WISCONSIN Football Release Contact: Justin Doherty, Asst. AD 2007 Season Review Offi ce: 608-262-1811 / Cell: 608-225-1891 E-mail: [email protected] Season Notes 2008 OUTBACK BOWL RECAP X Wisconsin fi nished the season WISCONSIN VS. TENNESSEE with a 9-4 record overall and a 5-3 mark in the Big Ten. It marked the sev- Despite keeping Tennessee scoreless in the second half, the enth time in the past 10 seasons that Wisconsin football team fell to the Volunteers, 21-17, on New the Badgers won at least nine games. Year’s Day at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla. The Bad- gers fi nished the season 9-4 overall and 5-3 in the Big Ten, while X UW is now 10-9 in bowl games, the Volunteers improved to 10-4 on the season including a 9-4 record in its last 13. Returning from an injury, P.J. Hill carried the ball 16 times, This year’s team set a school record by rushing for 132 yards, while quarterback Tyler Donovan fi nished marking the sixth-straight bowl ap- with 155 yards, and both a passing and rushing touchdown. pearance. On its opening drive, Tennessee went 66 yards in nine Senior Tyler Donovan ended plays, capping off the possession with a 3-yard touchdown run X This year’s senior class accumulat- the season with 2,607 by Gerald Jones, giving the Vols a 7-0 lead. ed a 40-10 record in its four years. That passing yards, the second- On the kickoff, Wisconsin freshman David Gilreath re- breaks the UW record for most wins most in a season by a UW sponded, making a 60-yard return into Volunteer territory. On by a senior class in school history. The quarterback. third down, Donovan made a 7-yard scramble into the end zone, Class of 2000 went 38-12 over its career putting the Badgers on the board. while the class of 2006 went 38-13. A 29-yard touchdown pass from Erik Ainge to Josh Briscoe gave UT the 14-7 lead in the second quarter. Ainge then com- X Head coach Bret Bielema is now 21-5 in his two seasons at the pleted a 31-yard touchdown pass to tight end Brad Cottam to helm of the Wisconsin football team. Only two other coaches in Big increase the Vols’ lead, 21-7 late in the half. Ten history (Michigan’s Fielding Yost, 22 and Ohio State’s Jim Tres- The Badgers answered driving 70 yards where Donovan sel, 21) have led their teams to as many as 21 wins in their fi rst two found Andy Crooks for a 4-yard TD pass. Crooks became the fi rst years as Big Ten head coaches. player in Wisconsin history to score a bowl touchdown on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. Back in the 2005 X Wisconsin fi nished the season fi rst in the nation in time of Outback Bowl, on the same fi eld, Crooks recorded his fi rst career possession. The Badgers averaged 33:44 of possession time per game, touchdown on an interception return. holding an advantage in 11 of their 13 games this season, including In the third quarter, Taylor Mehlhaff hit a 27-yard fi eld goal, seven games in which they held an advantage of more than eight to bring the Badgers within four of the Volunteers, 21-17. minutes. The Badger defense kept the Volunteers from recording any points in the entire second half, however, were held to just a fi eld goal themselves, which left them four points shy of Tennes- see. 2007 RESULTS (9-4, 5-3 BIG TEN) RANKINGS* DATE OPPONENT UW / OPP. TELEVISION SCORE NOTES SEPT. 1 WASHINGTON STATE 7th & 7th / NR & RV ABC W, 42-21 Donovan accounts for 4 TDs (three passing / one rushing) Sept. 8 at UNLV 5th & 5th / NR & NR Versus W, 20-13 Donovan scores game-winning TD (29-yard run) with 1:53 left SEPT. 15 THE CITADEL 7th & 7th / NR & NR Big Ten Network W, 45-31 Hill ties school record with 5 TDs (four rushing / one receiving) SEPT. 22 IOWA 9th & 7th / NR & NR ABC W, 17-13 Hill rushes for 113 yards / UW defense allows 228 yards SEPT. 29 MICHIGAN STATE 9th & 9th / RV & 23rd ABC W, 37-34 Hill rushes for 155 yards / Beckum 10 catches for 132 yards Oct. 6 at Illinois 5th & 5th / RV & RV ESPN L, 26-31 Donovan passes for 392 yards / Beckum 11 catches for 160 yards Oct. 13 at Penn State 19th & 15th / RV & RV