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The Badger Herald

Independent Student Newspaper Since 1969

The Badger Herald

Independent Student Newspaper Since 1969

The Badger Herald

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Loss of Shaughnessy hurts UW defense

The loss of freshman defensive end Matt Shaughnessy hurt in more ways than one in Wisconsin's 20-10 loss to Iowa Saturday.

Not only did the Badgers lose one of their most steady players on the defensive side of the ball and their best player this season on the front line, but his replacement, Kurt Ware, made a mistake that led to seven Hawkeye points.

Shaughnessy went down on Iowa's first touchdown of the game after it appeared his leg gave out while working around a block.

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He was helped off the field and later carted to the locker room. There was no official word after the game, but head coach Barry Alvarez said he thought it was "pretty serious."

"He's obviously a critical player for us and a guy who's been there for us all year," defensive coordinator Bret Bielema said.

Shaughnessy was replaced by Ware, who at times looked good, making four tackles, including one sack; he also had a pass breakup.

But nobody will remember Ware for those statistics; rather, they will remember his costly roughing the passer penalty.

With an incomplete pass on second-and-10 from their own 20, the Hawkeyes would have been looking at third-and-long.

"It was an opportunity to get off the field and we weren't able to do it there," Bielema said.

The Badgers weren't able to get off the field because on the incompletion, Ware came streaking in and hit Iowa quarterback Drew Tate well after he had gotten rid of the ball, giving Iowa the first down, and they drove the rest of the field to take the lead.

Ware admitted that his emotions got the best of him.

"I lost my head a little bit," Ware said. "It was a big penalty for the team that helped them drive the ball all the way down the field. I place the blame on myself."

"That had to be real late," Alvarez said. "I don't even know where he came from. I thought that was a huge penalty."

Wet, but not wild: The announced attendance of 83,184 fans was a new Camp Randall record, but at most times during the game, one never would have guessed it.

While the Badgers' dismal offensive performance was undoubtedly a factor, the rainy weather put a damper on things, drenching the fans' commemorative towels as well as its thunder.

The stadium was eerily quiet throughout Saturday's loss.

The rain also made an impact on the field.

UW quarterback John Stocco was 12-of-18 for 157 yards and the lone Badger touchdown in the first half of the game.

"I thought he really threw it well early," Alvarez said. "I thought he was really crisp early and I thought our protection was excellent early. It totally broke down in the second half."

The rain really started coming down in the third, and when Stocco was able to bide some time and throw, his accuracy went down because of a wet ball.

"There were a couple [plays] — even a couple short throws — where I thought the ball slipped out of his hand," Alvarez said.

Cornerback shuffle: After a rough outing against Penn State, senior Brett Bell did not get the start at cornerback against Iowa. Instead, defensive coordinator Bret Bielema went with senior Levonne Rowan and freshman Allen Langford.

Bell did join the unit when the defense called for three cornerbacks in nickel situations.

Rowan and Langford weathered the storm, playing solid despite a few big plays as Tate passed for 224 yards on 21-of-34 attempts.

"I really thought at times they played well, but obviously we gave up a couple plays there in the second half that can't happen," Bielema said.

Rowan tweaked his ankle in the third quarter, putting a damper on his Senior Day as he finished with three tackles.

"I think we played fairly well," Rowan said. "We gave up a couple plays, but they have some good receivers."

Freshman Jack Ikegwuonu replaced Rowan when he left the game.

Calhoun sets another mark: With a 20-yard catch midway through the first quarter, Badger running back Brian Calhoun etched himself in the Big Ten record books.

The junior became the second player in conference history to gain at least 1,000 yards rushing and at least 500 yards receiving in the same season.

Iowa's Ronnie Harmon was the only other player in league history to achieve the mark, doing so in 1985. That season, Harmon finished with 1,166 rushing yards and 699 receiving yards.

Calhoun had just 18 yards on 15 carries and eight receptions for 69 yards in Saturday's game. He now has 1,274 rushing yards and 556 receiving yards with one game left on the schedule.

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