UW Routs Minnesota; Retains Axe
October 14, 2006 | Football
October 14, 2006
Madison, Wis.--Wisconsin quarterback John Stocco tied his career high with four touchdown passes as the 25th-ranked Badgers defeated rival Minnesota, 48-12, in front of a homecoming crowd of over 82,000 fans Saturday at Camp Randall Stadium. It was the sixth consecutive win for Wisconsin at home against Minnesota. UW retains the Paul Bunyan Axe for the third year in a row.
Stocco has thrown at least one touchdown in 16 consecutive games dating back to last season. He stands in sole possession of second place on UW''s career passing touchdown's list with 42. Only Darrell Bevell has thrown more TD passes than Stocco in school history (59). Stocco finished 12-of-19 for 193 yards.
P.J. Hill ran for 164 yards, his sixth 100-yard rushing performance of the season and has 1,011 yards on the year. He is the third freshman in UW history to top the 1,000-yard mark, joining Ron Dayne (1996) and Anthony Davis (2001). Wisconsin has had a 1,000-yard rusher in 12 of the past 14 seasons.
The Badger defense became the second team to hold the Gophers to under 300 yards of total offense in the last 46 games (Penn State in 2005). UM quarterback Bryan Cupito was 13-of-28 for 94 yards and an interception. He failed to throw a TD pass in a game for just the second time in his last 18 games.
Jack Ikegwuonu returned an Amir Pinnix fumble 50 yards to put Wisconsin up 7-0 before two minutes had elapsed in the first quarter. It was the first career fumble recovery for Ikegwuonu and second career touchdown. He also broke up three passes to lead UW''s secondary.
Hill capped Wisconsin''s opening drive with a 5-yard touchdown run to make it 14-0 with five minutes left in the opening quarter. Hill carried seven times for 78 yards on the drive, highlighted by a 28-yard carry to set up the score. Jason Giannini answered for Minnesota with a 37-yard field goal.
From there, it was all Badgers. Stocco threw second quarter touchdown passes to Luke Swan and Andy Crooks. Then started the second half with back-to-back bombs to Travis Beckum, the second being a 40-yard strike that made it 35-3.
Beckum finished with five catches, 118 yards and two touchdowns. He became the first Badger to have consecutive 100-yard receiving games since Brandon Williams accomplished the feat last November.
Hill added a two-yard touchdown to make it 41-3, but the point-after attempt was intercepted and returned by Mario Reese for a defensive two-point conversion. A two-yard touchdown by Pinnix, followed by a four-yard touchdown pass from Stocco to Beckum completed the scoring.
Wisconsin vs. Minnesota Game Notes
'Wisconsin team captains are QB John Stocco, OL Joe Thomas, LB Mark Zalewswki and DB Joe Stellmacher.
'Wisconsin won the toss and deferred. Minnesota chose to take the ball and defend the south goal.
'Kickoff was at 11:02 a.m. CST
'Game attendance was announced at 82,010, the 22nd straight sellout at Camp Randall Stadium and the 75th in last 85 home games.
TEAM NOTES
'Wisconsin has scored 141 points over the last three games. That is the most points over a three-game span in the same season since UW scored 195 points in the first three games of the 1915 season. It is the most in a three-game stretch of Big Ten games in school history.
'Today''s 36-point victory was the Badgers' largest win over Minnesota since a 56-17 win over the Gophers on Oct. 15, 1983.
'Today was the 99th Homecoming game in UW history.
'The Badgers have scored a defensive touchdown in each of the past two games.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
'P.J. Hill ran for 164 yards today, his sixth 100-yard rushing performance of the season. He now has 1,011 yards for the season. He is the third freshman in UW history to run for more than 1,000 yards in a season, joining Ron Dayne (1996) and Anthony Davis (2001). Wisconsin has had a 1,000-yard rusher in 12 of the past 14 seasons.
'Hill reached exactly 1,000 yards on his 172nd carry. The last UW player to reach 1,000 yards in fewer carries was Ron Dayne in 1997, who reached that mark on his 154th carry.
'Hill has scored at least one touchdown in every game this season and has three multiple-TD games.
'John Stocco threw four touchdown passes today, tying his career high set last year at Northwestern. Stocco moved into sole possession of second place on UW''s career touchdown passes list with his first TD pass today and now has 42 in his career. Darrell Bevell (1992-95) is Wisconsin''s all-time leader with 59 TD passes.
'Stocco has thrown at least one touchdown pass in 16 consecutive games.
'Over the past three games, Stocco has completed 43-of-57 passes (.754) for 717 yards and eight touchdowns.
