The Spartans, with Dimitrius Underwood getting two sacks, held Wisconsin to just 55 yards in the second half Saturday and Michigan State defeated the Badgers, 30-13, for its third straight victory.
The Spartans (4-1, 5-3) held Wisconsin (0-4, 3-4) scoreless in the second half, the second time this season they have blanked an opponent over the final 30 minutes.
''They out-physicalled us,'' Wisconsin coach Barry Alvarez said.
Michigan State had 471 yards, 202 on the ground. Wisconsin had 290 yards, 137 rushing.
Sedrick Irvin easily won his matchup with Wisconsin freshman Ron Dayne. Irvin rushed for 125 yards and one touchdown and caught a 25-yard pass for another. It was his fourth game of 100-plus yards on the ground.
In their previous three games, the Badgers - favored to contend for the conference championship before the season started - lost to No. 3 Penn State, No. 2 Ohio State and No. 14 Northwestern by a combined 10 points, none by more than four.
''I never would have guessed we'd be 0-4,'' said Wisconsin kicker John Hall, who finished with two field goals. ''If someone had told me, I'd never have believed it. It's very frustrating.''
Wisconsin got a 12-yard touchdown run from quarterback Mike Samuel in addition to Hall's field goals. Samuel, frequently under heavy pressure, completed 15-of-28 passes for 153 yards.
''We weren't surprised so much by their pressure. We expected that,'' Samuel said. ''We were confident. You just have to give Michigan State credit. They just played better than we did today.''
Todd Schultz, who completed 18-of-25 passes for 269 yards, with one interception, flipped a 26-yard touchdown pass to Duane Goulbourne in addition to the TD toss to Irvin. Chris Gardner kicked three field goals for the Spartans.
The three victories in the Spartans' current streak have come since Schultz returned from a knee injury which kept him out of three games.
''You wonder where he gets his poise and confidence from,'' offensive guard Brian Mossallam said. ''The man plays with confidence. It oozes out of him in the huddle. You'd think he had started for three years.''
By winning the last three games, Michigan State has put itself in the running for a bowl berth.
''We've put ourselves in a position now that each game that we play is more and more important,'' Michigan State coach Nick Saban said. ''And obviously the game coming up this week will be very important.''
The Spartans travel to Ann Arbor for their annual grudge match with Michigan next week. The Badgers host Purdue.