As the final second ticked off the Camp Randall scoreboard Saturday, freshman third-string quarterback John Stocco stood poised in the UW pocket, surveying the field for an open receiver and a touchdown that would send the senior class off the field in victorious celebration.

“I tried to jam it in there to him (Jonathan Orr), just trying to get something out of it because, like I said, we were running out of time,” Stocco said of the game’s final play. “I just wanted to try and make something happen.”

Stocco’s pass was thrown on a rope toward Orr in the end zone, but Hawkeye defensive back Sean Considine broke up the pass to preserve Iowa’s 27-21 victory.

“It’s a frustrating way to finish for our seniors, who competed and played so hard, just to come up a little short,” offensive coordinator Brian White said. “Unfortunately we didn’t finish and make a play at the end of the game to win it, but talk about a resilient group hanging in there and finding a way to give yourself a chance at the end of the football game.”

The Badgers got that chance by putting together the longest drive of the fourth quarter after Jim Leonhard fair caught an Iowa punt at the Iowa 48-yard line with 3:28 remaining in the game. A huge leaping grab by Darrin Charles on a third-down-and-five play gave UW a first down on the Iowa 20-yard line with 2:04 on the clock. Two runs later, the Badgers had the ball with a first and goal on the 10-yard line. With 0:21 remaining, Stocco called the team’s final timeout.

“He was incredibly poised to step into that type of environment in that game,” Lee Evans said of Stocco. “He really ran this offense very well. I told him after the game I was extremely proud of him.”

On third down, Stocco found his first two receivers covered as Evans streaked across the goal line while Jonathan Orr was covered in the back of the end zone. Stocco eventually dumped the ball off to Dwayne Smith in the flat, but Smith was dropped for just a one-yard gain. With the clock still running, Stocco commanded a chaotic scene on the field and lined his team up for the last play of the game.

“We had plenty of time and then once we got down [at] the end there on that third down, we didn’t have any timeouts,” Stocco said. “It was third down so we had to run two quick plays and just ran out of time.”

As his pass fell incomplete, Stocco concluded a gutsy performance, completing five of nine passes for 84 yards. The redshirt freshman entered the game only after quarterback Jim Sorgi was sidelined with a concussion at the start of the second quarter and backup quarterback Matt Schabert threw three interceptions.

The Iowa offense got things moving on its second possession of the game when they took over the ball on their own 34-yard line after Mike Allen missed a 52-yard field goal attempt. Senior tailback Fred Russell sprinted up the sideline for a 47-yard gain and a Hawkeye first down at the Badger 19. A Ramon Ochoa 18-yard rush gave Iowa a 7-0 lead — a lead they wouldn’t see again until late in the third quarter.

Hawkeye quarterback Nathan Chandler was forced into a throwing situation after the Badger defense stymied Iowa’s rushing attack midway through the opening quarter. UW defensive back Scott Starks was able to step in front of the intended receiver and pick off the pass.

“It was just a curl route, and he tried to throw it to the backside shoulder. We had been looking at it on tape all week. I saw it coming and just reacted,” Starks said of the interception before he echoed the feeling in the Badger locker room after the game.

“I would have gladly [given] back the interception and whatever else to get the win.”

With the game tied after an Anthony Davis touchdown on the ensuing drive, the Badgers used a little trickery on their next offensive possession as Sorgi threw a lateral to Evans, who, in turn, lobbed it back across the field to Sorgi for an 18-yard gain.

“I just told him I’d throw him a nice little butter spiral out there and see if he can make a play on it,” Evans said.

Anthony Davis, who was seeing his first action since Oct. 18, finished the drive spinning out of a tackle for the four-yard score. With the Badgers up 14-7, Sorgi took a hard hit from junior defensive end Tyler Luebke as he released a pass. Matt Schabert led the Badgers’ next offensive possession, which began after a Kyle McCorison interception of Chandler. Schabert completed one of two passes on the drive before watching Dwayne Smith put UW up 21-7 with a one-yard run.

On Schabert’s second drive, he overthrew Evans over the middle and the Iowa offense was able to capitalize as Chandler threw a six-yard touchdown toss to Ochoa.

Still up 21-14, Schabert was unable to lead the Badgers to another first down in the first half, and Iowa closed the gap to 21-17 on a Nate Kaeding 50-yard field goal.

The second half began as a battle of field position, as neither team could mount a scoring drive. After a 54-yard punt downed on the Wisconsin four-yard line, the Iowa defense pressured Schabert into throwing his second interception of the day.

A one-yard Russell touchdown run gave Iowa a lead they would never relinquish. Schabert’s third interception on the Badgers’ next possession led to a Hawkeye field goal that would conclude the game’s scoring early in the fourth quarter.

“I thought the one in the middle, the last one that went to the one-yard line should have been thrown to Lee outside, that ball was forced,” UW head coach Barry Alvarez said of Schabert’s interceptions. “The other one he just didn’t put enough on it, just a soft ball into the middle of the formation.”

With the Badgers in need of stronger play at the quarterback position, Sorgi began warming up on the Badger sideline but was refused medical clearance to return to action.

“He was still ready to come back in and play, he was saying ‘just gotta shake it off a little bit’ and that’s his competitive heart, his competitive desire to be out there,” Evans said of Sorgi. “I could only imagine what he was going through. His last home game sitting out, it’s got to be a gut-wrenching feeling.”

Enter redshirt freshman John Stocco, whose most extensive playing experience came at the end of UW’s blowout over Michigan State last weekend.

“I thought he really handled himself well and played with some poise and gave us an opportunity to win,” coach White said of Stocco. “It certainly was good to see him compete in those circumstances.”

Stocco led the Badgers to the brink of victory before falling just short on a fourth-down play as time expired.

“It was a very difficult loss,” Alvarez said. “I told our players going into the game, I thought turnovers would be a key … We just turned it over too many times in the second half.”

“It just didn’t end the way we wanted it to end. You have a little time just to reflect back walking off the field, walking up the tunnel,” Evans said after his final game in Madison. “It’s hard to take, but I’m proud of everybody on this team. We played hard but just came up on the short end.”