Wisconsin Opens Season with 56-42 Win Over Bowling Green
September 03, 2005 | Football
September 3, 2005
Madison, Wis. -- Junior running back Brian Calhoun tied a school record with five touchdowns Saturday as the University of Wisconsin football team opened the 2005 season with a 56-42 win over Bowling Green at Camp Randall Stadium.
'"I was very proud of our guys and how they competed," ' Wisconsin Head Coach Barry Alvarez said. "'They did not flinch. They did not lose their composure when they fell behind. We made some plays in the kicking game that gave us some momentum. Our guys battled."'
In his Badger debut, Calhoun notched career-high marks with 258 yards on 43 carries, along with a personal-best five touchdowns. Those were all records for a player in his first game at Wisconsin. Calhoun''s 258 yards were the most for a UW player since Anthony Davis ran for 301 yards against Minnesota in 2002.
'"I have said all along that he is very gifted and he did not surprise me,"' Alvarez said. "'I have seen him for two years and I know he can get better. He is critiquing his runs and critiquing his play coming up and that will make him better."'
Also reaching a milestone in the contest was senior Brandon Williams, whose 85-yard kickoff return in the second quarter not only marked his career-long return, but also moved him into first place on UW''s all-time kickoff return yardage list with 1,818 career yards.
The Badgers and Falcons combined to score 98 points, the most since 1890. Wisconsin put up 504 yards of offense, which included 388 rushing yards. In addition to Calhoun''s 258-yard performance, Booker Stanley added 103 yards of his own on 14 carries.
Junior quarterback John Stocco completed eight of his 10 passes for 116 yards, including one touchdown to Jonathan Orr (Detroit, Mich.) Orr caught three passes for 38 yards on the day. Williams also recorded three receptions for 28 yards.
Bowling Green jumped out to a 13-0 lead after the first quarter. The second period was dominated by both team''s offense with eight combined touchdowns scored. Orr put the Badgers on the board at 14:56 in the second with a 21-yard touchdown from Stocco. Both teams would score again, but Wisconsin took its first lead of the game (21-20) at 7:32 when Calhoun connected on a 20-yard run.
Both teams would score twice each before the close of the half. Bowling Green also connected on a two-point conversion and the game was knotted at 35 at halftime.
Wisconsin would reach the endzone twice in the third quarter. The first score of the second half came at 11:49 when Calhoun skipped across the goal line from one-yard out. Stanley scurried in at 2:54 from 15 yards out to give the Badgers a 49-35 lead heading into the final quarter.
Calhoun scored his fifth touchdown at 12:33 in the fourth quarter to put Wisconsin up 56-42. Bowling Green answered two minutes later when quarterback Omar Jacobs connected with Charles Sharon on a 20-yard pass. Jacobs finished the game with 30 completions on 51 attempts for 458 yards and five touchdowns in the losing effort.
Alvarez won his final season-opener as head coach to give him a 12-4 record all-time in the first game of the season, including eight consecutive victories. The Wisconsin win also marked the seventh-consecutive home win.
Wisconsin will play host to Temple next Saturday at 11 a.m. at Camp Randall. The game will be televised on ESPN Regional.
Game Notes
Today marked the grand re-opening of Camp Randall Stadium. The attendance of 82,138 was the fifth largest in Camp Randall history. The Badgers wore 'throwback' jerseys that were replicas of those worn during the 1960s, the last time a major construction project was completed at Camp Randall. The jerseys are to be auctioned off on uwbadgers.com ... UW improves to 89-25-3 in season openers (12-4 in the Alvarez era), which includes eight straight wins. The Badgers also are 23-2 in their last 25 non-conference home games and 33-5 overall vs. non-league opponents at Camp Randall Stadium during the Alvarez era ... Wisconsin improved to 24-2 all-time vs. the Mid-American Conference and 2-0 all-time vs. Bowling Green ... The two teams combined to score 98 points in the game, the most combined points in a game at Camp Randall Stadium since Wisconsin (106) and UW-Whitewater (0) combined to score 106 points in 1890 ... Wisconsin''s 56 points were the most points for the Badgers since scoring 56 against Michigan State on Nov. 15, 2003. The 56 points are tied for the seventh-most in school history and tied for third-most for the Badgers in a season opener ... The two teams combined for 70 points in the first half, the most combined points in a half in the Alvarez era. The previous high was on Oct. 20, 1990 when Wisconsin (28) and Northwestern (38) combined to score 66 points in the first half in Evanston, Ill. ... Wisconsin scored 35 points in the second quarter, its most points in a quarter in the Alvarez era. The previous high was 28 points in the second quarter at San Jose State on Sept. 13, 1997 ... In his Badger debut, Brian Calhoun had career highs for carries (43), yards (258) and touchdowns (5). Those were all records for a player in his first game for UW. The previous best for rushing yards in a Badger debut was 220 yards by Alan Thompson vs. Oklahoma on Sept. 20, 1969 ... Calhoun is the 12th player in Wisconsin history to rush for at least 200 yards in a game and the first since Anthony Davis rushed for 213 yards vs. Illinois on Oct. 2, 2004 ... Calhoun tied a school record with five rushing touchdowns. Anthony Davis (2002) and Billy Marek (1974) both ran for five TDs against Minnesota. ... The Badgers'' seven rushing touchdowns as a team tied the school record accomplished five times previously. The last time UW ran for seven TDs was on Oct. 16, 1999 vs. Indiana ... Calhoun had 19 carries for 148 yards and three touchdowns in the first half ... Calhoun''s previous career highs were 24 carries vs. Kansas in 2003 and 137 yards vs. Nebraska in 2002. He scored two touchdowns vs. Iowa State in 2003.
