BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The University of Wisconsin football team chose the ball after Indiana won the opening toss and deferred on Saturday at Memorial Stadium.

Maybe the Badgers should have chosen having the sun at their back.

Returner David Gilreath lost two balls in the sun, the opening kickoff which sailed harmlessly into the end zone for a touchback, and the first punt, which he muffed and led to a Hoosiers touchdown.

It set the stage for a sloppy game for the Badgers, who probably were due for one of those. That didn't stop them from emerging with a less-than-artistic 31-28 victory.

UW's second straight win improved its record to 7-2 overall and 4-2 in the Big Ten Conference. The Hoosiers lost their fifth straight in the series and fell to 4-6 and 1-5.

It was a warm and sunny day, but the wind affected play, in addition to the sun.

The Badgers could have been content to run the ball, which they have done with great success against the Hoosiers, including 441 yards and three 100-yard rushers in last year's win here.

But offensive coordinator Paul Chryst tried to get too cute when the Badgers had a first-and-goal from the Indiana 1-yard line in the second quarter of a 7-7 game. The Badgers had driven from their own 20, converting three third-and-1s on the drive, and four in the game to that point.

On first down, they came out in an inverted wishbone, with two tight ends lined up in front of tailback John Clay. Quarterback Scott Tolzien faked a handoff and had tight end Garrett Graham open in the end zone but the pass was knocked down at the line.

On second down, Tolzien tripped coming away from center and lost 4 yards. On third-and-goal from the 5, Tolzien hit tight end Lance Kendricks for a touchdown, but it was wiped away by an offensive interference penalty. UW settled for a 26-yard field goal by Philip Welch and a 10-7 lead.

It was that kind of half for the Badgers, who had two big drops on the same drive, by Graham and wide receiver Isaac Anderson, on a drive while leading 17-7.

On fourth-and-3 from the Indiana 40, punter Brad Nortman went under center and tried to draw the Indiana defense offside, to no avail.

Indiana quarterback Ben Chappell then went after cornerback Niles Brinkley on the next series. Terrance Turner caught a 33-yard pass against Brinkley on first down. Two plays later, Tandon Doss hauled in a 46-yard touchdown pass, when Brinkley failed to make a play on the ball, despite being in good position.

That pulled the Hoosiers within 17-14, with 2 minutes, 32 seconds left in the half, but it didn't last.

Freshman Chris Borland took a short kickoff and returned it 32 yards to the Indiana 49-yard line. The Badgers needed just six plays to reach the end zone, with Clay scoring on a 14-yard run.

Clay shook off an early injury and finished the half with 15 carries for 134. He appeared to get his neck bent back in the first quarter and left the game briefly. He did not play in the second half.

Tolzien threw his first touchdown pass in four games in the first quarter for UW's first score, an 18-yard completion to Anderson. That came after Chappell hit Doss for an 11-yard pass after the Gilreath fumble.

The Badgers also got a 1-yard touchdown run by Montee Ball in the second quarter.

The mistakes continued to pile up in the second half. Defensive tackle Jeff Stehle had a roughing-the-passer penalty on the Hoosiers' first drive. But Borland made yet another play to get the Badgers off the field.

Borland had two third-down stops short of the first down in the first half. This time, defensive end O'Brien Schofield crashed into Chappell as he was throwing and Borland made a leaping interception at the Hoosiers' 4.

The defense needed another big play in the fourth quarter, but Chappell was able to convert a fourth-and-5 at the UW 39 with a 30-yard completion to Damarlo Belcher. Cornerback Antonio Fenelus tried to rip the ball free and Belcher ended up carrying him for about 15 extra yards.

The Hoosiers then pulled within 24-21 on Chappell's 6-yard touchdown pass to Turner against free safety Chris Maragos with 12 minutes to play.

The offense answered with a big play of its own, Tolzien finding Nick Toon wide open for a 44-yard completion. That set up Ball's 2-yard touchdown run to make it 31-21 with 8:18 left.

But the Badgers' defense couldn't stop Chappell, who threw for 323 yards and three scores. He led an 80-yard drive in 12 plays, including completions of 20 and 21 yards. The Hoosiers elected to go for it on fourth-and-goal from the 2 and Trea Burgess made it pay off with a run off right tackle to make it 31-28 with 4:01 left.

The UW offense got the ball back on its own 20 and converted a big first down when Tolzien connected with Toon on an 18-yard completion to midfield on third-and-8.