ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Brooks Bollinger’s pass seemed to hang up in the air for an eternity as snow fell lightly on Michigan Stadium. Jonathan Orr lined it up and leapt with a chance to grab the touchdown pass to bring the Wisconsin football team within an extra point of tying its perennial antagonist, the Michigan Wolverines.
Orr seemed to have Bollinger’s third-down pass in his grasp, but as he fell earthward he dropped it, along with UW’s chance to beat Michigan in the Big House for only the second time since 1962. Bollinger couldn’t connect with Darrin Charles on fourth down with 1:29 left, and Chris Perry broke off a 43-yard run to allow the Wolverines to run out the clock and seal the 21-14 win, Michigan’s sixth straight over the Badgers.
“When it left my hand and when he was going up to catch it, I thought it was a good ball. I thought it was a touchdown,” Bollinger said of his pass. “[Jonathan] said he caught it, and they called him out of bounds. I just thought he didn’t catch it.”
The drop was the culmination of a final attempt to tie the score for Wisconsin, as Bollinger and tailback Anthony Davis, both back in their starting roles after missing last week’s loss to Illinois, led the Badgers from the UW 46 yard-line to the Michigan 31. Bollinger, who sat out last week with a concussion, completed a nine-yard pass to Charles and ran for 11 yards on a QB draw, and Davis, who missed last week after being stabbed in his thigh, had an eight-yard run on third and four to set up Bollinger’s incomplete pass to Orr, the biggest play of the game.
With the loss, their fifth in the last six games, the Badgers fell to 6-6 and remain one win away from becoming bowl-eligible. Reaching a bowl game has been the Badgers’ rallying cry the past four weeks and after coming up short against the Wolverines, the Badgers have only one game, against Minnesota next week, to get that seventh win and salvage their season.
“We just have to put everything that’s happened previous to this week behind us,” Bollinger said. “Now it’s basically a one-game playoff to get a bowl berth. Nobody’s cashing in their chips yet.”
Credit the Badgers for not cashing in their chips against Michigan after the Wolverines jumped out to a 14-0 lead just over four minutes into the game. After receiving the opening kickoff, the Wolverines had a five-play, 75-yard drive capped by B.J. Askew’s 27-yard touchdown run on which he started right, cut left and dove past Scott Starks into the end zone.
On the first play of UW’s first possession, Davis ran for a yard on his first carry in two weeks but fumbled when Marlin Jackson put his shoulder pad into the football. Linebacker Victor Hobson recovered for the Wolverines, and it took only three plays before Perry ran left side for an 11-yard touchdown, spotting the Wolverines a daunting 14-0 lead.
“We were down, but we had a lot of football left, and you’ve just got to go out and play, and you just keep playing,” offensive coordinator Brian White said.
UW wouldn’t relent, and the momentum swung their way after Jim Leonhard returned a Michigan punt 39 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter. Leonhard, possibly the most dangerous punt returner in the Big Ten, refused to fair-catch Adam Finley’s punt, beat the first man downfield then cut back to his left, hurdled two potential tacklers and outraced Finley to the end zone to cut the UM lead to 14-0.
The Badgers struck again before the half, as Davis capped a 54-yard drive with a two-yard touchdown run and Mike Allen’s extra point knotted the score at 14 with 4:31 remaining.
“I was really proud of the way our players fought back and competed and made plays and put themselves in position to win the football game,” White said.
The Badgers played near-flawless defense in the second half after allowing John Navarre to find Braylon Edwards for a touchdown on Michigan’s first drive of the third quarter. Edwards caught Navarre’s pass over the middle and flung himself towards the end zone, slamming the ball over the goal line for the score, and Philip Brabbs’ extra point posted the final margin of 21-14.
Michigan could do little on offense after Edwards’ touchdown, but the Badgers did even less. Before their final drive, the closest UW got to Michigan’s end zone was the UM 34-yard line in the fourth quarter, but the drive stalled.
Davis looked the sharpest he has all season against the Wolverines, displaying his superior balance by constantly running through Michigan arm tackles and worming his way out of seemingly inescapable piles. He finished the day with 154 yards on 26 carries, a 5.9 average per carry.
Bollinger struggled throwing the football, completing only seven of 20 passes for 60 yards, but he did total 39 rushing yards despite being sacked four times.
Now the Badgers have to beat Minnesota next Saturday at Camp Randall in the battle for Paul Bunyan’s axe to avoid missing a bowl game for the second straight year.
“I feel better after the way we played today, but we’ve got to win one game to go to a bowl,” head coach Barry Alvarez said. “We’re playing a bowl for a bowl, a playoff, a one-game series. That’s it.”
Notes: Rob Tucker, a junior tight end has been suspended indefinitely after he was involved in an altercation in Madison Saturday night, Alvarez announced.
“In light of recent events involving members of our football team, my staff and I have made extra efforts to emphasize to our players the importance of appropriate off-the-field conduct,” Alvarez said. “I spoke with Rob, and he apologized for not adhering to our recent re-emphasis on proper conduct. Our players understand the standards they are expected to follow, particularly with the importance we have placed on suitable behavior.”
“I didn’t behave in the way the coaching staff has instructed us to,” Tucker said. “I accept Coach Alvarez’s suspension and I want to apologize to my teammates and coaches for causing this distraction.”
