SPORTS
Wisconsin looks to axe Minnesota
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Also by Ben Voelkel:
- Rocky trip Outback for UW (January 1, 2008)
Related Stories:
- UW pulls off Minneapolis miracle (October 17, 2005)
- Badgers get axed (November 25, 2001)
- UW looking to contain Maroney, Barber III (November 5, 2004)
- UW ready to protect Paul Bunyan's Axe (October 14, 2005)
- High expectations await Dome visit (November 15, 2007)
by Ben Voelkel
Friday, November 16, 2007
The last time Wisconsin and Minnesota met in the Hubert H.
Humphrey Metrodome, the Golden Gophers seemed to have the game locked up.
Trailing by three late in the fourth quarter, the Wisconsin
punt return team ran out onto the field. Having somehow just stopped
Minnesota's Laurence Maroney (who ran for 258 yards on the day) short on
third-and-two, the Badgers were set to get the ball back for one last-ditch
effort to try and avoid losing their second consecutive game.
"Going out on the field, we had the punt block on and we
sincerely thought we were going to be able to block it," defensive back Ben
Strickland said after practice one day this week.
If the Badgers weren't able to get to Minnesota punter
Justin Kucek and block the kick, dangerous punt returner Brandon Williams was
deep to return the ball.
"We got together in the huddle before the play, and we
basically said, 'Do your job, B-Will gonna take it to the house,'" linebacker
Jonathan Casillas said.
Kucek fumbled the snap, and after recovering the ball tried
to get a punt off as he rolled right.
Casillas broke away from his blocker and stuffed the punt
off of Kucek's foot, sending the ball bounding into the Minnesota end zone.
"After I blocked the punt, I felt somebody push me away from
the ball, and I look up and it was [Strickland]," Casillas said.
Eight seconds after it all started, Strickland ended up
coming out of a pile of Badgers with the ball for a touchdown that sent then-UW
head coach Barry Alvarez out with a victory in his final Minnesota-Wisconsin
game.
"I guess you could classify it as a miracle, just the way it
happened," Strickland said. "How fast it happened, how fast of a turnaround it
was."
When Wisconsin and Minnesota square off Saturday for the 117th
playing of the historic boarder rivalry, statistics would say the Badgers
shouldn't need another miracle to pull out a victory.
After all, the Gophers (1-10, 0-7) — the only non-bowl
eligible team in the Big Ten — rank second-to-last in the conference in
offensive points scored and dead last in all but one defensive statistic the
Big Ten keeps (Wisconsin ranks last in red zone defense, Minnesota eighth).
Minnesota's only victory came more than two months ago, in
triple overtime against Miami (Ohio).
But if there's one thing Badgers versed in the
Wisconsin-Minnesota rivalry know, it's that when it comes to a game for Paul
Bunyan's Axe, prior results mean next to nothing.
"Whatever the records are, there's always a good ball game,"
Strickland said. "It always comes down to a fight to the end, especially in the
Metrodome."
In fact, of the last 10 times the two schools have played in
"The Dome," only once has the final margin of victory been more than one score.
"I think any kind of rivalry game you throw the records out
the window," Casillas said. "They're going to be ready to play, they're not
going to a bowl — this is basically their bowl game, their national
championship.
"They're going to pull out all stops and we know that. We're
going to get their best shot, we're in their home, playing a rivalry game that
we beat up on them the last couple years."
The Minnesota team Wisconsin faces this year will look a lot
different than Gopher teams in recent times.
In his first year as head coach, Tim Brewster did away with
former head coach Glen Mason's power running game. In its place, Brewster
instituted a wide-open spread offensive attack, putting the ball in redshirt
freshman quarterback Adam Weber's hands and asking him to make plays.
"I think the quarterback is one of the players — no, he is
the player — that makes the offense run," Casillas said. "He's done a great job
this year, got great numbers … and you can tell he's their leader, he's the guy
they look for to make plays on third down."
"They're a solid offense and they're something that has to
really be taken seriously," defensive end Kirk DeCremer added.
Donovan may start
Following last week’s game in which he was forced to leave
in the fourth quarter after banging his hand on a helmet, quarterback Tyler
Donovan proclaimed himself ready to play "another four quarters."
Thursday, UW head coach Bret Bielema said he believes his
senior signal caller will start against Minnesota.
"Tyler's been able to do some things during the course of
the week, I anticipate him being able to go on Saturday," Bielema said.
Were Donovan to look bad during warm-ups or take a turn for
the worse, Allan Evridge would be the starting quarterback, Bielema said.
Bielema also said Zach Brown would start at running back for
the third consecutive week. Whether P.J. Hill plays at all or not will be a
game-time decision.
Vadim Lavrusik (November 17, 2007 @ 1:17pm):
Let's be honest. We aren't going to win a game for the next two years if Brewster is still the coach.
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