EVANSTON, Ill. -- The Badgers wrap up Big Ten play with a tough road loss falling to (8-3, 5-3). Northwestern beat No. 17 Wisconsin 33-31 on Saturday.

"We left a lot on the field," said Badgers offensive lineman John Moffit. "It hurts to say that, but there is a lot of second guessing and it's a tough one to shallow."

The Badgers struggled in the first half especially trying to stop Northwestern's version of the spread offense. Wildcats' quarterback Mike Kafka hit Andrew Brewer with two first-half touchdown passes and the Badgers trailed 27-14 at the half.

It was Wisconsin's largest half time deficit this season. The Badgers' comeback in the second half came up short thanks to a pair of turnovers, but the real problem was the failure to find a way to stop Kafka and the Wildcats' offense.

"We need to stop the run, stop the pass, get to the quarterback, get turnovers and we did not do that (Saturday)," said J.J. Watt. "And you aren't going to win in the Big Ten like that."

"Credit Northwestern," Badgers' coach Bret Bielema said. "They showed up ready to play and they executed and it was a back-and-forth game and we didn't come out on top."

Northwestern's Brian Peters and Jordan Mabin made key defensive plays late in the game to seal the victory for Northwestern. Peters recovered a fumble by Badgers' running back John Clay and Mabin intercepted a pass from Badgers' quarterback Scott Tolzien.

"We have a very down locker room right now," Bielema said. "And it will take some time to heal the wounds from this one."

"I think it will only make us stronger," said Badgers' safety Chris Maragos. "And guys will bond together and it will make us closer. We have one game left in our regular season and a bowl game. We have a lot of season left."

The Badgers could be headed to the Alamo Bowl which pairs up the fifth place team in the Big Ten with the fifth place team in the Big 12. That bowl game would be played on Jan. 2 in San Antonio. The Alamo Bowl is televised on ESPN.