They knew it was coming. They knew they had a target on them. Maybe that’s why they were able to stop it.

Fully aware that the Marshall attack was going to be coming after them, the Wisconsin secondary rose to the challenge Saturday, forcing three interceptions that helped put away the Thundering Herd.

“We felt like they were going to try and go deep on us, try to attack the young guys,” cornerback Allen Langford said. “That’s what they did; that’s what we came out doing. We came in the second half, and we stopped it. We took it upon ourselves to stop the big plays, and that’s what we did.”

It started on Marshall’s first possession of the second half. With his team down just three points, quarterback Mark Cann — who had already thrown for 183 yards — had his third-down pass intercepted by Niles Brinkley and returned to the Marshall 22-yard line.

Two plays later, P.J. Hill scored on a 1-yard run, and the Badgers made it a two-possession game.

Cann rebounded, though, and on Marshall’s next possession the quarterback drove his team across midfield into Wisconsin territory. But safety Shane Carter intercepted another third-down pass, and after a long return that extended from one sideline to the other, the Badgers had the ball on the Marshall 26-yard line.

Just one play later the Badgers scored, and a 17-14 contest quickly turned into a 31-14 blowout.

After a strong first half, Cann was pulled less than six minutes into the third quarter, and though he returned late in the game, the damage was too much for Marshall to overcome.

Cann’s replacement, Brian Anderson, didn’t fare much better. His first passing attempt was intercepted by Brinkley as well. It was the third straight Marshall possession to end in an interception.

The three takeaways were a vast improvement for a unit that struggled in the team’s opener against Akron.

Brinkley’s performance was especially impressive. The sophomore didn’t have much experience under his belt but was thrust into extended playing time against Marshall when starter Mario Goins aggravated an injury early on.

“When we saw [Goins] maybe not running full speed we made a decision to go with Brinkley,” head coach Bret Bielema said. “We thought Niles would give us a better opportunity today, and obviously he took advantage of it.”

Despite lining up against Marshall’s star receiver Darius Passmore at times, Brinkley didn’t blink. Two interceptions later, it was clear Bielema’s decision had paid off.

“All I wanted to do was get the offense the ball back so they could be in position to score,” Brinkley said. “All big plays like that give the team a boost of energy.”

The first of Brinkley’s two picks came after reading the route and stepping in front of the pass.

“I was basically just reading my keys, going through the progressions, doing what the coaches tell me,” Brinkley said. “I saw him throwing the ball and I just broke on the ball. There wasn’t anything going through my mind. I was just focused on the receiver and trying to make a play.”

His second interception was a little more athletic. After the pass was tipped off of Passmore’s hands, Brinkley reacted immediately and caught the ball as it went out of bounds.

“He’s got good ball skills; he’s a physical kid,” Bielema said. “The awareness on the second [interception] is hopefully a good corner in the making.”

Carter’s interception came on a questionable pass that was suspect enough for Marshall coach Mark Snyder to pull his quarterback over.

Carter’s return was a little questionable as well.

The safety cut across the entire width of the field searching for a path to the end zone before finally being brought down deep in Marshall territory.

“I think we need to work with Mr. Carter and Mr. Brinkley on their return skills, just securing the football,” Bielema said.

Brinkley fumbled his first interception, but the ball went out of bounds before Marshall could recover it.

Returns aside, the performance of the secondary put the Badgers in a position to win and helped to remove any lingering doubts about the unit.

“It’s hopefully addicting,” Bielema said.