Postgame Quotes
Wisconsin Head Coach Barry Alvarez
Opening Comment: 'I was very proud of our guys, how they competed. They did not flinch, they did not lose their composure when they fell behind 14-0. Made some plays in the kicking game that gave us some momentum. Our guys battled. Our defense did what they had to do the first few possessions in the second half to get the ball back for us. We made up on that. We just scratched our offense. We used very little of our offense because I felt we could run the football. The way Brian (Calhoun) was running and the offensive line was running; (Booker Stanley) came in and did a nice job. I thought we''d hang onto the football and keep it away from Bowling Green. I was really proud of Brian coming in. He said he''s still knocking the cobwebs off, but not a bad start. All in all, it was a good win. Obviously, there are a number of things we''ll have to correct, particularly in the secondary. I thought they were going to complete some passes, but I really thought we broke down fundamentally on a number of things and we''re going to have to correct those. The main thing with this team right now is that we have to continue to get better. I''m pleased with the win.'
Have any of your players had as great a debut as Brian (Calhoun)': 'It never has been. I think Brian just broke all the records, 'tied the scoring record, broke the debut for the rushing record. So whether it would be a debut for anyone while I was here or in the history of football here, this the best day anybody''s had.'
More on Calhoun: 'I''ve seen him (Calhoun) for two years and I know he can get better. He''s critiquing his runs and critiquing his play coming up and that''s what''s going to make him better. But I''ve said all along he''s very gifted and he didn' 't surprise me.'
On the Offense: 'There were throws that we had that were there all day. But we wanted to possess the ball. I felt like we could run the football. When you''re hit at the line of scrimmage and it is second and six, I like that feeling. Our backs were finishing runs. I knew we could move the chains and I did not want them (BGSU) on the field, their offense on the field. So we didn''t want to ... we just wanted to win the game. So stay with the basic running game and execute it and save the rest of the offense and throw when we need to. But normally we won' 't be in a mode like that and hopefully we won''t see another offense like that.'
Wisconsin Running Back Brian Calhoun
On envisioning a better 'coming out' party: 'Obviously we wanted to attack Bowling Green''s defense. They had about five or six new starters so we definitely wanted to run the ball at them. The offensive line was not all my credit. (Matt) Bernstein and the tight ends did a great job, too.
On his number of touches in game: 'I' 've never had that many touches in a game. I''m just glad that I got through it without any injury. I''m here to play running back and whether Coach Alvarez wants me to carry the ball 20 times or 40 times, I''m here to do that. '
On his durability and the way he played: 'I haven''t played for a year and a half so I''m as fresh as anybody. I was just excited to get out there. At first I had a few butterflies, but after we kept moving the ball, it really became more comfortable.'
Wisconsin Defensive Back Brett Bell 'Our offense was on the field and it keeps us off the field, and you know the best defense is being on the bench. We definitely made some adjustments at the half.'
On adjustments made in second half:
Wisconsin Linebacker Dontez Sanders
'It''s not good to give up 42 points. It' 's not good. I don''t feel too good about it, but we won so it' 's always a positive thing. We can feed off of that and I''m glad that my team doesn''t quit.'
Wisconsin Quarterback John Stocco 'Yeah, he gave me a little kiss. I got a little shot to my head. I''m alright though. Probably should have slid on that one.'
On the hit he took:
Bowling Green Head Coach Gregg Brandon
Was their running game more than you expected ': 'Yes, it was. My worst fear was realized because we couldn' 't stop them.'
On the feeling at halftime: 'I still feel like we had a chance to win the game, definitely. Somewhere down the line we had to get a stop, and then offensively we had a couple of three and outs, and then they got up by three (touchdowns) and that was it. We just couldn''t catch up quick enough. '
On the holes in Wisconsin's offensive line: 'It didn''t matter that they had holes to fill. It''s Big Ten football, they just reload.'
On the game overall: 'I thought we' 'd hold out a little better. I never expected to get trucked for 400 yards, but we did. Now we have to study the tape and figure out if we were just dominated or we weren' 't in the right gaps or what. It looked to me like we couldn''t tackle, but their one back [Matt Bernstein] was bigger than most of our lineman and their other one [Brian Calhoun] was faster than any guy we''d ever seen on the field before. They just wore us down and it was unfortunate; they just wore us down.'
On the third quarter: 'We took the ball out of our own hands in the third quarter and that is what hurt us. We got out of sync and panicked and then tried to rely on the big play. We did make some big plays, but then we just abandoned the running game. We thought we could run the ball a little better than we did but again, it''s Big Ten defense. We just didn''t match up. '
