After having more than 40 players suffer from flu-like symptoms during the week, overtime was probably the last thing Wisconsin was hoping for against Fresno State.
The Badgers persevered, however, and dominated the second overtime period en route to a 34-31 victory over the Bulldogs, with kicker Philip Welch putting a 22-yarder through for the win in double overtime.
“I know our guys are really, really fired up. That was a very, very good football team,” head coach Bret Bielema said. “I have a tremendous amount of respect for (Fresno State head coach) Pat Hill and what he’s been able to do. This is a two-year battle with him now, and I just have the utmost respect for their players and the way they competed.”
It was a pair of Racine natives, however, who truly sealed the win Saturday for Wisconsin.
Sophomore running back John Clay took a first-down handoff from quarterback Scott Tolzien down the right sideline for 72-yards and a score, giving the Badgers a late 24-21 lead. It was Clay’s longest career run and the longest of the season by a significant margin for UW.
Senior free safety Chris Maragos, also of Racine, set the Badgers up for a victory with his impressive interception on the Bulldogs’ first play on the second extra period. Maragos was beat on the play by the Fresno State receiver, but used his speed and athleticism to make a play coming from underneath.
“I saw the ball in the air, and the receiver had about a yard or two on me, so I just continued to speed up, put my head down and ran,” Maragos said. “When I looked up for the ball, it was right there.”
Following the Fresno State turnover, Wisconsin took over at the 25-yard line with one thing in mind: handing the ball off to Clay and letting him run. It worked well as the 248-pound back ran for 20 yards on five carries, which was more than enough to put Welch in range for a game-winner.
Clay finished with 21 carries for 144 yards in the game, his fourth 100-yard rushing game of his young career. Perhaps more importantly, Clay showed why he is considered among the elite backs in the nation on a fourth quarter 72-yard scamper to the end zone.
“That was a big momentum swing; we needed that,” Clay said of the run. “On offense and defense it helped out a lot. Just getting positive yards and pumping the crowd up, getting us motivated to keep going, and that really helped.”
Quarterback Scott Tolzien was under center for the entire game this week, finishing with 225 yards and a touchdown on 17-of-28 (60.7 percent) passing. More notably, Tolzien did not have an interception against Fresno State, after throwing a pair last week in his first career start.
Tolzien was especially effective in overtime, completing his only attempt to sophomore receiver Nick Toon, a six-yard pass over the middle for a touchdown. The junior signal caller was not so impressed with his own efforts, however.
“I’d say C or B,” Tolzien answered when asked to grade his performance. “I had some mental errors on the reads. I need to clean them up and just get better every week. The rest will take care of itself.”
Toon finished with four catches for 49 yards, good for second on the team. Isaac Anderson led the team, grabbing four balls for 70 yards, including a big reception near the end of the first half to set up a big 57-yard field goal by Welch, the longest outdoor field goal in UW history.
As a team, Wisconsin had a well-balanced attack for the second straight week, tallying 188 yards rushing on 39 carries (4.8 yards/carry) and 225 yards through the air on 17-of-28. The Badgers total of 413 yards, however, was less than the Bulldogs’ 468 yards, as the defense failed to stop the big play once again.
Ryan Mathews ripped off a 55-yard run in the third quarter, but UW was fortunate to stop Fresno State on the next play with an Antonio Fenelus interception. Receiver Devon Wylie, who had a big game against the Badgers last year, took in a 70-yard pass for a score on the Bulldogs’ first play from scrimmage in the second quarter.
Captains Maragos and O’Brien Schofield were two bright spots on the defensive side. Both played a huge role in the game for the second week in a row, with Schofield leading the team with 11 tackles, four of which were for a loss, and a sack.
For Maragos, the interception was his second big late game defensive play in as many weeks to start the 2009 season, something Schofield pointed out to him after the game.
“I was joking with him in the shower and I was like, ‘man that’s two weeks in a row you made the game winning play; you’re a big superstar,'” Schofield said. “It means a lot to see that, you know. They was attacking our secondary all day. Just to see how these guys bounce back and make those big plays … it shows a lot.”
