There was no other way to describe Wisconsin’s 51-10 victory over Hawaii on Saturday night in Honolulu.
The Badgers came to Hawaii needing a victory to improve their record to 9-3, give themselves a chance for a 10-victory season and move closer to a berth in the Outback Bowl on Jan. 1 in Tampa, Fla.
UW took care of business in impressive fashion.
The Badgers scored touchdowns on four of their six first-half possessions to build a 27-3 halftime lead and maintained control in the second half with big plays on offense and defense.
Quarterback Scott Tolzien completed 8 of 10 passes for 179 yards in the first half and finished 16 for 20 for 253 yards. Tailback John Clay rushed 16 times for 111 yards (6.9 yards per carry) and two touchdowns in the first half as UW rolled up 346 yards in the first two quarters. Clay left the game early in the final quarter after landing on his right elbow at the end of a 7-yard run. He finished with 172 yards and three touchdowns on 24 carries as UW rolled up 554 yards.
Meanwhile, UW’s defense held Hawaii's high-powered passing attack in check.
Quarterback Bryan Moniz, who entered the night averaging 244.3 passing yards, completed only 8 of 18 passes for 77 yards in the decisive first half. He threw one interception and was sacked three times. He finished 15 for 34 for 197 yards and a touchdown.
As a result, UW (9-3) made a strong case to play in the Outback Bowl, likely against Southeastern Conference member Auburn (7-5).
That is predicated on the Big Ten Conference getting two teams in the Bowl Championship Series, for which the berths are to be announced at 7 Sunday night.
Big Ten champion Ohio State is set to play Oregon in the Rose Bowl. Iowa is projected to get a BCS at-large berth.
If that happens Penn State would play in the Capital One Bowl and the choice for the Outback Bowl would be either UW or Northwestern (8-4). Northwestern beat UW, 33-31, in the teams' Big Ten finale but UW has a better overall record.
The Big Ten nearly saw its hopes for a second BCS berth take a major hit when Nebraska came within a second of upsetting Texas in the Big 12 title game to give the Big 12 two BCS berths.
The Longhorns prevailed, 13-12, on Hunter Lawrence's 46-yard field goal on the final play of the game. UW's defense gave up completions of 12 and 9 yards on the first two plays but then forced consecutive incompletions and a punt.
After a 20-yard punt by Alex Dunnachie, UW took over at its 30.
The Badgers drove 70 yards for a touchdown on six runs for 36 yards and a huge third-down strike of 33 yards to the Hawaii 2 from Tolzien to Nick Toon.
Clay finished off the drive with a dive from 2 yards and 9:07 left in the first quarter.
Tolzien led UW on a beautiful touchdown drive on the Badgers’ third possession of the quarter.
The Badgers took over on their 35 after a Hawaii punt, and Tolzien immediately went to work. He hit Toon for 18 yards to the Hawaii 47 on first down. After a 4-yard run by Monttee Ball, Tolzien had completions of 12 and 23 yards to tight end Lance Kendricks, the latter of which gave UW a first and goal at the 8.
Kendricks then threw the critical block on the perimeter to help spring wide receiver David Gilreath for an 8-yard touchdown run on an end-around with 1:25 left in the quarter.
After UW's defense recorded a three and out, this time after the Warriors started from their 40 because Philip Welch’s kickoff sailed out of bounds, the offense marched down the field for the third time in the half.
UW ran the ball on the first six plays of the drive to move the ball from its 20 to the Hawaii 46. Tolzien then completed a 45-yard bomb to Gilreath, who did a great job coming back for the underthrown pass to make the catch between two Hawaii defenders.
Tolzien sneaked in from a yard out two plays later to help UW push its lead to 21-0 with 11:08 left in the half.
Hawaii answered with a 45-field goal to cut the deficit to 21-3 but after UW’s defense recorded its second three-and-out of the half, UW took over at its 20 and shoved the ball down the Warriors' throats for a 27-3 lead.
UW ran the ball seven times – Clay three times for 49 yards and Ball four times for 31 yards. Clay capped the drive with a 3-yard run with 49 seconds left in the half, though Welch missed the extra-point attempt.
Clay added a 15-yard touchdown run and Welch drilled a 33-yard field goal in the second half to give UW a 37-3 lead in the final quarter before the Warriors drove for their lone touchdown of the game.
The night ended on a touching note for UW.
After linebacker Blake Sorensen intercepted a pass to give UW the ball at the Hawaii 9, UW coach Bret Bielema brought in quarterback Dustin Sherer for his first action of the season.
Sherer scored on an 11-yard run on fourth and goal by leaping into the end zone, an effort that drew cheers and sparked smiles on the UW sideline.
