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Wisconsin vs. Western Illinois
Camp Randall Stadium - Madison, Wis.
Sept. 6, 2014
TEAM NOTES
• Wisconsin’s captains today were seniors Kyle Costigan, Dallas Lewallen and Marcus Trotter and junior Michael Caputo. They were joined by honorary captain Tarek Saleh.
• UW won its 19th consecutive home opener, a streak that dates back to 1996.
• The Badgers extended the nation’s second-longest non-conference home winning streak to 30 games. Only LSU (40 straight wins entering today) has a longer winning streak at home against non-conference opponents.
• Wisconsin is now 12-0 all-time against teams from the Football Championship Subdivision.
• The Badgers recorded a safety on the game’s opening kickoff. It was the first safety for UW since Nov. 15, 2008 when the Badgers recorded a pair of safeties against Minnesota. The safety came officially one second into the game.
• UW’s defense held Western Illinois without a touchdown. Last year, the Badgers held five of their 13 opponents without a touchdown, second-best in the country behind Michigan State.
• Junior QB Tanner McEvoy and sophomore QB Bart Houston combined to throw four touchdown passes, marking the first time for UW since Nov. 12, 2011 when Russell Wilson threw four TDs against Minnesota.
• The Badgers held the Leathernecks to 34 yards on 19 plays in the second half, an average of 1.78 yards per play.
• Western Illinois managed just 54 yards rushing, the fewest for a Wisconsin opponent since Northwestern ran for 44 yards on Oct. 12, 2013.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
• Junior QB Tanner McEvoy scored the first touchdown of his career on a 7-yard run in the second quarter. He later completed his first three TD passes as a Badger, hooking up with FB Austin Ramesh on a 3-yard scoring pass and RB Melvin Gordon on an 8-yard toss on UW’s first two drives of the third quarter and Alex Erickson on a 10-yard pass in the fourth quarter. McEvoy accounted for 338 total yards, throwing for a career-high 283 yards and rushing for a personal-best 55 yards on 9 carries.
• After going 1-of-3 for eight yards and an interception in the first quarter, McEvoy finished 23-of-28 for 283 yards and 3 TDs through the air the rest of the game. At one point over the second and third quarters, McEvoy completed 17 passes in a row. McEvoy’s quarterback rating for the game was 195.26.
• Sophomore WR Alex Erickson had a career-high 10 catches for a personal-best 122 yards. His 10 receptions are tied for the ninth-most in program history. Erickson caught a total of nine passes for 127 yards in 13 games last year. Erickson is the first Badger other than Jared Abbrederis to have more than 100 receiving yards since Nick Toon in the 2012 Rose Bowl vs. Oregon.
• Senior TE Sam Arneson entered today’s game with 11 career receptions for 81 yards. Today he had a career-high 4 receptions for 87 receiving yards.
• Freshman WR George Rushing made the first catch of his career, hauling in a 10-yard pass in the second quarter.
• Freshman TE Troy Fumagalli also made the first catch of his career, a 10-yard reception in the third quarter.
• In his first career game, freshman FB Austin Ramesh made his first career start then scored a touchdown the first time he touched the ball as a Badger, hauling in a 3-yard TD reception on the Badgers’ first drive of the second half.
• Junior RB Melvin Gordon’s 8-yard TD reception in the third quarter was the fourth reception of his career and second career touchdown catch.
• Sophomore RB Corey Clement’s 6-yard TD reception in the fourth quarter marked his second career catch and his first TD reception.
• Sophomore Bart Houston threw his first career TD pass in the fourth quarter.
• Junior S Michael Caputo recorded the first interception of his career, returning the first quarter pick 27 yards. Caputo, who also had a fumble recovery vs. LSU, is responsible for two of the Badgers’ three forced turnovers this season.
• Junior LB Jesse Hayes recorded his first career sack, bringing down Trenton Norvell for a loss of four yards.
