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Finally! Stocco draws up win for ages
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by Tom Ziemer and Eric Schmoldt
Monday, September 26, 2005
For the first time in over a decade, the Wisconsin Badgers have the upper hand in their rivalry with the Michigan Wolverines. The Badgers used a four-yard touchdown run from junior quarterback John Stocco to knock off the No. 14 Wolverines with a 23-20 victory in the two team's Saturday night matchup, the first win for UW in the series since 1994.
"It's a great win," UW head coach Barry Alvarez said. "It's a great win for our program, for the kids. They really fought hard. I thought we beat a really good football team, beat them in a four-quarter football game. [I am] just really pleased with the effort that our guys made, the plays they made down the stretch. They did what they had to do to walk [out] of there with a win."
Stocco's game-winning touchdown came on a third-and-goal situation after a pair of incompletions by the junior signal caller. With the game on the line, a quarterback draw with Stocco caught nearly everyone by surprise and sent the Camp Randall crowd of 83,022 into a thundering roar.
For Alvarez, the victory gave him his third win in 10 tries against Michigan. However, the result was far from easy for Wisconsin. Down 13-3 after the first half, the Badgers used a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns and two field goals from kicker Taylor Mehlhaff to hand Michigan its second loss of the season.
With the win, Wisconsin entered the newly released Associated Press top 25 poll for the first time this season, debuting at No. 17. Michigan, in contrast, dropped out of both national rankings for the first time since 1998 after beginning the season ranked in the top five.
"I don't know how people wouldn't give us credit now," Zalewski said. "We're 4-0 and we've done all we could do. We're just going to keep on rolling."
Running back Brian Calhoun led the way for Wisconsin, carrying the ball 35 times for 155 yards and a touchdown. Calhoun also caught seven passes for 59 yards, the most receptions by a Badger running back under Alvarez.
The victory pushes Wisconsin's record to 4-0 on the season and 1-0 in Big Ten play. This marks the second straight year and fourth in Alvarez's tenure that the Badgers have started a season undefeated through four games.
