Badger Bits: San Jose State
September 11, 2010 | Football
Sept. 11, 2010
MADISON, Wis. -- Wisconsin improved to 2-0 with a 27-14 win over San Jose State on Saturday afternoon in Camp Randall Stadium. The offense got a standout performance from redshirt freshman Jared Abberderis, but the team as a whole knows that it needs to improve with Arizona State coming to town next weekend.
Abbrederis steps up
At this time last year, redshirt freshman Jared Abbrederis was running the team’s scout offense. Fast forward to Saturday and the Wautoma, Wis., native was the team’s leading receiver in its home opener. Abbrederis led all Badgers with five receptions, while finishing second on the squad with 58 receiving yards.
Junior wide receiver Nick Toon did not suit up due to injury and senior wide receiver David Gilreath was taken off the field in an ambulance in the third quarter after taking a hit on a punt return. In their absence, Abbrederis turned in a career-performance.
“I think I did well in the opportunities that I was put in,” Abbrederis said in the locker room. “But I have to clean up some things. I missed some backs out there, but I caught all the balls that were thrown to me, so I was happy with that.
“This week Coach [Bret Bielema] said there would be some opportunities for guys to step up and make plays, so I knew I would have the opportunity. All I had to do was go out and do what I’ve been doing in camp. It went well for me today. Hopefully I can keep that up throughout the season, but the best to Nick and Gil to get those guys back because we’ll need them.”
On the Badgers' eight-play, 46-yard scoring drive that ended in a field goal to end the second quarter, Abbrederis became Scott Tolzien’s top target, catching three passes for 30 yards. After catching a six-yard pass on first-and-10, Abbrederis followed with a 15-yard grab on second-and-four. He then added a nine-yard catch that preceded Philip Welch's 45-yard field goal to end the second quarter.
In the second half, Abbrederis had a 14-yard reception in the third quarter and another one in the fourth quarter.
Two games into his Badger career; Abbrederis is pleased with his performance but knows there’s room for improvement.
“I think I did a good job stepping up in the place of (David) Gilreath and (Nick) Toon, but I need to keep on moving forward,” he said. “I missed some plays. I missed some blocks and I just need to keep working in practice at getting better.”
A win’s a win
That’s the attitude the Badgers had after Saturday’s win over San Jose State. While it was not as efficient as the team would’ve liked, the Badgers did improve to 2-0 for the ninth-straight season.
“A wins a win,” Abbrederis said. “But our team made some mistakes that obviously we need to clean up for the future games. It’s a 1-0 concept and we won this game so that’s a good thing.
“Every win counts. It’s good to get out there and get a win. We just need to go work hard in practice and then get at it against Arizona State next week.”
Among the positives, the Badgers outgained the Spartans 403-to-307, including a 212-to-55 advantage on the ground. On third downs, Wisconsin finished 8-of-13, while San Jose State was just 3-of-12.
“What I’ll take is the fact that we haven’t seen the best Badger team yet,” J.J. Watt said. “We have a lot of work to do and a lot of film to watch tomorrow. The best part is we have another week. Arizona State is coming in next week, and we have a whole week to work on and correct our mistakes and we’ll come out stronger next week.”
Among the negatives, the Badgers surrendered 228 yards and two scores through the air. Cornerback Antonio Fenelus knows where the team needs to improve.
“We need to work on just being able to finish,” he said. “We had a pretty good first half but we need to continue through four quarters.”
Freshman running back James White lost a fumble through the end zone resulting in a turnover, but he feels that the Badgers aren’t too far away and there’s a lot to learn from this game.
“We’re disappointed,” he said. “We knew we could have come out and played better but we have to come out next week harder. We need to correct a couple of things like snaps and carrying the ball, like me, and catching every ball, things like that. If we correct those things mistakes we’ll be fine against Arizona State.”
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Karl Anderson
UW Athletic Communications
