After watching tape of Wisconsin's 35-14 victory over Bowling Green on Sept. 2, UW head coach Bret Bielema saved his highest praise for redshirt freshman P.J. Hill in his first career game in the Badgers starting lineup.
"One of the big clichés that we use around here is the word 'finish,'" Bielema said at a press conference Monday. "P.J., because of the abilities that he brings to the table, was able to do that on Saturday, and I think it's something you'll see for a long time coming."
At the moment, Hill represents the No. 1 player in Wisconsin's backfield. By finishing out multiple runs by rumbling for extra yards and running over numerous Falcon defenders, Hill produced the second-most running yards by a freshman in his UW debut with 130 yards on 22 carries. Ahead of him is Anthony Davis, who went on to complete his freshman season in 2001 with 1,466 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Perhaps the biggest — and only — concern surrounding Hill was his inability to stay on the field on a consistent basis. But Bielema defended the East Elmhurst, N.Y., native by discussing the nasty effects of playing in a first game.
"I think because of the whole environment, [Hill] probably had a little bit of anxiety levels going into that first snap, more so than others, just because he knew the ball was going to be in his hands," Bielema said.
Bielema consistently applauded the Badgers' ability to hang onto the football during Saturday's game, in which Wisconsin did not fumble once. Of course, Hill was in the thick of that accomplishment with a team-high 23 touches.
"I made reference all week to our number one offensive goal was ball security, and he knew he was probably going to have quite a few touches," Bielema said. "He didn't want to be the first one to put that ball on the ground."
Back-ups play well too: Despite a strong first showing, Hill will have to continue to put up good stats across the board, as there have been not one, but a pair of Badgers who showed their capabilities against Bowling Green.
True freshman Lance Smith carried the load late in Wisconsin's victory, compiling eight carries for 41 yards. Smith's yard count was the most for a true freshman's first appearance at Wisconsin in 10 years, when Heisman winner Ron Dayne garnered 53 yards on the ground.
"Lance is one of those kids that has just always got a little something to him," Bielema said. "He made a huge jump last week in preparation to get him in.
"I do believe you'll see an added role in his playing time."
Not to be outdone, fifth-year senior Dywon Rowan helped the Badgers find the end zone on their opening drive, capping off a 28-yard game with a 7-yard TD run.
"Dywon is a player that we know we can count on every play," Bielema said. "And until he gets to that level, we'll probably see a little bit more of both [Smith and Rowan]."
Head-to-head with an old friend: It's safe to say that Bielema is pretty familiar with the man that he'll be facing in the game on Saturday. Western Illinois head coach Don Patterson and Bielema have a couple of close ties dating back to Bielema's earlier years before Wisconsin.
When Bielema walked on as a tight end at Iowa in 1989, Patterson was the tight-ends coach for the Hawkeyes at the time. Five years later, Bielema joined the coaching staff as an assistant. Meanwhile, Patterson had become the offensive coordinator. The two worked together under Hayden Fry at Iowa until 1998, when Patterson left to become the head man at WIU.
"He just is a phenomenal person," Bielema said. "I've remained in close contact with him, so [he is] somebody I know on a personal note."
However, beyond those comments, Bielema said he wants to make this game about the players on each side, rather than keep the focus on himself and his coaching counterpart.
"No one buys a ticket or no one puts a game on TV to see either [coach] work," Bielema explained. "They came to watch people play. They came to watch our players go out there and play the game that they've been taught to do and coached to do."
