Evans Leads UW Rout of Michigan State, 56-21
November 15, 2003 | Football
Lee Evans caught 10 passes for school-records of 258 yards and five touchdowns as the Wisconsin football team trounced 21st-ranked Michigan State 56-21 at Camp Randall Stadium Saturday afternoon. Dwayne Smith added a career-high 207 yards rushing and three touchdown runs as the Badgers improved to 7-4 overall and 4-3 in the Big Ten. The Spartans saw their record fall to identical marks.
Evans was the star of the day as his 258 yards surpassed Al Toon 's previous single-game record of 252 yards set against Purdue in 1983. His five touchdowns tied a Big Ten record for one game. Evans now has 12 touchdowns this season, surpassing the previous UW single-season record of nine that was shared by Evans (2001) and Toon (1983). With 26 career touchdowns, Evans moved by Tony Simmons (1994-97) who held the previous school record of 23.
The 200-plus yards receiving by Evans and rushing by Smith marked the second time this season, as well as the second time in school history and Big Ten history, that a duo from the same team accomplished the feat in the same game. Evans and Anthony Davis each went over 200 yards against Akron on Sept. 6.
Jim Sorgi completed 16-of-24 passes for a career-high 380 yards with all five of his touchdown passes going to Evans. The five passing touchdowns tied Darrell Bevell's single-game record that he set against Nevada in 1993. Sorgi has thrown for nine touchdowns in the last two games. The 380 yards is the third-highest single-game total in Wisconsin history.
UW dominated on both sides of the ball in the opening 30 minutes of play in jumping out to a 28-7 halftime lead. The Badgers racked up 359 yards of offense in the first half, including 153 yards rushing by Smith and 161 receiving by Evans. Meanwhile, the stingy Wisconsin defense held Michigan State to minus-3 yards rushing on 16 attempts.
The Badger lead grew to 35-7 with 9:13 remaining in the third quarter as Evans hauled in his second touchdown of the game of 70 or more yards with a 70-yard scoring strike from Sorgi. The Spartans answered back with a 30-yard touchdown pass from Jeff Smoker to Aaron Alexander, but UW closed out the quarter on an 18-yard score from Sorgi to Evans and a 14-yard TD run by Smith to go ahead 49-14.
Smith capped the Badgers' scoring on a 26-yard run with 13:11 remaining. The Badgers' 630 yards of total offense on the afternoon ranks as a tie for third place on UW's all-time list.
Wisconsin will close out the regular season next Saturday when it hosts Iowa at 2:30 p.m. in a game televised by ABC.
Notes: Sorgi Broke the Wisconsin record for pass efficiency rating in a game with 268.38. The old record of 259.9 was held by Neil Graff vs. Penn State on Oct. 3, 1970' Sorgi's passing yardage total ranks only behind Darrell Bevell (423 vs. Minnesota in 1993) and Ron Vander Kelen (401 vs. Southern California in the 1963 Rose Bowl) in school history' DB Jim Leonhard registered his Big Ten-leading sixth interception of the season today. The national interceptions leader a year ago, Leonhard has 17 career picks. Jeff Messenger and Neovia Greyer are tied for second all-time at the UW with 18 interceptions apiece. Jamar Fletcher's 21 career interceptions are the Wisconsin record' UW's seventh win today allows the Badgers to join Michigan and Ohio State as the only Big Ten schools with at least seven wins in nine of the past 11 seasons. Wisconsin, Michigan and Ohio State are also the only three Big Ten teams to be bowl eligible in nine of the past 11 seasons' Evans has caught 20 passes for 531 yards and nine TDs in three career games against Michigan State.
Post-game Quotes - Wisconsin vs. Michigan State
November 15, 2003
Wisconsin Head Coach Barry Alvarez
Opening Statement:
'I am very pleased with how our players responded today. I talked to them about having character and carrying on play with a passion. I knew they had character, I knew they'd compete. We had to play a good football game because we were playing a good football team. We've had some tough losses, but I was really proud of how they responded, how they executed on both sides of the ball. Our offense was extremely sharp. I don't think [Jim] Sorgi threw a bad ball all day to the advantage of Lee Evans - he put on a show. Defensively we gave them some different looks. We did some things we hadn't done before. I thought our defensive staff did a tremendous job in scheming. We had some new people playing different positions. I thought they played extremely well against a very good quarterback and a very good passing attack. All in all it was a tremendous effort and I am very pleased with the win.'
