Badgers Are 1-0 Following 42-21 Win Over Cougars
September 01, 2007 | Football
September 1, 2007
MADISON, Wis. Senior quarterback Tyler Donovan threw a career-high three touchdown passes en route to a Wisconsin football 42-21 victory over Washington State in the 2007 season opener Saturday afternoon at Camp Randall Stadium.
Luke Swan, a fifth-year senior captain, shattered personal bests in touchdowns scored (two), receptions (eight) and receiving yards (170). His 170 receiving yards ties him with Pat Richter at 11th on the UW list for receiving yards in a game.
Donovan completed 19-of-29 passes for 284 yards, utilizing five Badger wide receivers. The Harland, Wis., native has thrown seven touchdown passes in his three career starts and is averaging 273.3 passing yards during that span.
Sophomore tight end Garrett Graham recorded his first career touchdown off an 11-yard pass from Donovan mid-way into the second quarter. The pass was Graham''s first reception as a Badger.
Defensive lineman Kirk DeCremer blocked Cougar Darryl Blunt''s punt on the first drive of the game. Recovered by WSU, two succeeding pass plays translated into the first points of the game, giving the opponents an early 7-0 lead.
Wisconsin immediately responded, covering the field in four minutes and eight seconds, off of nine plays totaling 61 yards. Donovan found Swan across the middle for five yards and a 7-7 tie.
Washington State''s Christopher Ivory ran the ball in four yards for a touchdown on the third drive of the game, regaining the lead midway through the first quarter. With Wisconsin''s next possession beginning on the Washington State 47-yard line, following a 15-yard penalty on Jed Collins during the kickoff, it took just over two minutes to reach the end zone. P.J. Hill rushed for one yard, evening up the score, 14-14.
Washington State scored just seven more points in the game when quarterback Alex Brink completed a seven-yard pass to Brandon Gibson in the third quarter. UW continued on to outscore WSU 14-0 in both the second and fourth quarters, giving them a 21-point final victory advantage.
While the Cougars accumulated 193 yards in the first quarter, the UW defense held them to just 135 yards for the remainder of the game, forcing four punts and a fourth-quarter turnover, recorded by true freshman Aaron Henry whose interception resulted in a 26-yard return.
Elijah Hodge tallied three solo and four assisted tackles, while Aubrey Pleasant recorded four solo and two assisted tackles. Four other Badgers, Jonathan Casillas, Shane Carter, Jason Chapman and DeAndre Levy totaled five tackles apiece.
Wisconsin had 25 first downs to 17 for Washington State and outgained the Cougars 486-328. Dwight Tardy led WSU with 96 yards rushing while Brink completed 17 passes for 171 yards.
In the last five seasons, Wisconsin has scored 214 total points, an average of 42.8 points per game. Notably, the Badgers are 19-1 at Camp Randall Stadium since the start of the 2004 season, making UW one of just five programs in the nation with no more than one home loss in that time frame.
A sellout crowd of 81,547 came to watch the Badgers begin their 2007 slate. Today was the 26th consecutive sellout at Camp Randall Stadium. Seventy-nine of the last 89 games have been sellouts with the other 10 games drawing at least 70,000 fans.
The Badgers continue non-conference play on the road next weekend, facing the Rebels of Las Vegas on Sept. 8. Kickoff at Sam Boyd Stadium is set for 9 p.m. CST. The game will be broadcast live on Versus.
Wisconsin Post-Game Notes
GENERAL NOTES
' Captains: Marcus Coleman, Ben Strickland, Luke Swan, Jonathan Casillas, Andy
Crooks, Ken DeBauche
' Coin Toss: Wisconsin wins toss, deferred the decision, Washington State to receive.
' Kickoff Time: 2:37 p.m.
' Attendance: 81,547 (sellout) ' today was the 26th consecutive sellout at Camp
Randall Stadium. ' 79 of the last 89 games have been sellouts with the other 10
games drawing at least 70,000 fans.
TEAM NOTES
' In the last five season openers, Wisconsin has scored 214 total points, an average of
42.8 points per game.
' Today''s win improves UW to 91-25-3 in 119 season-openers. ' Wisconsin has now
won its last 10 consecutive season opening games.
' The Badgers are 19-1 at Camp Randall Stadium since the start of the 2004 season.
' Wisconsin is one of just five programs in the nation with no more than one home
loss in that time frame.
