Barry Alvarez-coached teams are known for their ability to run the ball at the opposition all day long, no matter what type of defense the opposition lines up. At one point, that included running at nine-man fronts. If last Saturday’s game against West Virginia is any indication, those days may have passed.
“They loaded the box, and we knew that they would,” Alvarez said. “They really crowded their linebackers in there so that we couldn’t come off on combination blocks. They made it really tough to run on them.”
Instead of continuing to pound the ball against the large fronts, as Alvarez has admittedly done in the past, the Badgers turned to the pass. Not only did the Badgers turn to the pass – they did so without the aid of experience at the wide-receiver position.
Brooks Bollinger turned in his fifth-best yardage performance as a passer, hitting on 14 of 20 passes for 218 yards. Two hundred three of those yards came in the first half, before the Badgers returned to their usually conservative play-calling after a building a 31-point lead.
Three of the five Badger touchdowns came on the ground, but each of those three scores were set up by consistent passing. As a team, the Badgers totaled 291 yards through the air. The performance ranks as the third-highest passing output since the beginning of the 1996 season.
“We threw the ball today. In years past, we might want to see if they can still stop [the run] or not,” Alvarez said. “We’ve run against it and we run successfully against it. I think we can throw the ball, and if you want to load up I think we can hurt you throwing it.”
The move to the pass is a tribute to the confidence that the coaches feel in their quarterbacks and in their young receivers. With Darrin Charles out with an ankle injury sustained early in the game, the Badgers were led by freshman pair, Brandon Williams and Jonathon Orr. Williams had six catches for 125 yards, while Orr caught five balls for 94 yards.
“I think the quarterbacks are feeling more confident in the receivers; the coaches are feeling more confident in us,” Brandon Williams said. “We are working very hard, so we are not going to get worse – we will only get better.”
After making several grabs in the opener, Williams was noticeably missing in action against UNLV as he made only one catch with no yardage gain. However, this week he was the key piece in the offense for the University of Wisconsin.
UW freshmen scored four touchdowns Saturday to continue what has quickly become an amazing contribution by the class. Orr scored two touchdowns Saturday, while fullback Matt Bernstein and tailback Dwayne Smith each added one of their own. For the season, Bernstein and Orr have three touchdowns apiece. Of the Badgers’ 10 total touchdowns this season, freshmen have accounted for an amazing eight of them. The eight-touchdown contribution is far beyond what anyone could have expected from the unproven group.
“I didn’t even know that we had contributed that much,” said Williams. “I don’t think we expected it. I think that we are trying to come out and be football players before we are freshmen.”
In addition to their freshmen, Wisconsin is also playing two JUCO transfers from last offseason’s recruiting class. Scott Campbell has handled all the kickoff duties this season and has recently begun handling field-goal duties as well. Linebacker Alex Lewis has also been a key contributor in the Badger victories. He is still inexperienced and learning the systems but was credited with five tackles Saturday.
“I’m still trying to learn,” Lewis said. “Hopefully I will get it all together. I’m getting a lot of help from the assistant coaches.”
While Barry Alvarez might rather run each play with seniors at each position, the situation has dictated otherwise. Winning while throwing the ball to freshmen is something that even Wisconsin coaches could not have fully expected, but they will continue to be pleased if this group continues to contribute the way it has so far.
