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Wisconsin 26, Virginia 17

MADISON, Wis.--Jim Sorgi came off the bench and threw for 150 yards and two including a 78-yard pass to Lee Evans in the fourth quarter as Wisconsin defeated Virginia 26-17 in the Badger’s season opener. Kickoff was delayed 31 minutes due to heavy rain and lighting. “It was a very bizarre start to the game, with the delay, but I thought the kids hung in there and responded well,” said Coach Barry Alvarez. Wisconsin lost starting Brooks Bollinger late in the first half after he suffered a contusion of the liver. The Badger defense held Virginia to three first half points and forced three second quarter turnovers. Ben Herbert’s early in the second quarter led to the first Badger touchdown and put Wisconsin up 7-3. Nick Greisen’s interception later in the second led to a Wisconsin field that gave the Badgers a 10-3 lead at the half. Wisconsin’s offense picked up momentum in the second half with Lee Evans finishing with a career high 135 yards receiving and two touchdowns. Redshirt freshman Anthony Davis, in his college debut, rushed for 147 yards on 24 carries.

Oregon 31, Wisconsin 28

EUGENE, Ore.--Joey Harrington’s 2-yard rushing touchdown at the end of a 78- yard, nine play drive with 4:03 left in the game secured Oregon’s 31-28 win over Wisconsin. The lead changed six times during the game as the Badgers fought hard to overcome a 10-point deficit after the first quarter and a deafening crowd at Autzen Stadium. Coach Barry Alvarez commented, “For a young football team, in a very tough environment, I thought our guys held in there and had a chance to win the football game.” Quarterback Jim Sorgi, starting his first game of the season in place of the injured Brooks Bollinger, had an impressive showing. Sorgi threw for 231 yards, two touchdowns and ran for a third. Lee Evans was Sorgi’s favored target catching eight passes for 168 yards including a 48-yard completion that set up a Badger touchdown in the fourth quarter. Five catches for 124 yards were all in the second half. Anthony Davis led the Badger’s ground attack with 13 carries for 134 yards and one touchdown. The Badger defense forced candidate Joey Harrington to throw two and held the Ducks to 163 yards rushing. With 16 yards on three returns, Nick Davis became the Wisconsin’s career leader in punt return yardage. Davis finished the game with 786 career punt to eclipse Troy Vincent’s (1988-91) total of 773 yards.

Fresno State 32, Wisconsin 20

MADISON, Wis.—Fresno State scored 16 points in the first 2:34 of the second half en route to a 32-20 win over the Badgers. Wisconsin led 20-10 at halftime after solid play on both sides of the . Fresno State gained control of the game when Bernard Berrian ran back the second-half kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown and then completed a two-point conversion. Fresno States’ Tierre Sams intercepted a Sorgi pass two plays later that led to another Fresno State touchdown and two-point conversion. Lee Evans was Wisconsin’s offensive weapon with seven catches for 182 yards including a 53-yard from Jim Sorgi in the first quarter. Evans is only the third player in school history to have three consecutive 100-yard receiving games. Anthony Davis also had a solid game rushing for 137 yards on 24 carries. This was the first time in school history that the Badgers have had a 100-yard rusher and a 100-yard receiver for three straight games. The Badger defense held Fresno State to 10 first-half points. Cornerback Scott Starks posted his second career interception in the second quarter to become the first true freshman to pick off two passes in a season for Wisconsin since David Greenwood did so in 1979. True freshman Mike Allen was the highlight for the Badgers special teams when he made a 50-yard in the second quarter to put Wisconsin up by 10 before the half.

Wisconsin 18, Penn State 6

STATE COLLEGE, Penn.—Wisconsin controlled the game and the ball for almost 42 minutes as the Badgers defeated Penn State 18-6 to win their first conference opener since 1998. The Wisconsin defense was solid holding the Penn State offense to 131 total yards and just one for nine on third conversions. Defensive lineman Wendell Bryant had five of Wisconsin’s eight sacks, six tackles-for-loss, a recovery, and three quarterback hurries. Bryant was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week for his performance against Penn State. The Badger offense compiled 434 total yards and converted on 10 of 18 third- down attempts. Brooks Bollinger, returning from bruised liver injury suffered in the season opener, threw for 141 yards and rushed for 112 yards. Late in the third quarter Bollinger led the Badgers on an 11-play, 78-yard touchdown drive that took 4:28 off the clock and solidified the Wisconsin victory. Running back Anthony Davis ran for 200 yards on 37 carries. This was the fourth consecutive 100-yard rushing game for Davis.