'Travis Beckum has 13 catches for 225 yards over the past two games. He is the first Badger to have consecutive 100-yard receiving games since Brandon Williams had 102 yards against Penn State (11/5/05) and 132 yards against Iowa (11/12/05). He is also the first Badger to catch two touchdown passes in a game since Jonathan Orr had two TDs against Hawaii on Nov. 25, 2005.
'Jack Ikegwuonu''s 50-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown was the first fumble recovery of his career and his second career touchdown. He scored on a 62-yard interception return vs. Purdue on Oct. 22, 2005 (also UW''s Homecoming game). It was the first fumble return for a touchdown by a Badger player since Scott Starks returned a fumble 40 yards for a TD at Purdue on Oct. 16, 2004.
Wisconsin Head Coach Bret Bielema Post-Game Quotes
Opening Comments: 'We''re through six games. I have really emphasized this week to our players that I like the growth that they have shown me from week in and week out. I told them last night that in my evaluation sitting back as a head coach, I thought their Tuesday and Wednesday preparation was the best I''ve seen all year. I emphasized to them that they really do have a good mentality of just going about their business and doing what they are supposed to do and being rewarded for it. All the nice things that are being said about them are because of the hard work they put in. But all those things can be taken away with one poor performance. I really felt in this ballgame, in particular, if we could have a fast start, we would be able to put our offense, defense and special teams in a position to have success all day and I thought they came through with that.'
On why they needed to get off to a fast start: 'I really emphasized that playing here in Camp Randall, this place would be the most electric it had been to our guys this year, just because of homecoming. I know because of homecoming and the alumni that are back, they were ready to have a good crowd out there.'
On Jack Ikegwuonu''s play: 'Jack caught my eye when he first came here as a freshman. I thought that he was a player that potentially, because of his physical abilities, could be a good cover corner for us. Last year I thought he made certain strides. This year I have noticed just a little bit more suddenness, a little bit more of an urgency. He understands what it takes to practice to get where he needs to play on Saturday. Jack is a very intelligent football player. He does a lot of things with his physical abilities but he is very smart, which allows him to make plays.'
On the team''s offensive performance: 'I can''t give enough credit to Paul Chryst and my offensive coaches for playing to our players'' strengths. The classic example is when you go in a halftime trying to figure out what you can do to create some momentum on the opening drive of the second half. Paul Chryst knew what Travis Beckum was capable of and set up two plays for him to have success. Two plays later, we were in the endzone and got momentum back on our side in the second half. I really believe our coaches have done a tremendous job of taking advantage of our players' ' strengths.'
On P.J. Hill: 'The thing I like about P.J. is he just continues to get better. He plays himself into shape and doesn''t miss practice. He has really taken another step forward in just taking care of his body. You''re a starting running back in the Big Ten Conference, you''re going to get those reps and those carries. He has certainly done this to help himself on Saturday.'
Minnesota Head Coach Glen Mason Post-Game Quotes
Opening Comments: 'I was very disappointed in the way we played today. We got on track to start the game with a few nice plays, but then we put the ball on the ground and gave Wisconsin a defensive score. Those kinds of mistakes are very hard to overcome. After that play, we just kept struggling. We couldn''t convert a third down, and we just couldn''t move the ball. There were a few defensive series where we had Wisconsin against the wall on a third and long situation, and our defense couldn' 't make a stop. That was something that we have tried to improve from last year. Going into the half down 28-3 is never good, but we weren''t out of it yet. There has to be a lot of things going your way, but you can still climb back into those types of games. Starting the second half, we allow them to put together a nice long drive that ends in a touchdown. Rather than coming out of the half with a fire, we let them move the ball just like they had been in the first half. As I told the players, this game is all on my shoulders. If the offense plays poor, the defense plays poor and the kicking is poor, there is only one person to blame, and that person is me.'
On your first drive and the fumble: 'The football is a precious thing. You have to take such good care of it, because if you don''t, things like that will happen to you. I don''t feel like we were snake bitten, but that''s how football goes. There are plays like that in every game. There are going to be turnovers, it just matters as to when, where and what results from them that change the game. That fumble wasn''t in a bad place, but your first drive isn''t the best time and allowing a touchdown on the play is obviously the worst case scenario.'
On having a few injuries during the game and their effect: 'That sort of thing happens in football. People get hurt and that is why you have so many guys on a roster. You need guys to fill in for cases like that. People have the opportunity to step up to the plate, sometimes it''s a young guy, other times it is someone who is already proven, When you get that opportunity to step up, you need to take full advantage of it, and some did and some didn''t. It got hairy towards the end for us, we had a decent number of guys go down and we were playing guys that haven''t seen that much action. I still give credit to Wisconsin though for taking advantage of our problems and mistakes and turning them into points.'
