The Wisconsin football squad has looked shaky in all three phases of the game this season, but everything clicked Saturday against Arizona.
UW’s 31-10 domination of the dangerous Wildcats showcased a new concept for Wisconsin this season: a three-phase victory.
Brooks Bollinger passed for only 127 yards, mostly in first-half action, but the senior QB, who tied Mike Samuel and Darrell Bevell for the most wins in school history with the win, played probably his most complete game of the season.
Despite playing with a thigh bruise that he re-aggravated while getting tackled after a long run, Bollinger ran free through the Wildcat defense, which couldn’t figure out whether to key on the pass or the run. His 39-yard scamper in the third quarter, in which he juked two tacklers in the pocket before rumbling through a wide-open secondary, may have been the most impressive of the season for the scrambling specialist.
Anthony Davis looked comfortable again, hitting holes with authority and narrowly missing breaking off two long runs before a “tweaked ankle” forced him to roam the sidelines for most of the second half.
Not that UW needed him. Davis’s 110 yards on 16 carries and two touchdowns were more than enough for the newly stifling Badger defense, which held Arizona to only 292 yards of total offense.
Dwayne Smith once again proved that he is not just a capable backup–he’s a top-flight back in an already crowded backfield. Their 8:31 third-quarter scoring drive had the Badgers’ signature all over it, with Smith carrying the ball nine times for 62 yards. Smith seemed able to break off six- or eight-yard runs at will against a tired Wildcat defense, punishing tacklers with his bullish running style.
The Wildcat offense, which put up 459 yards against Utah and 510 yards against Northern Arizona, seemed baffled by UW’s blitz and coverage schemes. Even though they didn’t record a sack, the Badgers found that getting heat on the quarterback wasn’t as hard as it looked in their first four games. UW defenders laid six hits on Arizona quarterback Jason Johnson, including two especially brutal smack-downs coming courtesy of QB pressure master Erasmus James.
The UW defense rattled Johnson early, and the senior quarterback, who was fourth nationally in passer efficiency prior to the contest, didn’t exactly look like a guy coming off two straight 400-yard games. Johnson spent most of his day skipping passes in front of his receivers, and four drops certainly didn’t help Johnson’s confidence in his wideouts.
With UA staying away from Scott Starks in the first half, Johnson picked on B.J. Tucker, who responded with mostly tight coverage and two beautiful picks.
In the first quarter, Tucker proved to the Badger coaching staff that it should be playing him on offense when he maneuvered in front of his man and leaped high in the air before making a fingertip grab for an interception. The pick was only the second of the season for the usually accurate Johnson.
Tucker figured he shouldn’t leave backup QB Nic Costa out of the fun, and on Costa’s first series, Tucker again out-battled his man and made a nice catch along the sideline for his second pick of the day.
UW’s special teams unit completed the three-phase trifecta, with Alex Lewis’ punt block highlighting extremely solid efforts in the kicking, punting and return aspects of the game. Scott Campbell hit all his extra points and stroked a 32-yard field goal. R.J. Morse dropped three of his seven punts inside the 20 and only had two punts returned. In all, the kicking game pinned Arizona deep all game, forcing the Wildcats into an average starting field position of their own 26-yard line, and the UA offense was in no shape to post many 70-plus yard drives.
Disappointment set in upon the realization that Jim Leonhard actually knows how to fair-catch a punt, which he did in the first quarter, but the fearless return man ripped off an impressive 31-yard second-quarter return chock full of speed, shimmies and a slam or two.
The complete victory bodes well for the start of the Badgers’ Big Ten schedule in two weeks. With Penn State, possibly the best two-way team in the Big Ten, coming into Camp Randall after the Badgers’ bye week, mistakes in any phase of the game could be deadly. Both the Badgers’ confidence and comfort level seem to be on the rise, and Barry Alvarez seemed pleased after the Arizona win and plenty ready for a break after five non-conference games.
“It was sound,” Alvarez said of the victory. “All three phases contributed to the win. I thought we beat a good football team. We need this time off. We need this week off. We have some guys that are banged up. Plus, mentally we need to get away and just clear our heads and get ready for the Big Ten season.”