On the first drive setting the tempo for the rest of the game:
'Well, it certainly helped. You know, we had a rhythm in the first drive and we kept on offense. I really liked the way our guys threw and caught very well and I think that helped our running game later on.'
On the catalyst for the defensive changes:
'We didn't feel as though we would get any more pressure with four than we would with three. We came up with a scheme with down linemen where we had three linebackers where we could rush four, we could rush five, we could blitz out of it. We thought we could get pressure with three with Alex [Lewis], keeping our guys fresh with Jonathon [Welsh] back, get pressure with three and get eight guys in the secondary where we could press up on their spread formations and still have combinations and double some guys. We could give them a lot of different pictures and I don't know whether they had seen some of that stuff before. We felt that was something that would help us and fit our personnel.'
Michigan State Head Coach John L. Smith
Opening Statement:
'We got our tails kicked, right up between our shoulders. There's not much more I can say other than that. We weren't ready to play and I have to take credit for that. As a coaching staff, we have to prepare them. Our kids didn't come to the field. They didn't play with abandon. They didn 't play with emotion and that's our fault. And I'm embarrassed and I hope our football team is embarrassed. What we have to do right now is look in the mirror and each one of us, try to improve. And we better do that. And there better never be a finger pointed at anyone else. And we better come to the field, starting tomorrow with an effort to send the seniors out the way they should be, and that's with a win at home. So, that's about it.'
What kind of difference would Eric Knott have made '
'Well, you know, (Eric Knott) would have made a huge difference, but he wasn't here. So we have to play without him and we still have to come out to the field and play the way we can play, and we didn't do that. From the opening kick-off, kick it out of bounds and it goes'we weren't there. And that's our job to make sure we come to the field and play with emotion and play with communication and the way we're supposed to, regardless of how many second team guys we have in there and regardless of how many holes there are.'
Wisconsin had a 200-yard rusher and a 200-yard receiver. Have you ever seen something like that'
'I've never had a day like this, as a coach. So, we better'and I hope I don't have anymore.'
You talked about finger pointing, can you tell us how the locker room feels right now'
'I hope they are really hurting and I hope we're embarrassed, because we all should be. And I hope'and we all have to take a look in that darn mirror and say, OK, how do we improve, how do we get better. '
Wisconsin Players
Wide receiver Lee Evans on his connection with quarterback Jim Sorgi today:
'Going into the game, we knew what they were going to come out and do. All week we stressed being man-to-man. Man-to man, that's what they did. It is a match-up game, it was you against him. If you beat your man, than you 're going to have a lot of success. Fortunately I was able to do that today. '
Evans on his performance today:
'It was definitely special. I mean I had a lot of fun out there. It is probably the best game I've ever played here. It is a big win for our team; it is a big win for our program. I am glad I could celebrate it with a win and celebrate it with my teammates.'
Offensive lineman Morgan Davis on preparing for the game:
'We just went out and broke down the film and tried to study (Michigan State) the best we could. Our scout team gave us a great look all week long. We went out there (today) and didn't see anything different than we saw all week long. '
Davis on the Wisconsin running game:
'We just went out and had some fun. We were blocking to our ability and had a good second effort keeping on the blocks. I don't know that we did anything different than other teams have. It may have just been our backs saw the holes and went where the holes were open.'
Davis on Wisconsin's offensive performance:
'I think this is something we have strived for all year. We have struggled to get everything clicking all at once. Today it just all came together. '
Wide receiver Darrin Charles on the performance of Lee Evans:
'I think it was outstanding. It was unbelievable. To think a guy could take over a game just like that. . . It is not like he hasn't been doing it for a couple of years now. It is great. It is something that (Lee) deserved and something the team needed. '
Defensive back Ryan Aiello on the defensive scheme:
'We tried to get as much speed on the field as we could. A lot of (Michigan State's) offense is short passes and they try to break tackles. We tried to eliminate that and put as many defensive backs on the field as we could. . . We mixed it up pretty well today and we kept them off balance.'
Aiello on the defensive formations:
'(Jeff Smoker) was looking all over the place and we were trying to confuse him by moving in different fronts and different sets. I think we kept (Michigan State) off balance that way.'