' UW has won 10 consecutive games dating back to last season. ' Boise State (14
games) and BYU (10 games) are the only teams with longer active winning streaks.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
' Luke Swan shattered personal bests in touchdowns scored (two), receptions (eight)
and receiving yards (170). His 170 receiving yards ties him with Pat Richter at 11th
on the UW list for receiving yards in a game
' Tyler Donovan threw a career-high three touchdown passes ' Donovan has thrown
seven touchdown passes in his three career starts and is averaging 273.3 passing
yards during that span
' Players starting for the first time today: Gabe Carimi (left tackle), Shane Carter (free
safety), Aubrey Pleasant (strong safety), Elijah Hodge (mike linebacker)
' True freshmen playing today: Aaron Henry, Zach Brown, Kyle Jefferson, Blake
Sorensen, David Gilreath
' In his debut, Gilreath accumulated 69 yards in kick returns and 16 yards in punt
returns ' he also rushed once for 11 yards
' Henry recorded his first career interception and a 26-yard return during the fourth
quarter
' Allan Evridge made his Badger debut at quarterback in the fourth quarter
' Kirk DeCremer's blocked punt in the first quarter marked the fourth blocked punt
for the Badgers in the last 13 games ' the series was DeCremer's first official play
after redshirting last season
' Nick Hayden made his 27th consecutive start today at right defensive tackle.
' Garrett Graham recorded his first career touchdown reception off an 11-'yard pass
from Donovan in the second quarter. 'The pass was Graham''s first career reception.
' Despite moving back to the 30-yard-line, five of Taylor Mehlhaff''s seven kick-offs
landed in the end zone (four touchbacks, one returned in the end zone, one to the
WSU 4-yard-line, one to the WSU 1-yard-line).
Wisconsin Head Coach Bret Bielema Post-Game Quotes
Opening Comments: 'We came ready to play. I saw some positive things out there and we were able to win a football game. Our coaches really appreciate the learning experience of today. There was a time early in the second half where we were moving the ball and had a penalty that called back a long run, and we set up the punt. Our defense did some positive things in potential negative situations, and our offense picked right back up. I can''t say enough about our offense today. I always tell our players, it' 's not what happens during the course of the game, it''s how you react to what happens and I think our offense really had a positive response.'
On defensive the defense: 'They''re smart and intelligent; they go to the sidelines and make the adjustments. The biggest problem we had was that we let the ball get outside.'
On preparing for Washington State: 'They were a very difficult team to prepare for. We didn''t know what they were going to do. They are very good, and big up front.'
On Luke Swan: 'Luke is a good football player. He''s smart and intelligent. Towards the end of the half, I told him we''ve got three timeouts left' and Washington State had a nice play down the boundary that stayed in-bounds. I thought they were going to move the ball, which they did, and I thought we 'd give him one more chance for him to score. That's one positive that we did a year ago. We really emphasize to our guys the mentality that you're going to score before the end of the half.'
On the blocked punt: 'I have seen that before, but not against me. They (WSU) have an unusual punt formation. Basically, I stole our formation from Toledo''s special teams coordinator in the game against Bowling Green. Bowling Green ran the same thing, and because of what he (Toledo''s head coach) was doing because he knew how to defend it, I did the same thing.'
On the Pac-10/Big Ten matchup: 'I didn't mention the matchup until the team meeting last night. I just told them to play Big Ten football and said there ''s going to be a lot of mention at the end of the year about a Pac-10/Big Ten opponent, so let''s set the stage and the level now. I thought our guys rose to the challenge.'
On the uniforms: 'I put them in red-on-red uniforms and I didn''t tell anybody about that, not even the AD's. I was worried what the repercussions were going to be but I got a handshake before the game, so all must be well.
I didn't tell them until Thursday night when I had a guy model it for them. Players responded overwhelmingly in favor and were yelling and screaming. Maybe I should have waited for that until right before kickoff because they were pumped and ready to go. This is something that I''d like to continue in our home games.
Coach Alvarez has had red with white tops. I like the solid look, all white on the road. I told the team, you guys have to make your own identity, establish who you are. We' 've got some guys who are playmakers and they walk into the room with a swagger. I said here''s your swagger (with the red on red) now, I''m going to put you in these and you have to tell me what you're going to do.'
Washington State Head Coach Bill Doba Post-Game Quotes
Opening Comments: 'Hats off to Wisconsin. They played a heck of a ballgame and they''re a good football team. They did like we thought they might do and wore us down. We competed with them early. We had some young kids on defense that made some mistakes, some mental errors. They found our freshman corner in a hurry and got a couple of scores of him. But he'll get better and, the good thing is, we'll get better. They're a good solid team. Hill''s a good back. It looks like we gained about 170 yards rushing. I never thought we would do that coming into a ballgame. An inexperienced offensive line only gave up one sack.'
On WSU''s offense: 'I was real proud of the offense. I thought they competed and moved the ball against a darn good defensive team.'
On WSU''s special teams: 'Special teams we had a few glitches. One of them we got lucky. They blocked a punt you never should do and we scooped it up and got a first down and then got a touchdown. They tried to help us but we just couldn't take advantage of it. They dropped a couple punts they were trying to field and another chance to get a fumble late in the fourth quarter.'
