UW Opens 2005 Season vs. Bowling Green
September 02, 2005 | Football
The University of Wisconsin football team is set to begin its 117th season by playing host to Bowling Green at 11 a.m. Saturday at Camp Randall Stadium. The game will be televised live on ESPN.
For head coach Barry Alvarez, the game marks his last season opener, as he embarks on his 16th and final year at the helm of Badger football. Overall, Wisconsin is 88-25-3 in season openers (11-4 in the Alvarez era), including seven straight victories.
The Falcons are coming off a season in which they went 9-3 (6-2 in the Mid-American Conference) and defeated Memphis 52-35 in the GMAC Bowl. Their high-powered offense, which averaged 506.3 yards and 44.3 points per game in 2004, is led by junior quarterback Omar Jacobs and running back P.J. Pope.
The former was named the MAC Offensive Player of the Year after tossing a nation-best 41 TD passes. His TD-to-interception ratio (41-to-4) set an NCAA Division I-A record. On the ground, Pope recorded his second consecutive 1,000 yard season, making him only the second RB in school history to accomplish such a feat.
According to Alvarez, the key to success for the Badgers will be controlling the ball.
'I know it's hard for that quarterback to put up numbers if he's sitting there next to the coach,' he said. 'If we can hang onto the ball like we did a year ago (when the Badgers averaged 33:43 in time of possession), that will always give us a chance. And a lot of that had to do with the defense.'
UW also went 9-3 last year and finished third in the Big Ten Conference with a 6-2 record. Five starters return on offense, including QB John Stocco and WR Brandon Williams. New tailback Brian Calhoun, a transfer from Colorado, will add speed to the running game, as evidenced in his Big Ten championship in the 4x100-meter relay last spring.
The secondary will be headed by CB Brett Bell, who last season shared the team lead in interceptions with three and passes defended with 13. LB Mark Zalewski is a 2004 honorable mention All-Big Ten selection who tallied a team-high 11.5 tackles for loss.
'I think we have enough guys who have played and have enough experience that can carry over for the few that haven't played much,' Alvarez said.
The contest for BGSU will be its first of three straight road trips, while the Badgers play two in a row at home. Wisconsin won the only meeting between the two teams, 39-18, on Sept. 19, 1992.
Other Notes
Bowling Green graduate assistant coach Russ Kuhns played for UW from 2000-02 ' Wisconsin is 23-2 all-time against MAC opponents ' the Badgers are playing a MAC team for the seventh time in eight seasons ' next year, the two teams will play at Cleveland Browns Stadium ' both teams are receiving votes in the AP and USA Today polls.
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