A View from the Sidelines
September 05, 2009 | Football
Patrick Herb gets to spend his Saturdays how any Wisconsin fan would like to' on the sidelines at Camp Randall. Here are some of his observations from the Badger's win over Northern Illinois.
1.) It looks like a few of the Wisconsin players made a special trip to the barber shop before Saturday's big opening-day game. John Clay, Jaevery McFadden and Jay Valai all had freshly carved designs in the sides of the their heads. McFadden and Valai sported swirls and a weaving pattern, while Clay went with the shooting star look.
2.) The 6 p.m. start time was a bit unusual and it led to an interesting lighting issue. The sun was setting over the West side of the stadium in the early going and shining brightly off the East-side suites. It may not have been noticeable from the stands or on TV, but from down on the field it presented quite a glare. We didn't see any players have trouble fielding punts or kickoffs, but I would have understood if we did. The glaring sun would have been right in the players' peripheral vision when looking up.
3.) Philip Welch attempted a 55-yard field goal in the first quarter Saturday and while the kick sailed wide right, the kid had plenty of leg on it. It's a shame his aim was slightly off, because that kick would have been good from close to 60.
4.) So much for QB Scott Tolzien showing nerves in his first career start. The junior opened the game completing his first six passes, including an 80-yard TD on the opening play. A great play-action fake fooled the corner and there was no safety help over the top, leaving Isaac Anderson all alone for the long score. However, despite Tolzien's hot start, the coaching staff stuck with their plan to use two QBs and freshman Curt Phillips entered with 9:28 left in the first half.
5.) The Badgers were forced to call a timeout late in the first half when the offensive play-clock was about to expire. What might have been a culprit was getting the plays in quickly. With Tolzien under center, UW was signaling in plays from the sidelines. In a few of Phillips' early snaps, though, he was running to the sideline to get the play call. On the play where the timeout was called, that was in fact the case. To Wisconsin 's credit, this wasn't an issue at any other time in the game. I 'll chalk it up to an early season hiccup.
6.) UW legend Ron Dayne was in the house Saturday, as he was honored at halftime for entering the UW Athletic Hall of Fame. The former Heisman Trophy running back stuck around in the second half near the bench congratulating some of the team's current RBs after big plays.
7.) Late in the third quarter, you could see the fatigue written all over the faces of the Northern Illinois defensive players. Who could blame them' The Huskie defense was on the field nearly the entire period (12:11 of the 15:00 minutes to be exact). Hands on hips, players slow to get up and chippiness after the whistle were indications of a worn-down defense. Credit the UW offensive line for a big part of that during Wisconsin 's 11-play, 92-yard TD drive and its 12-play, 67-yard scoring march.
8.) Credit the fans who stayed to the bitter end of this one. Several of the Red and White faithful left early thinking the Badgers' 28-6 lead was comfortable enough. When it got to 28-20 and NIU was driving, Wisconsin relied on the folks that were left to create noise and rattle the Huskies' sophomore QB Chandler Harnish. That 's the loudest the crowd was all night and it might have been just enough to push Bucky over the top.
9.) Probably more than anything, what pushed Bucky to the win was the headsy move from senior safety Chris Maragos on Northern Illinois' final offensive play. On fourth-and-three from the Wisconsin 36-yard line, Maragos crept toward the line of scrimmage and showed blitz for just a moment, then backed into coverage on the play. Harnish tried to force the ball to FB Kyle Scarb and Maragos was in perfect position to knock it away and seal the win. I'm not sure if Harnish was fooled by Maragos or not, but that's a savvy senior move.
