This one was a different game for the UW football team. With Ohio State 6-0 and ranked No. 4, a different-caliber team. With Heisman candidate Maurice Clarett in the backfield, a different-caliber running back. With UW sitting at 0-2 in conference, different pressure to win now. Unfortunately for UW, though, it was the same old story. Once again, the inability to make the big play in the big situation doomed the Badgers, who for the third week in a row were only a break or two away from a win, this time a tremendous upset.
Chris Gamble’s athletic play to leap in front of a Jim Sorgi pass and take a touchdown away from Jonathan Orr in the late fourth quarter typified UW’s Big Ten season to date. In three conference losses, it’s been their opponent, not the Badgers, who have made the game-turning play, the momentum-grabber, or, as Gamble did, the leaping grab to seal the deal.
Granted, some of the bad breaks weren’t UW’s fault. OSU was clearly offside when Brooks Bollinger couldn’t handle Al Johnson’s snap in the first quarter. Instead of UW picking up five yards and a first down, the officials missed the call, no flag was thrown, and the Buckeyes turned the fumble into three points.
On the majority of the big plays, though, UW can’t be held so unaccountable.
B.J. Tucker and Brett Bell seemed to have blanket coverage on Michael Jenkins when OSU took a shot downfield on a crucial third-and-six in the fourth quarter. Tucker was step-for-step with Jenkins, and Bell appeared to have an excellent angle to make the play. Astoundingly, Craig Krenzel’s pass found its way through the slew of hands and into Jenkins’ for a 45-yard gain.
UW was up 14-13 at the time. Unable to stop Maurice Clarett and Krenzel on the ground the rest of the drive, UW let the Buckeyes saunter into the end zone and take a five-point lead they were loathe to relinquish.
“Somebody’s got to make the play,” defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove said. “We’ve got two guys all over him. We’ve got to get the ball out, not let him catch it. That was the difference in the second half. That gave them field position, and they ended up scoring.”
Once again, the dreaded drop bug came back to bite the Badgers in the fourth quarter. Darrin Charles, who looked confident and aggressive throughout the game, let two key Jim Sorgi passes slip through his hands while UW was attempting to come back from the 19-14 deficit. Both would have been good for first downs.
One snap after Charles’ first drop, it was Gamble who made the game’s biggest play, after which the game’s pendulum of momentum permanently tipped in the Buckeyes’ direction. Sorgi’s pass appeared to be on the money, and Orr definitely had it lined up and probably was ready to celebrate his second TD of the day. UW was headed into the wind, and Sorgi may have hung the ball up there just a tad too much.
Whatever the circumstances, Gamble simply closed the gap between him and the open Orr and just went up there and got the ball. It was tough enough to get to the pass and even tougher to hold on with his fingertips. It was a spectacular play by a spectacular playmaker. This guy is a wide receiver, for Pete’s sake. Corners like to dabble a bit in the wideout slots, and some can have plenty of success, as Charles Woodson and Champ Bailey proved in their college days. But the other way around? Most coaches would kill for a corner with Gamble’s playmaking skills. The Buckeyes didn’t have to; they just took a look around and saw a guy who already was a breakaway threat at wideout, as well as on kick and punt returns, and penciled him in. Hell, the guy intercepted a pass on his first play on defense, against Cincinnati.
The Badgers don’t have the luxury of having a transcendent talent like Gamble on their sideline. No one’s suggesting that Cosgrove insert Orr at corner or Bollinger at free safety. What the Badgers need to find is not even necessarily a playmaker, but the plays themselves, the big ones that have been lacking in the Big Ten season. While UW didn’t play well against Penn State or Indiana, the team looked impressive against OSU, but with the Badgers not making the key plays, the result was the same: another loss.