ABC L, 7-38 Jefferson career-high 124 receiving yards OCT. 20 NORTHERN ILLINOIS RV & RV / NR & NR Big Ten Network W, 44-3 Hill rushes for 184 yards / NIU limited to -13 rushing yards OCT. 27 INDIANA (HC) RV & 25th / NR & NR Big Ten Network W, 33-3 Badgers rush for 279 yards / limit IU to 258 total yards Nov. 3 at Ohio State RV & 19th / 1st & 1st Big Ten Network L, 17-38 UW leads 17-10 in third quarter / Beckum has nine catches for 140 NOV. 10 MICHIGAN RV & RV / 13th & 13th ESPN W, 37-21 Brown runs for 108 yds., 2 TDs / Defense records 3 interceptions Nov. 17 at Minnesota 24th & 24th / NR & NR Big Ten Network W, 41-34 Brown rushes for 250 yds, 2 TDs / Beckum has fi ve cathces for 89 Jan. 1 vs. Tennessee 18th & 15th / 16th & 18th ESPN L, 17-21 Donovan accounts for both TDs / Crooks scores fi rst TD this season HOMES GAMES IN CAPS *AP & USA Today Season Notes FINAL ASSOC. PRESS MEDIA POLL No. School (1st place votes) Record Points X With fi ve Big Ten wins this season, the Badgers have now won at least fi ve games in each of the past four seasons. That is the fi rst time that has happened in 1. LSU (60) 12-2 1,620 school history since the conference went to its current eight-game format in 1985. 2. Georgia (3) 11-2 1,515 3. USC (1) 11-2 1,500 X UW averaged 29.5 points per game this season. Since Paul Chryst took over as offensive coordinator in 2005, the Badgers have averaged 31.0 points per game, the 4. Missouri 12-2 1,347 highest three-year scoring average in school history. 5. Ohio State 11-2 1,346 6. West Virginia 11-2 1,342 X The Badgers fi nished the season averaging 200.8 yards rushing per game. That average was good enough for second in the Big Ten behind Illinois (256.8) and 21st 7. Kansas (1) 12-1 1,303 nationally. 8. Oklahoma 11-3 1,139 9. Virginia Tech 11-3 1,096 X Wisconsin fi nished the season with only 73 total penalties (5.6/game). The team’s average of 43.9 penalty yards per game was the 13th-best in the nation and 10. Texas 10-3 962 third best in the Big Ten. 10. Boston College 11-3 962 12. Tennessee 10-4 904 X UW gave away 21 turnovers in its 13 games. Only Iowa (13) and Michigan State 13. Florida 9-4 685 (18) gave up fewer turnovers in the Big Ten. 14. Brigham Young 11-2 654 X Wisconsin led the Big Ten in punt return average with 12.0 yards/return. Fresh- 15. Auburn 9-4 648 man return specialist David Gilreath led the league with a 14.0 yard average which 16. Arizona State 10-3 587 was also good enough to be ranked 14th nationally. 17. Cincinnati 10-3 566 X Wisconsin’s 25-1 home record since the start of the 2004 season is the second- 18. Michigan 9-4 508 best mark in the nation. LSU is 26-1 at home during that time. Boise State (24-1) 19. Hawaii 12-1 460 and Southern California (20-1) are the only other teams in the country with just one home loss in that span. 20. Illinois 9-4 443 21. Clemson 9-4 353 X The Badgers have won 14 straight games at Camp Randall Stadium, the third- 22. Texas Tech 9-4 308 longest home winning streak in school history. It is the longest home winning streak for UW since winning 25 in a row from 1900-03. It is also the third-longest 23. Oregon 9-4 253 current streak in the country. Wisconsin’s last home loss came against Iowa on Nov. 24. Wisconsin 9-4 202 12, 2005. 25. Oregon State 9-4 110 X UW went undefeated at home for the second consecutive season in 2007. The FINAL USA TODAY COACHES’ POLL last time the Badgers went two seasons without a home loss was 1950-51 (8-0-1). No. School Record Points X During its 14-game home winning streak (since the start of 2006), UW has 1. LSU (60) 12-2 1,500 scored at least 30 points 11 times. The Badgers are averaging 33.6 points in those games, compared to 13.6 for their opponents. It is currently the second-longest 2. USC 11-2 1,380 streak in the nation behind Oklahoma (17), is the third-longest in school history 3. Georgia 11-2 1,370 and the longest since 1903. 4. Ohio State 11-2 1,287 X Since the beginning of the 2004 season only Ohio State has more wins than 5. Missouri 12-2 1,241 Wisconsin (40) among Big Ten schools.