When Matt Schabert’s fourth-quarter pass fell from the sky into the arms of Lee Evans, there were only green pastures of FieldTurf standing between the senior wide-out and a Badger victory.

“Being the guy that I am, I threw it, and I’m like, ‘Please don’t be overthrown, please don’t be overthrown, please catch it,’ and as soon as I saw him snag it, I figured that nobody was going to be able to catch him,” Schabert commented after the game.

With 6:09 left in regulation and the score tied 10-10, the Badger offense trotted onto the field, and Evans entered the huddle knowing that in one play he could complete history.

“I knew I was able to get open at certain points,” Evans said. “When it came down to [making] a play for the team, I got open.”

The crowd inside of Camp Randall was already on its feet, and the euphoric energy was matched by a sort of uneasiness regarding what had just occurred. In typical Buckeye fashion, Ohio State scored its first touchdown of the game with just over 6:00 left. Senior quarterback Craig Krenzel hooked up with wide receiver Michael Jenkins on the biggest of his four catches for a six-yard score. Throughout its last 19 games, OSU believed in its big-time players making big-time plays, and that trust hadn’t failed the Buckeyes yet.

The Buckeye defense gave up nearly 100 yards to Booker Stanley in the second half alone and had problems containing the Badgers all game.

A first-down Stanley rush from the Wisconsin 20-yard line led to a second-and-nine for the UW offense. With the game hanging in the balance and the Badgers’ second-string quarterback on the field, it was time for someone to step up for UW. That man was Lee Evans.

“It was a great call by Coach White, really trusting Lee and myself in that situation. I also think it was great timing,” Schabert said about the game-winning score. “The cornerback bit on it big-time, and all I could do [was] just see Lee going by him, and I just laid it up for him.”

The 79-yard pass completion up the right sideline showed how quickly Lee Evans can change the outcome of a game. A straight pattern with a simple double fake had Evans streaking down the field, leaving the OSU defense in his wake. Separating from Chris Gamble on the pattern, Evans shifted gears after the catch, putting 10 yards between himself and the OSU pursuit.

“It’s unfortunate that it wasn’t a game that you featured Lee Evans,” head coach Barry Alvarez said. “But when it came crunch time, late in the game, to make a play, there’s nobody I’d rather have doing it than Lee Evans.”

The setup on the pass completion to Evans was the running game of freshman Booker Stanley. Stanley’s third 100-yard game of the season came against the nation’s No. 1 rushing defense, stating his arrival in front of a national television audience.

“Every yard that was made tonight on the ground was earned,” Alvarez said. “Booker did a tremendous job. To rush for 100 yards against them, that’s big time.”

Stanley not only rushed for 100 yards, he made some big plays at crucial points in the game. On UW’s second drive of the day, Stanley received the handoff on nine of 12 plays, converting a third down midway through the drive with a nine-yard scamper and capping it off to start the second quarter with a score.

Showing patience and following his blockers, Stanley’s two-yard rush put Wisconsin up 7-0 on a drive that took almost seven and a half minutes.

Ending the first half with just 38 yards on 10 carries, Stanley emerged from halftime as the workhorse of the Badger offense. Although Ohio State’s defense had allowed just 43.4 rushing yards per game in 2003, Stanley wouldn’t be denied in the second half. An ode to the stellar play of UW’s offensive line, Stanley ran for 87 yards after halftime, including 29 yards on the Badgers final drive.

“Booker got hot, and we kept him in there,” offensive coordinator Brian White said. “He was fun to watch tonight; I really thought he competed and was physical and really enjoyed the football game.”

The most enjoyable play of Stanley’s career may have come when his number was called on a second-down play with less than 2:00 remaining in the game.

“I think Booker’s numbers against a great defense speak for themselves. Every yard he made, he earned,” Alvarez said. “The game wasn’t over until he got that last first down.”

Indeed, the game was over when Stanley bounced outside for the game’s final first down, a play that sent Camp Randall and the Badgers into a frenzied celebration.

Wisconsin’s 17-10 victory over OSU proved the importance of playmakers in determining the outcome of a game. It’s players like Lee Evans who only need one touch in an entire game to alter the finish. When Stanley and Evans touched the ball Saturday, it just seemed as though special things would happen.

“That’s the great part of sports,” Alvarez said, “finding out who’ll be competitive and who can answer the call in crunch time.”