MADISON, Wis. _ Wisconsin's defense, save for a fourth-quarter lapse in the Big Ten opener against Northwestern, has been rock solid all season.
The offense, meanwhile, has short-circuited on too many drives because of penalties and turnovers.
UW's offense flashed its potential with three impressive touchdown drives in a span of four possessions Saturday against Maryland.
Coupled with another outstanding defensive effort, which included another interception return for a touchdown, that was enough for fifth-ranked UW to remain unbeaten with a 38-13 victory Saturday at Camp Randall Stadium in front of a crowd of 78,058.
UW (7-0, 4-0 Big Ten) improved to 7-0 for the first time since the 2004 season under Barry Alvarez. That team reached 9-0 and No. 4 in the polls before suffering a 49-14 loss at Michigan State. UW finished 9-3 that season.
With road games against Illinois and Indiana, a combined 0-6 in Big Ten play entering Saturday, UW could be 6-0 in the conference and 9-0 overall entering its final three regular-season games.
Freshman tailback Jonathan Taylor became just the sixth FBS freshman to reach the 1,000-yard mark in his first seven games.
Taylor joined Florida's Emmitt Smith (1987), San Diego State's Marshall Faulk (1991), Oklahoma's Adrian Peterson (2004), North Texas' Jamario Thomas (2004) and UW's P.J. Hill (2006).
Taylor lost a fumble that led to a Maryland field goal, but he rushed 22 times for 126 yards and a touchdown to push his season total to 1,112 yards. Taylor has rushed for at least 100 yards in five of seven games.
Maryland (3-4, 1-3) got a handful of productive plays from quarterback Max Bortenschlager (13 of 30 for 125 yards and a touchdown ) and tailback Ty Johnson (16 carries, 83 yards), but it doesn't have enough firepower and depth yet in Year 2 under DJ Durkin.
Wide receiver DJ Moore, who came in leading the Big Ten in receptions (44), touchdown receptions (seven), receiving yards (624), receiving yards per game (104.0) and receptions per game (7.3) was a non-factor with three catches for 44 yards.
Linebacker T.J. Edwards returned an interception 54 yards for a touchdown just 2 minutes, 45 seconds into the game to give UW the lead for good and Alex Hornibrook overcame an early interception to complete 16 of 24 passes (66.7 percent) for 225 yards and two touchdowns.
Tight end Troy Fumagalli, who had been battling a leg injury and didn't have a catch in the victory over Purdue, had seven catches for 83 yards against Maryland.
UW won the coin toss but deferred its decision to the second half. That put the defense on the field first and it turned out to be a stroke of brilliance.
Maryland ran the ball on its first three plays, for a combined 28 yards to the UW 47.
The Terps tried to catch UW off-guard with a play-action pass on the next play, but nose tackle Olive Sagapolu sacked Bortenschlager for a 10-yard loss.
Two plays later, Bortenschlager was drilled by linebacker Garret Dooley as he tried to throw to the right side. The ball fluttered into the arms of Edwards, who covered 54 yards to the end zone just 2:42 into the game
UW's offense, which committed three turnovers in the victory over Purdue the previous week, was in a giving mood again Saturday.
Hornibrook's second pass of the day sailed over the head of wide receiver A.J. Taylor and into the arms of Maryland safety Josh Woods.
That allowed the Terrapins to take over at their 43 with 5:33 left in the opening quarter.
The Terrapins eventually were forced to punt and UW took over at its 3 with 19 seconds left in the quarter.
Taylor lost a fumble after a 2-yard gain and Maryland took over at the UW 5.
UW's defense, as it had so many times this season after a turnover, stood its ground.
Bortenschlager passed three times and all three were incomplete.
The Terrapins settled for a 23-yard field goal by Henry Darmstadter to pull within 7-3 with 14:52 left in the half.
The fumble marked the 13th time this season UW's defense had taken the field after a turnover (six interceptions, six fumbles and one blocked punt).
Including Maryland's field goal, opponents have scored just five times (three field goals, two touchdowns) off those miscues.
UW's offense finally rose from its slumber after the two turnovers.
Hornibrook hit 5 of 6 passes for 74 yards to highlight a 10-play, 70-yard drive capped by a 3-yard run by Taylor for a 14-3 lead.
Hornibrook hit both third-down throws _ for 7 yards to Fumagalli on third-and-3 and for 15 yards to Quintez Cephus on third-and-12.
After a Maryland punt, Hornibrook hit 4 of 5 passes for 43 yards on a 12-play, 85-yard touchdown drive. Hornibrook capped that drive with an 8-yard touchdown pass to tight end Zander Neuville to help UW push the lead to 21-3 with 32 seconds left in the half.
UW missed a chance to pad that lead after Joe Ferguson recovered a fumble at the Maryland 24 on the ensuing kickoff.
Hornibrook threw consecutive incompletions after Taylor gained 2 yards on first down and Rafael Gaglianone missed a 39-yard field-goal attempt with five seconds left.
With Hornibrook in rhythm after throwing the interception on his second attempt, UW opened the second half with an eight-play, 71-yard touchdown drive to push the lead to 28-3. Hornibrook capped the drive with an 18-yard pass to A.J. Taylor.
UW's defense surrendered consecutive scoring drives as Maryland pulled within 28-10, but UW answered with its fourth touchdown drive of 70 yards or longer to push the lead to 3-13 with 9:10 left in the game.
Hornibrook was 2 of 2 for 28 yards on the drive; Taylor rushed three times for 33 yards and gained 24 on a screen play; and fullback Austin Ramesh capped the drive with a 1-yard run.
UW's offense finally showed signs of life after the early turnovers. If that unit can raise its level of play by eliminating penalties, the Badgers will have a potent 1-2 punch as they drive toward the Big Ten West title.