Wisconsin 24, Western Kentucky 6

MADISON, Wis.—The Badger defense was the key in Wisconsin’s 24-6 win over Division I-AA Western Kentucky. Wisconsin held Western Kentucky’s triple option offense to just 143 yards. Senior linebacker Nick Greisen and senior cornerback Joey Boese each had nine tackles for Wisconsin. Barry Alvarez commented, “I thought our defense played well…they tackled pretty well and I liked what they did.” Brooks Bollinger and Jim Sorgi combined for 10 completions in 22 attempts for 141 yards passing. Anthony Davis and Lee Evans led the Badgers offensively. Davis rushed for 89 yards on 19 carries and two touchdowns. Lee Evans had six receptions for 85 yards. Redshirt freshman Jerone Pettus ran for a career-high 50 yards on 10 carries. Nick Davis had a 32-yard touchdown reception from Bollinger late in the third quarter to close out the scoring. The game against Western Kentucky was originally set for Sept. 15, but was rescheduled after the Sept.11 terrorist attacks.

Indiana 63, Wisconsin 32

MADISON, Wis.—Wisconsin could not overcome a 280-yard, six-touchdown performance by Indiana’s senior running back LevronWilliams in their 63-32 loss to the Hoosiers. Indiana scored on four of their first five possessions and ran back a blocked punt for a touchdown to score 32 unanswered points and put them up 32-0 by the end of the first quarter. Indiana quarterback was eight for thirteen passing for 182 yards and rushed for another 102 yards. The Indiana offense racked up 631 total yards. Wisconsin has not allowed 63 points since 1890 and not more than 60 points since 1946. Coach Barry Alvarez stated, “Let me commend Indiana for playing such a fine football game. I thought offensively, they were outstanding.” Junior quarterback Brooks Bollinger was 15-for-24 for 222 yards passing and 26 yards rushing. Brooks captured Wisconsin’s record of career leader for rushing yardage by a quarterback. Bollinger has rushed for 1,122 yards, breaking Dale Hackbart’s previous mark of 1,097 set between 1957-59. Lee Evans had nine receptions for 148 yards in his fourth 100-yard game of the season. Redshirt freshman Jerone Pettus had a career-high 82 yards on 16 carries in his first collegiate start as Anthony Davis sat out of the game with a case of “turf toe”.

Wisconsin 20, Ohio State 17

MADISON, Wis.—The Badgers rallied from a 17-0 second quarter deficit to upset No. 21 Ohio State 20-17 on Mark Neuser’s 33-yard field goal with just over two minutes to play. The games’ momentum swung in Wisconsin’s favor at the end of the first half when Ohio State’s junior Andy Groom tried to run after a slightly wide on fourth-and-20 and was stopped for a 1-yard gain. It had appeared Groom would have been able to get off the punt. On the next play, Anthony Davis scored on a 23-yard run to bring Wisconsin within 10. Wisconsin continued that momentum into the second half with Brooks Bollinger hitting Nick Davis on a 42-yard touchdown pass on the Badgers’ opening drive to make it 17-14. Bollinger had his second consecutive 200-yard passing game with 202 yards on 12 completions in 22 attempts and one touchdown. Nick Davis had six receptions for 90 yards and one touchdown. The Wisconsin defense took over from that point and help the Buckeyes to negative-four yards rushing in the second half and kept the pressure on Ohio State quarterback Steve Bellisari sacking him four times for 27-yards. Lee Evans made an impressive 30-yard catch from Bollinger early in the fourth that set up a 25-yard Neuser field goal to the game early in the fourth quarter. Later in the fourth, Neuser hit another field goal from 33-yards to give the Badgers the win after Brooks and Evans connected again for a 35-yard pass play. Evans finished with three receptions for 92 and Davis, who missed the Indiana game with “turf toe”, rushed for 103 yards on 26 carries.

Illinois 42, Wisconsin 35

CHAMPAIGN, Ill.—The Badger’s three touchdowns within 1:23 in the fourth quarter was not enough to stop Illinois as the Illini defeated the Badgers 42-35. Illinois senior quarterback Kurt Kittner through for 401 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Illini to the win. The Badgers scored only once in the first half on a 25-yard scramble by quarterback Brooks Bollinger in the middle of the first quarter to give the Badgers the lead at 7-3. Bollinger left the game in the second quarter with a groin injury. After the Badger’s had fallen behind 7-25 early in the third quarter, backup quarterback Jim Sorgi led the Badger comeback throwing for 157 yards and two touchdowns in the second half. Early in the fourth quarter Sorgi and Lee Evans connected on a 63-yard pass play that led to a four-yard touchdown reception by Evans and brought the Badgers within seven at 21-28. Wisconsin’s defense capitalized on two Illini turnovers on Illinios’ next two possessions to score two more touchdowns in just over a minute that gave the Badgers the lead at 35-28. Michael Broussard intercepted a Kittner pass to give the Wisconsin the ball on the Illinois 28-yard line to set up a 17-yard rushing touchdown by Anthony Davis. Chris Catalano forced a fumble on a kickoff that was recovered by Mark Downing on the Illini 17-yard line that lead to a 19-yard touchdown reception by Evans. Illinois’ Kittner answered the Badgers by leading the Illini on 50-yard and 64- yard touchdown drives to save the win for Illinois 42-35. Linebacker Nick Greisen led Wisconsin’s defensive effort with eight tackles while offensively Anthony Davis and Lee Evans both finished with two touchdowns. Davis had 116 yards rushing and Evans had 150 yards receiving.

