It took Lee Evans just 12 seconds to once again add his name to the UW record books this past Saturday. That was all the time it took for the senior wide receiver to run 99 yards and score on the Badgers’ longest offensive play in school history.

Evans, who along with running back Anthony Davis is bringing the Heisman hype back to Madison, scored on the pass from quarterback Jim Sorgi that broke the record, but more importantly, broke the will of the visiting Akron Zips.

“It was a one-man route. It’s one of those plays that’s either hit or miss,” Evans said after the game. “Sorgi had good protection, and he laid the ball out there where I didn’t have to stop for it. He put it right in stride, and we connected successfully.”

For UW the play meant much more than merely setting a record. With Akron down by just three points at 34-31, the Badgers were backed up on their own goal line after the defensive unit made its biggest defensive stand of this season.

Akron scored 21 of the first 24 points in the second half to cut a 21-point Badger lead down to three with 11:13 left in the game. A four-play drive by UW gave the ball back to the Zips on a 45-yard punt by R.J. Morse with 9:46 remaining in the game. The Badgers started the defensive series with a huge sack by right tackle Jason Jefferson that set Akron back eight yards. Akron quarterback Charlie Frye got the Zips moving forward with a 34-yard strike to Jamie Goodwin, converting on a third down and 6 and giving Akron a first and goal on the Wisconsin 9-yard line. On second down and goal from the 10-yard line, UW’s Kareem Timbers sacked Frye, forcing a fumble that Akron recovered on the 17. A 16-yard completion to Mike Brake put the ball on the 1-yard line, where Akron faced a fourth-down-and-goal situation with just under 7 minutes remaining in the game.

Without flinching, Akron head coach Lee Owens lined up his offensive unit on the goal line in an attempt to complete the comeback bid and take the lead.

“His kids had momentum,” Wisconsin head coach Barry Alvarez said. “I thought he made the right call to go for a touchdown [and] try to take the lead.”

The decision proved to be disastrous for the Zips. On a dive play designed for Bobby Hendry, the Akron line could not get the penetration it needed. Linebacker Jeff Mack met Hendry at the goal line and, with the help of safety Ryan Aiello, tackled the running back outside of the endzone.

“[We were] just trying to get penetration in the D-line,” junior co-captain Jim Leonhard said. “Obviously there’s a critical point in the game, and we came up with a big stop, and you saw what happened after that.”

What happened after that was the conclusion of a 48-31 Badger victory and a 2-0 start to the 2003 season.

The game against Akron began on an auspicious note for the Badgers as Matt Bernstein fielded an opening squib kick at the 25-yard line and fumbled it on a hit by Akron’s Dion Elie.

Akron completed one first down on the ensuing drive that ended with a 30-yard field goal by kicker Jason Swiger, giving the Zips an early 3-0 lead.

Once on the field, it didn’t take long for the Badger offense to get rolling. Anthony Davis ran the ball four out of five plays on UW’s opening drive, including runs of 15 and 25 yards, before capping off the drive with a 10-yard touchdown.

“I have to give the credit to the O-line,” Davis said. “They were opening up some huge holes for me, and a lot of those plays I didn’t even get touched. They really came out and pounded guys into the ground.”

Davis scored his second touchdown of the game on the Badgers’ second offensive series when he scampered 20 yards in to the right corner of the endzone.

After a Scott Campbell field goal, the Badgers went up 17-3 at the end of the first quarter. Campbell, who has started both games at kicker this season, rebounded from last week’s 1-3 performance by making both of his field-goal attempts and all six of his PATs.

A 30-yard pass completion from Frye to Jason Montgomery brought Akron back to within seven points at 17-10 with less than 3:00 gone by in the second quarter, but it was the Zips’ last score in the first half.

On the Badgers’ next possession, Sorgi threw a ball up for Evans to catch in the back right corner of the endzone, and Evans came down with it for the six-yard score.

The scoring continued for the Badgers as Anthony Davis ran through Akron arm tackles like they were blades of grass on a 14-yard touchdown score, sending the teams to the locker rooms with Wisconsin up 31-10.

In a game that appeared to be over, Akron came out in the second half passing on all cylinders. A nine-yard Frye touchdown pass and a two-yard Frye touchdown run cut the lead to 31-24. A Scott Campbell field goal was the Badgers’ only score in the third quarter.

“It was a battle, it was a fight,” Sorgi said. “We wanted to play a four-quarter game, and I think I’m going to hear ‘Frye, pass completed’ in my nightmares’.”

Frye completed 31 of 49 pass attempts for 372 yards and a touchdown, forcing the Badgers to play a four-quarter game.

A seven-yard rush by Dan Basch started the scoring in the fourth quarter and made the score 34-31, putting Badgers back on their heels.

“They had all the momentum and had a chance to take the lead or, if they choose, to tie the game,” Alvarez said. “Yet our guys responded, made a great defensive play, and then we [came] back and hit the home run on offense.”

After Evans’ 99-yard touchdown catch, the Badgers capped off scoring with a 34-yard Dwayne Smith run. Wide out Jonathan Orr, who also made a key downfield block on a Davis touchdown, had the block that sprang Smith for the score.

On the day, Evans caught a career-high-tying nine catches for 214 yards and scored two touchdowns.

“Lee’s legs were fresh today,” Alvarez said. “I thought he got stronger in the fourth quarter last week, and he picked right up where he left off. Lee’s big-time.”

The other big-time player for the Badgers was running back Anthony Davis. Davis rushed for 247 yards and scored three touchdowns

“We’ve been around a lot of good backs,” Alvarez said. “I don’t know if we’ve ever had one playing as good as Anthony’s playing right now. He is truly special. He is really playing at a level that I don’t think we’ve ever had a back play before.”