BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - If the pain from that gruesome 31-point loss to Indiana University last season lingered for an entire year, the heartache and embarrassment from this meltdown might last far longer.

Read it and weep, Wisconsin fans: Indiana 32, Wisconsin 29.

After blowing a 19-point, second-half lead to the underdog Hoosiers in front of 31,156 fans Saturday at Memorial Stadium, the Badgers (5-2 overall, 0-2 Big Ten) are essentially out of the running for the Big Ten football championship.

"This is one of those feelings in your belly that's not going to go away any time soon," Wisconsin senior offensive tackle Ben Johnson said quietly before boarding the team bus. "It's going to be there for the rest of my life."

Senior quarterback Brooks Bollinger, who was unable to lead the offense into scoring position on the Badgers' final four possessions, acknowledged this loss hurt more than the 63-32 spanking the Hoosiers applied last season in Madison.

"This is about as bad as it gets," said Bollinger, who threw four consecutive incompletions from his 39 on the Badgers' final possession. "For as bad as we needed a win today and to come out and have control of the football game and then let it slide away like that . . ."

His voice faded, just as the Badgers did after building their lead to 29-10 on Dwayne Smith's 1-yard run with 9 minutes 34 seconds left in the third quarter.

Yet up by 19 points against a team that struggled to beat William & Mary and lost by 28 points to Ohio State, which visits Camp Randall Stadium this week, the Badgers fell apart on offense and defense.

Defensive meltdown

Wisconsin's defense, which surrendered 436 yards in the loss to Penn State a week earlier, gave up 405 to an Indiana team that entered the day 10th in the Big Ten in total offense (377.4 yards).

A whopping 220 of those yards came on the Hoosiers' three second-half scoring drives. Gibran Hamdan, a fifth-year senior quarterback who was making his fourth start, directed touchdown drives of 70, 74 and 76 yards as the Hoosiers turned a 29-10 deficit into a 32-29 lead. Hamdan, who completed 15 of 19 passes for 216 yards on those three drives, capped each one with a touchdown pass.

"We had the momentum and a 19-point lead in the third quarter and let them off the hook too many times," Wisconsin coach Barry Alvarez said. "We did a poor job in the back end and they got momentum and we couldn't get anything else going on offense.

"Defensively, we just couldn't make a play."

And suddenly, neither could the offense - the same offense that marched 64 yards for a touchdown on its final possession of the first half, 85 yards for a touchdown on its first possession of the second half and then just 8 yards for a touchdown after an interception by Jim Leonhard.

"You had a team 29-10," senior wide receiver David Braun said. "We've got to find a way to score and put them away."

Punting it away

Three of Wisconsin's final four offensive possessions resulted in punts. The other ended on downs.

Leading, 29-10, the Badgers ran four plays for 6 yards and punted from their 39.

Leading, 29-17, the Badgers ran six plays for 20 yards and punted from their 42.

Leading, 29-24, the Badgers ran eight plays and gained 26 yards (four by penalty) and punted from midfield.

Trailing, 32-29, the Badgers ran five plays for a net of 3 yards (thanks to a holding penalty) and turned the ball over on downs. The drive ended when Bollinger fired low to Jonathan Orr on fourth and 7 from the Wisconsin 39 with 1 minute 29 seconds left.

The telling totals of those drives: 23 plays for a net of 60 yards and no points.

"It's hard to explain," Wisconsin offensive coordinator Brian White said. "A 19-point lead . . . we need to find a way to win the game and keep the momentum. We let them get the momentum and they didn't give it back."

The offense had its chances.

Still leading by 29-17, Bollinger faced third and 8 from his 35. He dropped back to pass, saw no one open and sprinted through the middle of the line.

"I thought I had it," said Bollinger, who passed for 113 yards and a touchdown and ran for 72 yards. "That's another one of those where you say you'd like to do whatever you can to get it. But there were guys coming from each side."

Two Indiana defenders converged and stopped Bollinger a little more than a yard short of the first-down marker.

Several of the offensive linemen signaled to the bench that they wanted to go for the first down. But with still more than 13 minutes remaining, the Badgers opted to punt.

"There was some conversation," White said. "But it was a good yard and a half. It think if it were less than a yard or about a yard we would have done it."

After the Hoosiers marched 74 yards to pull to within 29-24, Wisconsin's offense faced a third and 7 at midfield. Bollinger rolled to his right and fired a pass to Braun, at the first-down marker and in front of the Wisconsin bench.

One official ruled Braun caught the pass but a second ruled Braun had dropped the pass.

"I thought I caught it and I had my knees down," Braun said. "He (the defender) gave me a shot and I think the ball kind of jarred loose. It was a tough call."

Alvarez, who had a good look at the play, said the official made the proper call.

Would Braun have had the first down?

"It was right on the marker," he said. "They probably would have measured."

Final effort fails

There was no need for a measurement after the Hoosiers drove 76 yards in 10 plays, with Hamdan and wide receiver Glenn Johnson hooking up for a 20-yard touchdown pass and the two-point conversion with 2:16 left.

Wisconsin's offense needed to march into field-goal range or drive the distance for the winning touchdown.

Brandon Williams' 32-yard kickoff return put the ball on the 36. A holding penalty reduced Bollinger's 13-yard run to a 3-yard gain, and four consecutive incompletions followed.

"I'm frustrated with my performance," Bollinger said. "After last week's loss, we needed the leaders on the team to step up and find ways to get wins.

"I for one didn't."

Indiana's offense picked up one first down, on Brian Lewis' 5-yard run on third and 4, to run out the clock.

As the final seconds ticked away, the Wisconsin players gazed in disbelief at the scoreboard. The lights faded to black, along with the Badgers' Big Ten title chances.

The pain from this loss, however, will linger indefinitely.