Script flipped: Badgers come through in clutch vs. No. 1
October 17, 2010 | Football
BY BRIAN MASON
UW Athletic Communications
MADISON, Wis. — Contrary to the feeling in the pit of Badger fans' stomachs in the third quarter of Saturday's showdown with No. 1 Ohio State, the 16th-ranked Badgers never trailed.
Wisconsin led wire to wire. Somehow, though, it didn't feel that way.
The top-ranked Buckeyes never held the lead, but they did hold something of vital importance as the game moved into crunch time: momentum. And that had the 81,000-plus that provided the electric backdrop for Saturday's clash on the edge of their Camp Randall Stadium seats.
The Buckeyes had just scored, with the powerful offense that had been relegated to watching from the sideline in the first half — as UW's offense refused to let go of the ball — finally able to flex some of its muscle. What had been a comfortable 21-3 lead at the half was suddenly a tenuous, three-point edge at 21-18 with 11 minutes left to play.
It's a movie Badger fans had seen play out before — on this same stage, with many of the same actors. Flash back to 2008 and then-freshman Terrelle Pryor leading the Buckeyes on a game-winning drive deep in the fourth quarter.
This time, tough, the script was different. And talk about a happy ending.
There would be no final drive heroics for Ohio State, because the Badgers made sure that a single score wouldn't be enough for the Buckeyes.
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"At halftime, I went in and told coaches, the players, approach the second half the same way as if the score is 0-0," UW head coach Bret Bielema said. "But I did point out right before we left the locker room that we've been in four-quarter games this year, whether by choice or not, we've been in them, and I didn't really think Ohio State had been.
"I really wanted our guys to believe in what we were talking about. That drive in the fourth quarter when (Ohio State) got within three was a great example of believing."
In need of a lift after Ohio State offense had monopolized nearly three-fourths of the clock in the third quarter, the Badgers found one on the arm of senior quarterback Scott Tolzien.
Tolzien, who quietly put together a 13-for-16 performance through the air, came out gunning once Wisconsin got the ball back.
"I thought we did a good job of trying to take it one play at a time and try to get some sort of momentum going," Tolzien said. "Nobody needed to be Superman, we needed to just take it one play at a time and stay with our plan."
He rolled to his right and delivered a short completion to fullback Bradie Ewing, good for 7 yards. Next came a throw to freshman tailback James White, a low pass that White couldn't corral.
On third-and-3, Tolzien stepped up, went to his left and threaded a ball to junior wide receiver Nick Toon that went for 20 yards.
Exhale.
"It was big," Tolzien said. "That's the best part about the game is you have to put (mistakes) behind you and work that much harder on the next play."
The Tolzien-to-Toon connection was good again for 9 yards on first down. At that point, after UW offensive coordinator Paul Chryst had shown that the Badgers were content to pass their way down the field, the Buckeyes were forced to back off.
No more eight men in the box. That's exactly what White and junior tailback John Clay wanted to see.
Clay picked up a first down on the ground and then carried again before Tolzien went back over the top. He hit White for a 9-yard pickup that had the Badgers knocking on the door of the red zone at the Ohio State 23.
It was White's show from there, with the freshman running directly toward the student section that had organized a "James White-Out" in which the students held up blank pieces of copy paper each time White touched the ball.
Those sheets went up three times as White picked up 6 yards, then another 5 and, finally 12 on an impressive run that put him in the end zone for the ninth time in his rookie campaign.
"They saw me trying to get to the outside a little bit before, so I figured if I set them up outside and just put my foot down, they wouldn't be able to tackle me," White said. "So once I made that one cut, they both tripped up a bit and I ran through the seam."
With that, it was 28-18 Badgers.
"We came in here confident and there was such a calm in the locker room beforehand," senior offensive lineman Gabe Carimi said. "We are all on the edge of our seats. We were locked in. That's quiet intensity."
Three incompletions later, Wisconsin had the ball back and again turned to Tolzien, who surprised everyone in the building when he lofted a 33-yard pass to Jacob Pedersen on first down. It led to a 41-yard Philip Welch field goal and ensured that, no matter the heroics from the other sideline, this would not be a sequel of Badgers-Buckeyes 2008.
"The key, first of all, is that everyone has to believe," Tolzien said. "Everyone has to believe that you can win."
Instead, it was a giant celebration on the field as the student section emptied and surrounded the Badgers.
"It was just kind of surreal," Tolzien said. "It was bedlam, students everywhere, and something that I'll take with me for a long, long time."
