Wisconsin Badgers
3-1
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UTEP
1-3
Seasons change: Badgers open up to close out non-conference slate
September 22, 2012 | Football
 | Wisconsin 37,UTEP 26 Camp Randall Stadium • Madison, Wis. • Attendance: 79,332 Final Stats | Final Stats  | Notes | Quotes | Highlights  |  |
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| Sept. 22, 2012
MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- James White and Melvin Gordon picked up the slack for Montee Ball and the Wisconsin Badgers.
With the Heisman Trophy finalist sidelined by an early head injury Saturday, White rushed for a pair of touchdowns and Gordon sealed Wisconsin's 37-26 victory over UTEP with a 26-yard scoring run late in the fourth quarter.
Jared Abbrederis added a 47-yard TD reception in his first game back from a concussion as the Badgers (3-1) extended their home winning streak against non-conference opponents to 26 games.
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Wisconsin recovered, and Gordon scored on the next play to finish the Miners off. Gordon, a redshirt freshman who had all of 18 yards in Wisconsin's first three games, finished with 112 on eight carries. White had 65 yards on 15 carries while Abbrederis had a career-high 147 yards receiving.
Joel Stave went 12-of-17 for 210 yards in his first career start. After being sacked twice in Wisconsin's first three drives, the redshirt freshman settled in and showed rhythm. His only major error was an interception in the second quarter.
UTEP scored first, getting a big assist when Chris Borland was called for roughing the passer. That gave UTEP the ball at the Wisconsin 39, and Nick Lamaison found Michael Edwards in the end zone.
But that seemed to finally wake the Badgers up. Konrad Zagzebski got his body in front of Steven Valadez's extra point attempt, and Devin Smith scooped up the ball and raced the length of the field to make it 6-2. According to Wisconsin, it was the first time the Badgers had returned a blocked extra point for two points since the NCAA adopted the rule in 1988.
Gordon opened the Wisconsin drive with a 20-yard run, and Ball followed with a 22-yard rumble that gave the Badgers the ball at the UTEP 25. Five plays later, Ball scored on a 1-yard run. But he got knocked around on the play, looking wobbly as he got up. The medical staff only needed a few minutes to decide he was done for the day, and Ball spent the second half on the sidelines in street clothes.
Stave's 60-yard pass to Abbrederis set up a 3-yard scoring run by White. The two connected again on a 47-yard TD reception to give Wisconsin a 23-6 lead, and the rout appeared to be on
A roughing-the-kicker call kept UTEP's drive alive late in the second quarter, and Valadez kicked a 45-yard field goal just before halftime. That started a run of 13 unanswered points by the Miners before Wisconsin answered late with Gordon's score -- the longest running play of the season for the Badgers.
Team Stats
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UTEP 6, WIS 0
UTEP - EDWARDS, M. 39 yd pass from LAMAISON, Nick (VALADEZ, Steven kickblocked) 1 plays, 54 yards, TOP 0:16
UTEP 6, WIS 2
WIS - Smith, Devin 98 yd PAT return
UTEP 6, WIS 9
WIS - Ball, Montee 1 yd run (French, Kyle kick), 7 plays, 67 yards, TOP 2:56
UTEP 6, WIS 16
WIS - White, James 3 yd run (Russell, Jack kick), 4 plays, 86 yards, TOP 1:51
UTEP 6, WIS 23
WIS - Abbrederis, Jar 47 yd pass from Stave, Joel (Russell, Jack kick) 1 plays, 47 yards, TOP 0:08
UTEP 9, WIS 23
UTEP - VALADEZ, Steven 45 yd field goal 8 plays, 27 yards, TOP 2:03
UTEP 16, WIS 23
UTEP - WILLIAMS, Xay 8 yd run (VALADEZ, Steven kick), 13 plays, 75 yards, TOP 5:20
UTEP 19, WIS 23
UTEP - VALADEZ, Steven 43 yd field goal 16 plays, 54 yards, TOP 6:57
UTEP 19, WIS 30
WIS - White, James 2 yd run (Russell, Jack kick), 9 plays, 75 yards, TOP 4:47
UTEP 19, WIS 37
WIS - Gordon, Melvin 26 yd run (Russell, Jack kick), 1 plays, 26 yards, TOP 0:07
UTEP 26, WIS 37
UTEP - EDWARDS, M. 62 yd pass from LAMAISON, Nick (VALADEZ, Steven kick) 7 plays, 76 yards, TOP 2:04
