For the sixth time in school history a Wisconsin running back carried the ball for over 200 yards against the Gopher defense. Anthony Davis piled up 301 yards and five touchdowns to give the Badgers a 49-31 victory in their final regular-season game of the year and assured Wisconsin of a chance to go bowling.
From the onset it was clear that Wisconsin wanted to ride the legs of Davis and senior quarterback Brooks Bollinger, who was playing in what would have been his last game as a Badger if Wisconsin had lost.
“[Brooks] was really into it; he had bounce in his step and he talked to the guys,” said head coach Barry Alvarez. “He got it across to the kids how important [the game] was to him and to the program. I thought he competed hard today; I thought he played extremely hard. On the sideline (he was) doing the same thing: running up and down the sidelines trying to the help the defense. He was trying to do everything he could.”
Together Davis and Bollinger got the Badgers out to a good start, putting 21 points on the scoreboard by halftime while accounting for 208 yards on the ground. Davis had touchdown runs of two and four yards in the first and second quarters that sandwiched a Brooks Bollinger touchdown strike of 12 yards to a wide-open Darrin Charles.
Minnesota, however, hung tough in the first half on the strength of two Dan Nystrom field goals before Terry Jackson dove into the end zone to cap off a 12-play, 58-yard drive. A halfback pass to tight end Ben Utecht for the two-point conversion gave the Gophers 14 first-half points.
The Gophers gained momentum early in the third quarter when Jackson once again found the end zone, this time from seven yards out. The score tied the game at 21-all before Nystrom gave the Gophers their first lead of the game with 8:13 remaining in the third quarter on a 29-yard field goal.
“They did some things in the switch routes,” said defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove. “We were able to get some pressure on them early, and we tried to change up coverages a little bit. Really we got hurt when we tried to change those, but we have to give them credit, too. They know how to throw and catch it, and we have got to be closer to those receivers.”
The teams continued to trade blows throughout the third quarter and into the fourth as the Badger offense capitalized on good field position provided them by a 15-yard Jim Leonhard punt return. Wisconsin reclaimed the lead 28-24 on a 25-yard touchdown scamper up the middle by Anthony Davis.
Wisconsin had used the same formation several times earlier in the game and faked the handoff to Davis and ran Bollinger. With the defense making adjustments to stop Bollinger, Davis’s run opened up.
“We went into the football game saying we were going to wear out two guys,” said offensive coordinator Brian White. “Anthony and Brooks (would be) running the football, and (we would) take our shots throwing it. That was our game plan, and that is what we executed. Both of them ran for over 100 yards.”
Minnesota would strike back again, however, on its first possession of the first quarter. Gopher QB Abdul-Khaliq connected with Thomas Tapeh for a two-yard touchdown just two plays after hitting Tony Patterson streaking past Scott Starks for a 42-yard gain to the Wisconsin one.
“They were doing a couple of different things, but we could have played a little better, and I could have played a little better,” said Starks. “The win kind of overlooks it, really, but we’ll go back to the film and correct it.”
Trailing 31-28 with just over 12 minutes to play the Badger offense went up top to a diving Johnathon Orr. Orr made a spectacular 36-yard grab to put the Badgers in a position to take the lead on the Minnesota 25-yard line. A pass to Russ Kuhns moved the ball to the Wisconsin one, where Bollinger was able to find the end zone on a keeper to give the Badgers the lead.
The next Badger possession saw Davis carry the ball eight times, advancing for a touchdown on a 75-yard drive that ended with a two-yard Davis TD run. The score put Wisconsin in position to reclaim the axe, as they led by nine points with just under three minutes to play.
Minnesota was forced into hurry-up offense and was victimized twice by Jim Leonhard as a result. In the final two minutes of the game, Leonhard intercepted two passes to give him a school-record 10 picks on the season. His 10 interceptions also give him the third-highest single-season total in Big Ten history.
“It’s unbelievable what Jimmy Leonhard has done — how he competes and how he makes plays. The guy isn’t even on scholarship,” said Alvarez. “He broke two school records today. It’s unbelievable. I told him we are going to give him a scholarship now.”
Davis’s big day got even bigger when he broke a 71-yard touchdown run, making the score 49-31 as the Badgers were running out the clock on third and one with under two minutes to play in the game.
The 71-yard run was the longest of Davis’s career, and his 301 yards rushing gave him the third-highest single game total in Wisconsin history. The five touchdowns Davis scored tied the Wisconsin record held by Billy Marek, set against the Gophers in 1974.
“I would say that this (game) was certainly his best,” said White. “He probably played his best two football games since he’s been her in the last two weeks. He is really becoming a complete player … the fun thing is he’s only going to get better.”
