Call it the luck of the draw, but for the third time this season UW backup quarterback Jim Sorgi came into a game against a team with a Heisman-candidate quarterback and for the third time, he lost.
With starter Brooks Bollinger on the sideline, Sorgi entered the game for Wisconsin with eight and a half minutes left in the second quarter and UW down by five points. Sorgi wasn’t just facing a team looking for a homecoming victory; he was facing a defense that wanted off the field as fast as possible so Kurt Kittner could orchestrate his game plan.
And orchestrate he did.
Kittner and the UI offense controlled the field for over 20 minutes in the first half alone, making Sorgi once again come in with the weight of UW’s outcome on his shoulders ? just like he did against Fresno State and Oregon earlier this season.
But Sorgi’s first plays were less than stellar. His first drive lasted only four plays and three yards. Then, on his last series of the half, he was sacked for a 10-yard loss on first and ten, and the Badgers could only muster three plays for negative yardage.
At the start of the second half, things did not look any brighter for Sorgi, as he went three and out in his first two series. In fact, with 8:27 left in the third quarter, things looked bleak for Wisconsin.
Then it happened. With the Badgers down 25-7, Sorgi finally started leading the Badgers to a comeback.
“[Sorgi] got in the game and he started off alright,” said UW wideout Nick Davis. “Then he started making plays when it really mattered ? that’s all that really counts.”
The comeback that Sorgi created put UW up 35-28. However, three of those touchdowns came within two minutes of each other, and there were still almost 13 minutes left in the game.
Kittner had enough fuel left in his tank to add two more touchdowns on the board and another victory for the Illini. Just like against Oregon and Fresno State, the Badgers could not hold on to a lead long enough to win, and once again all eyes looked toward Sorgi.
Despite the defeats, Sorgi has proved that he can come in and spark an offense that appeared dormant. He took a team that looked ready to pack its bags at halftime and morphed it into a team that still had some tricks left up its sleeves.
Sorgi picked up blitzes, found the open receivers and made things happen. He made a team that relied on the run and short passes to gain yardage into a team not afraid to throw the long ball and take risks.
“I felt good about how I got things going and I think I got my confidence back,” said Sorgi. “I don’t know why, but I’ve been better when I come in in that kind of situation ? when I don’t know I was going to go in and I had to go in.”
Unfortunately for Sorgi, he had to compete against a quarterback with three seasons under his belt and a Heisman campaign to run.
“I don’t know why, but it always seems like I get the short end of the stick most of the time, said Sorgi. Last year against Purdue [and Drew Brees] ? then coming against Joey Harrington and lose that game, then Dave Carr and lost that game after being up 20-10 at halftime. Then I come to this game, take a seven-point lead with like 10 minutes left in the game against Kittner and Illinois, and that one falls by the wayside.”
In the end the better team won, as UW head coach Barry Alvarez said, but Sorgi gained the confidence that not only made him play better, but his teammates as well.
“It all starts at the quarterback position,” said Nick Davis. “However, it’s a matter of everyone getting on the same page.”
