Beth read this.

Morgantown, WV– A game’s worth of red-zone frustration did not keep the Badgers down, as they needed a quick touchdown at the start of the fourth quarter. Despite the offense’s failings and two missed chances from kicker Scott Campbell, the Badger offense was unwavering in its determination to win, gutting out a 24-17 victory.

“In the first half we were getting down in the red zone and we’d get a penalty or we’d make a mistake or blow an assignment, but we were determined to finish the game strong,” sophomore wide receiver Brandon Williams said after the game.

Putting the early mishaps behind them, Jim Sorgi stepped up in the pocket and delivered a 20-yard strike on third and long to Lee Evans, who maneuvered his way around his defender to make the catch and break a tackle and charge towards the end zone.

“It was crunch time for our team, and I knew somebody had to step up and make a play,” Evans said. “I wanted to be the guy … That catch was a big statement play for me. Being strong to the ball, breaking tackles and getting into the end zone makes the statement that I’m back.”

With that catch Evans and the entire Badger team proved they were back, as a team and in the game.

“It was almost like a switch went on when he caught that ball; he wasn’t going down,” Barry Alvarez said. “It kind of reminded me of some of his old runs … It was typical Lee Evans, all hands.”

The catch gave the team the confidence they needed. The offensive line stepped it up in the final quarter, bulldozing Anthony Davis’ way for the game’s winning touchdown. Davis’ stretch drive sealed the deal for the Badgers.

“It got to a point in the game where we just had to get back to traditional Wisconsin football,” Davis said. “We had to really start pounding them and it starts with the offensive line.”

Despite the clutch play, the Wisconsin offense did indeed look like it was playing its first game of the season. There were dropped snaps and less than stellar handoffs to go along with the red-zone frustrations. But the Badgers kept at it and came away with the first win of the season and in quarterback Jim Sorgi’s career as a starter.

“It was important for him to get a win for this season,” Alvarez said. “This is Jim’s team. This win gives our team a lot of momentum because we knew how hard this game was going to be.”

Alvarez had dismissed the importance of Sorgi getting his first win for weeks leading up to the game, instructing his captain to ignore questions of confidence and concentrate on his desire to win his first game.

After the final whistle had blown, it was a much different story for the senior quarterback.

“It is a big relief off my shoulders,” Sorgi said. “I think everybody had it in the back of their mind. You know, ‘Wisconsin’s a good football team, but their quarterback has never won a game.’ Today, we squashed it.”

Defensively, the Badgers reeled off some big plays, most notably from Alex Lewis. The senior outside linebacker was all over the field, making big tackles on special teams, including a punt block that Kareem Timbers corralled for the touchdown.

Lewis also laid a clean hit on West Virginia quarterback Rasheed Marshall, bruising his sternum and sending the quarterback to the sideline for the game’s middle two quarters. Despite his hustle and hard tackles, Alvarez had mixed reactions for Lewis’ performance.

“Alex had some big plays and he had some mistakes,” Alvarez said. “Alex just needs to learn how to slow down a little bit. He just tries to go a little too fast all the time and has a tendency sometimes to overrun some plays.”

But there is room for improvement on all ends of the ball. Wisconsin played far from the perfect game, and the next week will be used both to prepare for Akron and to work out the kinks the Badgers experienced against the Mountaineers.

“In your first game you’re going to have some mishaps and some mental errors, things of that nature,” team captain Jeff Mack said. “We got out of here with a win, we played a good team, but I give all the credit to our guys and the coaching staff.”

In the end, more important than Sorgi’s first win as a starter or Evan’s touchdown was the score at the end of the game. The Badgers won, period. Despite their mistakes, they were composed enough to get past them and win the game.