Michigan State 42, Wisconsin 28

MADISON, Wis.—Wisconsin junior Lee Evans’ 228 yards and three touchdown receptions was not enough for the Badgers to overcome Michigan State’s offense effort led by Sophomore quarterback Jeff Smoker’s 326 yards passing and three touchdowns as the Spartans defeated the Badgers 42-28. The Badgers were up 14-7 in the second quarter before Michigan State’s offense started up and scored 21 unanswered points until the Badgers scored on a 70-yard touchdown pass from Matt Schabert to Lee Evans. On the reception, Evans tied Al Toon’s school record of nine touchdowns in a season set in 1983. Fourth-string quarterback Matt Schabert came in during the third quarter after Jim Sorgi was suffered a concussion. Schabert, playing in the first game of his career, threw for 177 yards and two touchdowns. The Badger’s converted on three third-down plays during the final drive of the game that led to a 13-yard touchdown reception from Schabert to tight end Mark Anelli, but was the last push was not enough to take the win from the Spartans. Anelli finished with six catches for 72 yards. Wisconsin freshman running back Anthony Davis ran for 101 yards on 32 carries giving him 1,023 yards on the season. Davis is just the seventh freshman in Big Ten history to run for more than 1,000 yards.

Wisconsin 34, Iowa 28

MADISON, Wis.—The Wisconsin defense did not allow an Iowa first down in the fourth quarter and held off the Hawkeye’s last drive attempt with just over two minutes remaining in the game to secure the Badger victory 34-28. The Badger defense forced the Hawkeyes to fumble twice and Nick Greisen intercepted a pass by Brad Banks to end the game. “I thought the were the keys to the ball game. One of the fumbles gave us seven points and the other fumble kept them from getting points just before the half,” commented Coach Barry Alvarez. The Wisconsin secondary played especially well late in the game causing Banks to throw his last eight pass attempts incomplete. Offensively, the Badgers managed to stay one step of Iowa throughout the game. Quarterback Brooks Bollinger returned from an abdomen and groin injury against Illinois to lead the Badgers by throwing for 262 yards and one touchdown. Lee Evans had seven catches for 175 yards and running back Anthony Davis led the Badger’s ground attack rushing for 132 of Wisconsin’s 172 total rushing yards.

Michigan 20, Wisconsin 17

MADISON, Wis.—A special teams mistake with 24 seconds left in the game allowed No. 11 Michigan to kick a 31-yard field goal, prevent , and give the Wolverines a 20-17 win over the Badgers. After UW freshman Mark Neuser missed a 36-yard field goal with 1:26 to play, the Wisconsin defense stopped Michigan and forced them to punt from their 47-yard line. The punt grazed UW freshmen Brett Bell who was the only UW player that dropped back on punt coverage and the Wolverines recovered on Wisconsin’s 13-yard line. Michigan’s kicked a 31-yard field goal to give the Wolverines the 20-17 lead with ten seconds left in the game. Wisconsin got on the board first halfway through the first quarter capping off and 80-play drive with a Brooks Bollinger one-yard rushing touchdown. Michigan scored 14 unanswered points before a 10-yard rushing touchdown by Anthony Davis brought the Badgers within three at 5:03 in the third quarter. Davis finished with 119 yards rushing and one touchdown. Mark Neuser’s 46-yard field goal at the end of the third quarter tied the game at 17. Senior Nick Greisen led the Wisconsin defense with 13 solo tackles, 3 tackles for- a-loss, and one sack.

Minnesota 42, Wisconsin 31

MADISON, Wis.—Wisconsin receiver Lee Evans broke the Big Ten single- season record for receiving yards early in the game and tailback Anthony Davis became the first freshman in NCAA history to for 100 yards in 10 games, but the individual accomplishments were not enough to carry the Badger football team past Minnesota as the Badgers lost 31-42. Wisconsin battled back from a 21-28 deficit in the third quarter to a 31-28 lead. The Badgers capitalized on a 66-yard punt return by Nick Davis to set up the tying touchdown and cornerback Mike Echols interception set up the 30-yard Mark Neuser field goal to take the lead. Minnesota sophomore quarterback Asad Abdul-Khaliq took control of the game from that point on throwing for a 45-yard touchdown and running for another himself as the Gophers scored 14 unanswered points to seal the win. Evans broke the Big Ten receiving record on a 10-yard reception on the first play of the Bader’s second possession. Evans totaled 151 yards for the game and finished with 1,545 yards on the season. Davis surpassed the 100-yard mark with a 61-yard touchdown run in the second quarter to give him the NCAA record. Davis finished with 208 yards rushing and 3 touchdowns.