UW Faces Adversity, Punches Adversity In The Face, Steals Adversity’s Girl » Brats & Beer

October 28, 2006
posted under: Badgers football

Wisconsin managed to make its game today against the Illini a lot more exciting than it probably should have been. But Bielema’s Badgers overcame two first-half turnovers and an 18-point deficit to beat Illinois 30-24.

I hate it sometimes when I’m right, but the UW football team nearly got taken down by some of the mistakes that have plagued them all season, namely ball control. Illinois got on the board first on a 41-yard interception return by Travon Bellamy, then the Illini capitalized on a fumble by John Stocco to take a 14-3 lead in the second quarter.

To their credit, though, the Badgers never let the events of the game get the best of them and came back with an 11-play drive for a touchdown late in the first half. I think that drive really got their confidence going again and led to the comeback in the final 30 minutes.

It didn’t help matters that PJ Hill was out for most of the game. Wisconsin’s star running back was injured in the first half, came back for a few plays, then left the game again for most of the final two quarters. He had just 12 carries for 50 yards. Luckily Stocco stepped up to fill the void, throwing for 217 yards and one touchdown. Travis Beckum had five catches for 76 yards; Luke Swan caught Stocco’s TD pass. Also stepping up was Lance Smith, who rushed for 46 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries. Those aren’t awe-inspiring numbers maybe but it was a good enough effort to get the win.

The defense gets most of the credit for this victory, though, pitching a second half shutout and limiting Juice Williams to 47 yards rushing and 171 yards passing. It took most of the first half to get the scheme down, but the final 30 minutes they managed to completely shut down Ron Zook’s offense. Kudos too for linebacker Mark Zalewski who came up with a big interception in the third quarter that got the rally started for the Badgers.

With the win, UW advances to 5-1 in the Big 10 and maintains its third-place standing in the conference (assuming Ohio State manhandles Minnesota like they should).