. This gave the Badgers the win and the Huskies a locker room full of upset players.

“It’s frustrating because we wanted to win, we don’t want any more moral victories,” said NIU tailback Michael Turner, who rushed for 160 yards and two touchdowns.

NIU started the game forcing Wisconsin to go three-and-out on its first two possessions. The Huskies took over while Turner carried the Huskies down the field, setting Steve Azar up for a 34-yard field goal which hit the goal post and went in with 6:33 left in the first quarter.

NIU’s offense continued to click with true-freshman receiver Sam Hurd accumulating 100 of his 161 yards before intermission.

The defense was able to hold the Big Ten’s leading rusher, Anthony Davis, to negative one yard in the first half. However, turnovers on offense gave Wisconsin good field goal position, allowing them a touchdown on an uncontested Bollinger bootleg from one yard out.

“Turnovers killed us,” Novak said. “You can’t turn it over four times when you only get one back and expect to win a football game.”

Azar kept the Huskies rolling with another field goal, this time from 37 yards out with 33 seconds remaining in the half. Then Wisconsin was able to march down the field and add a field goal as time expired.

“It was my fault,” Novak said, referring to the Badgers’ late field goal before halftime. “We were going to let the clock wind down so there was hardly any time and kick the field goal, which we’ve done before. And I thought it was a first down, so I called a time-out and gave them time to come down there.”

Coming out of halftime down 10-6, NIU responded with a 35-yard field goal three and a half minutes into the half. But the Badgers countered with a touchdown of their own, after Haldi threw an interception in Huskie territory ending the third quarter at 17-9 Wisconsin.

While the Badger fans were focusing their attention on a mock-wrestling match which Bucky The Badger was throwing Victor E. Huskie against the goal post, Michael Turner was punishing the Badgers’ defense. He racked up 101 of his 160 rushing yards in the second half. Turner took the ball in for a three-yard score. After a missed two-point conversion, NIU was down 17-15.

Two possessions later, Turner capped a 79-yard drive with his second touchdown of the game from one yard out. However, another botched two-point attempt would only give NIU a 21-17 lead.

“I grabbed [Turner] this week and asked him how big his shoulders were,” Novak said. “And told him you got the load on there now.”

Turner didn’t mind.

“Last week I was just thrown in there. I wasn’t as prepared as I wanted to be,” Turner said. “This week I had a little more time to prepare, and it all just came together with the offense.”

However, in the end, no one could do much about the calls on the field that gave Wisconsin one opportunity after another to convert.

“I never criticize officials because they’re closer than I am,” Novak said. “But boy there was some bad timing on some of those penalties. And the holding on the punt, in 34 years of coaching I don’t think I’ve ever seen that one before … For a team that’s not penalized very often, we sure had a hell of a lot (of penalties).”

Williams, who was called on a third down pass-interference giving Wisconsin a first down late in the game, said the calls shouldn’t matter.

“When we come up here, we want to play the game and win the game without a reasonable doubt,” Williams said. “There is no reason one play should win or lose us the game.”