Wisconsin Player Post-Game Quotes
Defensive Lineman Jason Chapman
On helping to set the tempo early by making a big hit: 'It was pursuing the ball full-speed and smacking somebody. And I tried my best to leave an imprint on [Bryan] Cupito.'
On what makes a successful day: '(I look at) us as a whole and how we combine to do the things to stop the offense, like we did today. We try to help the offense as much as possible.'
Wide Receiver Jarvis Minton
On being more comfortable on the field: 'On kick-off returns, I had a lot of confidence in the other guys who were blocking for me. We believe that in the kick-off return you have to block someone and we know that you just have to trust everyone and that you have to be fearless. I had a lot of trust and confidence in them. In the passing game, I just did what I was told. I had the opportunity to go out there and catch the ball today and I took advantage of that.
On the rivalry with Minnesota: 'No. 44 for Minnesota, we came from the same high school, we graduated together. It''s good to have something to talk about with him. All week we''ve been back and forth with that. It''s great to be part of playing of the axe. I want to go down in history too, so I wanted to go out there and be the best that I could, and that''s what I did.'
On his 15-yard catch: 'I came out of my break and Luke Swan did a good job of cleaning the corner out for me. I was expecting the ball to be more outside, but it was a little high and I had to jump for it. I just tried to catch the ball, bring it in, get a tuck and just get what I could get.'
Tight End Andy Crooks
On the momentum of the game: 'Personally, I felt like we did some good things in the first half and we had some momentum that we could carry over and it helped us, I believe, get the first downs.'
On putting up points and yards: 'P.J. Hill is a beast. Everyone is making great plays. Travis [Beckum] is making some great plays, [Luke] Swan, Jarvis [Minton]. It' 's just that the line is getting some great blocks. It is a team effort. '
On the offense getting back in gear after Michigan: 'The way we started the Michigan game, we knew we could score on them, and then when we stalled it affected us. We' 've bounced back from that and had a couple good weeks.'
On making the switch with Travis [Beckum]: 'Our tight end coach (Bob Bostad) has been a big part of it. He is a great coach. Travis is a great athlete. He plays great plays and that''s what it comes down to. I was all for the switch. Last year I didn' 't play that much and I was just looking to get on the field to help the team. '
On the feeling of the game as opposed to last year: 'We just executed today on all phases, I think. We just played a good game.'
Wide Receiver Luke Swan
On his touchdown: 'I didn''t know exactly where I was in the end zone. I caught the ball and I tried to land my feet as best I could but I wasn't exactly expecting it. I thought P.J. Hill was open in the flat and then all of the sudden the ball was up in the air.'
On the offense''s performance the last three weeks: 'At Indiana we really started to play well, we started to roll and the whole offense is starting to get some confidence. John (Stocco) is gaining confidence in throwing the ball and us in catching the ball.'
Offensive Lineman Andy Kemp
On the offense: 'We''re clicking right now. It''s starting to come together. We''ve found our identity and everything''s clicking and we''re just trying to improve every day in practice and every game on Saturdays. '
On where the offense starts: 'I think it just starts with the eleven guys out on the field. Getting in early for the film, all the preparation with the coaches, that' 's how it starts for the whole week. Just big preparation and hard work on the Tuesday and Wednesday practices. I think it''s all eleven guys.'
On the offense''s play since the Michigan game: 'We took a look at that film very critical on everything and I think we learned so much about ourselves and all the things that we need to work on. That''s what we worked on in the weeks after that and I think we learned a lot from the Michigan game.'
On the running game: 'I think it''s the offensive line, tight ends, fullbacks are all on their targets and are finishing. That''s what Coach Chryst says, finish every play. If it''s just an extra yard or two, push with the offensive line or fullback, that''s going to make a difference in the rushing and that''s what we''re doing right now.'
Tight End Travis Beckum
On his 41-yard and 40-yard catches: 'The defense gave us that and on the second catch 'there was no corner out there so I just ran a go-route and it was there so I took advantage of it.'
On difference of this year''s Minnesota win compared to last year''s: 'It was a lot different. We won by a lot more points this year and last year it was a close game until the end. I think both of them were cherishable.'
On the offense''s success the last three weeks: 'I just think it 's practice time. Every day we''re getting our confidence back and we' 're just playing harder every game and in practice we''re working and we' 're just continuing to win.'