On Wisconsin''s passing: 'Well they tried to run and we held them up pretty well. We put pressure on them but they found the holes and we made a couple of mistakes where guys were way too far over and those are mental errors.'
On Tyler Donovan: 'Donovan threw the ball really well. He had a couple of guys that were open that they overthrew too. All in all, based on the stats, I''d say he had a pretty good day.'
Wisconsin Player Post-Game Quotes
Cornerback Allen Langford
On Washington State''s early offensive success: 'We were trying to get a feel for the game. We had been going against our offense for over a month so we were trying to get a feel for what they were doing. They are a good team and a good offense. They threw some stuff out there we hadn''t seen on film. It seems like the first few drives we didn't get a feel for what they were doing so we made a few corrections and we went out there and played ball.'
On the play of Shane Carter and Aubrey Pleasant: 'They did good. They did exactly what I gave them a tip on, Don' 't give up the deep ball.' A couple of run fakes here and there, we can correct those. Other than that they did good for their first time starting.'
On Washington State''s spread offense: 'We had to get a feel for what they were doing. Like I said, they are a complicated offense, really good players and a veteran quarterback. So the coaches decided to change up some things, bring our nickel package out there a little more often. The first couple drives we brought the nickel out there we had some success and we just rolled with it.'
Cornerback Aaron Henry
On his first interception: 'It is a great feeling. It''s still going on right now but it is a great feeling. It was amazing.'
On playing like a veteran: 'Coming in they recruited me as a defensive back of course and they wanted someone who could come in and step up and make plays. We have a whole bunch of playmakers on this team and I am just fulfilling one of the roles. '
On what he was thinking during the interception: 'Believe it or not last night Coach (Bielema) was telling us to visualize. So last night after the team dinner I was visualizing and I visualized I had a pick running down that exact same sideline but it was for a touchdown.'
Linebacker DeAndre Levy
On Washington State dictating the play early: 'We actually expected them to throw the ball more. But they came out (with the run) and caught us off guard a little bit. We wanted them to run the ball and we expected them to throw the ball. So we played a little rusty there. Missing tackles, not assignment sound but we still managed to get the win. '
On the defense coming up big in the second half: 'I think this is the first big test we kind of needed to see how we respond. We were backed up a couple of times, gave up a couple of big plays, faced a little adversity and managed to overcome it.'
On the benefits of playing a good team early: 'I think it is very important to have a team like that early on. Last year our first real test wasn''t until Michigan. So that kind of threw us off a little bit. Not to say the first few teams weren' 't good but they didn't provide us much of a challenge. Getting a little bit of a tougher challenge early is going to prepare us better in the long run. '
Defensive Back Aubrey Pleasant
On facing Washington State''s strong offense: 'We had a little adversity and I think it was very good for us. The first series we went out there and we stopped them and then we were right back out there when something happened with the punt. A couple series later something happened again and I think that was very good for us. Like Coach Bielema always says, it''s not what happens, but how you react to it. After the first couple of series our coaches did an excellent job making some adjustments. We played well defensively after that.'
On the UW defense''s overall performance: 'I know we made some mistakes and tomorrow we''re going to come in and correct them, but I think we started off on a good foot today. We played against a very good team with a very good quarterback.'
On adjusting to Washington State''s offensive game plan: 'Coming out here, we thought they were going to throw the ball more than they did. It seemed like one of the things they were trying to do was to spread us out and then run the ball. It was putting some of our linebackers out of position, so after that we made a few adjustments. '
Defensive Lineman Nick Hayden
On UW''s opponents targeting Wisconsin as a top team: 'We all know there' 's a target on our backs. It was a good team we beat today. Their quarterback made some good throws and some good scrambles, but it''s all stuff we can fix. There were some mistakes out there that we didn''t recognize during the play. We just have to watch and review the film and get better from them.'
On Tyler Donovan''s successful first start of the season: 'I knew he could do it the whole time. I gave him a big hug in the locker room because I knew he could do it from day one. He''s a great player, he''s athletic, and really just has all the tools to be a great quarterback.'
On Tyler Donovan''s pocket presence: 'He''s very confident out there. You can just watch him stay in the pocket and wait for the open wide receiver with pressure in his face. He''s very poised in the pocket and that''s something that comes with a great quarterback. He''s on his way if he keeps improving his game.'
Offensive Lineman Eric Vandenheuvel
On the offensive line''s performance: 'It was a clean game. I don ''t think we got too many penalties or allowed too many sacks.'
On the chemistry between Luke Swan and Tyler Donovan: 'Luke just seems to be open at all the right times and he seems to catch everything that Tyler throws at him. It ''s an awesome relationship that they have going on.'
On getting a win in the first game of the season: 'We knew coming in that this wasn''t going to be an easy game. This is the first step.
