MADISON, Wis. -- — Danny O'Neil went 23 of 27 for 283 yards with three touchdown passes in his first start for Wisconsin as the Badgers pulled away in the second half to beat Middle Tennessee 42-10 on Saturday.

O'Neil was starting because Billy Edwards Jr. sprained his knee in the second quarter of a 17-0 victory over Miami (Ohio) last week. O'Neil started 11 games for San Diego State last season.

Wisconsin only led 14-10 before outscoring Middle Tennessee 28-0 over the final 22 1/2 minutes.

"We had some tough conversations at halftime, really trying to flip the script," O'Neil said. “We knew that we weren't playing to our standard."

O'Neil was intercepted once and threw touchdown completions of 3 yards to Tyrell Henry, 58 yards to Jayden Ballard and 17 yards to Lance Mason, who had seven catches for 102 yards. Henry's touchdown came on fourth-and-goal and put Wisconsin ahead for good.

Middle Tennessee trailed 14-10 midway through the third quarter when Jekail Middleton ran for what was initially ruled to be a first down at Wisconsin’s 23. After replays determined Middleton went down just short of the marker, he got the ball again on fourth down and was stuffed by Christian Alliegro.

Wisconsin (2-0) then scored touchdowns on four straight drives.

“When something like that (fourth-down stop) happens, momentum's real,” Mason said. “Once you get that feeling on the sideline, it's hard to stop once you get it going.”

Two plays after Alliegro's fourth-down stop, Trech Kekahuna raced untouched for a 61-yard score on a reverse. Vinny Anthony followed with a 14-yard touchdown on an end-around. O'Neil then threw touchdown passes to Ballard and Mason in the fourth quarter.

O’Neil’s lone turnover came late in the second quarter on a pass that bounced off running back Dilin Jones and got picked off by 301-pound defensive tackle Damonte Smith.

Smith's 9-yard interception return gave Middle Tennessee first-and-10 at the 11 to set up Nicholas Vattiato’s 4-yard touchdown pass to Hunter Tipton.

Vattiato was 20 of 31 for 197 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

The takeaway

Middle Tennessee: Mistakes and missed opportunities killed the Blue Raiders, who outgained Wisconsin 117-42 in the first quarter. Middle Tennessee had first-and-goal at the 4 on its opening series but settled for a field goal. The Blue Raiders were at Wisconsin's 35 to open the second quarter but punted after a trick play resulted in an intentional grounding penalty on wide receiver Myles Butler. During Wisconsin's second touchdown drive, Anthony Bynum was penalized for roughing the passer on a third-and-34 incompletion.

“Our mistakes hurt us,” Middle Tennessee coach Derek Mason said. “Wisconsin's a good football team, but we beat us tonight.”

Wisconsin: After gaining just 4 yards on their first 15 rushing attempts, the Badgers gained 149 yards on 16 carries the rest of the way. But they still aren't getting enough production from their running backs. Kekahuna and Anthony are wide receivers.

Inside the numbers

O'Neil's 283 yards passing were the most by any Wisconsin quarterback making a first start with the Badgers. ... Wisconsin didn't commit a single penalty for the first time since a 17-9 victory over Iowa in 2016.

New-look line

Left guard Joe Brunner was the only Wisconsin offensive lineman who started at the same position he played last week.

The rest of Wisconsin’s first-team line included left tackle Riley Mahlman, center Kerry Kodanko, right guard Colin Cubberly and right tackle Emerson Mandell. Wisconsin’s starting offensive line against Miami (Ohio) had Davis Heinzen at left tackle, Brunner at left guard, Jake Renfro at center, Mandell at right guard and Mahlman at right tackle.

Renfro was injured and unavailable.

Up next

Middle Tennessee is at Nevada and Wisconsin visits No. 21 Alabama on Sept. 13.

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