Lucas at 50: After lowest lows, some of Badgers’ highest highs in Columbus
October 24, 2019 | Football, Mike Lucas
Digging into the archives for monumental moments between the Badgers and Buckeyes
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer Mike Lucas is celebrating 50 years of covering the Badgers in 2019. Join us throughout the season as we take a look back at some of the most memorable moments from his career in Madison.
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BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
Five years prior to the launch of the Big Ten Network, for instance, the 2001 Indiana-Wisconsin game from Camp Randall Stadium was not on live television.
And it turned out to be the good news for Badger fans who weren't able to attend.
In one of the most humbling moments in school history, Indiana rolled up 631 yards of total offense, including 449 on the ground, and crushed Wisconsin, 63-32.
The Hoosiers, who had lost 22 of their last 24 road games, led 32-0 after the first quarter (Two years earlier, Wisconsin had blown out Indiana, 59-0).
"I don't have an answer," UW coach Barry Alvarez said afterward. "We broke down in all areas. I saw some things out there today that I haven't seen since we've been here (1990)."
Knowing that a trip to Ohio State was next on the schedule — and knowing that his players were still hurting and healing — Alvarez had a heart-to-heart with his team.
"More than anything else, you call on their character," he said. "You talk about pride. You talk about your program. You talk about what everybody has given to this program to build it.
"I challenged the kids. And I brought Joe Panos in here on Thursday to talk to them. I felt it was important for them to hear it from somebody who helped lay the groundwork."
Panos was a co-captain of the 1993 Big Ten championship team that went on to win the first of three Rose Bowls under Alvarez. A former walk-on, Panos epitomized toughness and leadership.
"I told them, 'Listen, you may feel like you're a man without a country right now, but you're not. There are people who still believe in you,'" Panos related.
"I told them, 'It's just one game. You stubbed your toe really bad and it was really ugly. But the same thing happened to me when I was a senior.'
"We lost to Minnesota (28-21 in the Metrodome). But we didn't fold up our tent. We came back and beat Michigan and we didn't lose again.
"I told them, 'Look guys, what you have to do is forget about everything on the outside and believe in your teammates, believe in your coaches and believe in yourself."
That belief was put to the ultimate test the following Saturday in Columbus, Ohio.
With less than two minutes to play in the second quarter, the Badgers trailed Ohio State, 17-0. Statistically, it really wasn't that close.
Something drastic had to happen because Wisconsin was on the verge of getting blown out of the Horseshoe — Ohio Stadium. Drastic times called for … a punt block.
Near the end of the first half, the Buckeyes were facing a fourth-and-20 from their own 22. When the snap carried wide, punter Andy Groom had to make a quick decision.
Sensing the pressure on the edges, he didn't think he had enough time to get the punt off.
So, he ran.
David Braun and Jim Leonhard cornered Groom and Chris Catalano tackled him. The Badgers took over on the OSU 23, and didn't waste any time taking advantage of the gift.
Wisconsin tailback Anthony Davis (#28 pictured above) got blocks from tight end Mark Anelli and guard Kalvin Barrett and stepped through a tackle attempt by Donnie Nickey to score, making it 17-7.
"That shifted the momentum," said UW wide receiver Lee Evans, an Ohio native. "That got us going and we kept the pendulum on our side the second half."
On the first possession of the third quarter, Ohio State defensive coordinator Mark Dantonio called for a blitz and Brooks Bollinger countered with a 42-yard touchdown pass to Nick Davis.
Defensively, the Badgers were shutting down the Buckeyes' rushing attack (minus-4 in the second half) forcing an erratic Steve Bellisari to make plays through the air (10-of-21 for 132 yards).
Early in the fourth quarter, Wisconsin tied the game on Mark Neuser's 25-yard field goal. Neuser later nailed the game-winner from 33-yards with just 2 minutes and 10 seconds remaining.
"I always dreamed and pictured it from both sides, whether I missed it, or I made it," said Neuser, a 21-year-old sophomore. "I think every kicker wants to be in that situation."
Alvarez was thinking something else.
"I'm thinking people were looking to see how we would respond," he said. "Everyone was shocked when they saw that Indiana score last week and they wanted to know what we were all about."
While the Badgers were digging themselves out of their 17-0 hole in 2001 by scoring 20 unanswered points, Bollinger confessed to having a flashback to his first trip to Columbus in 1999.
"I looked up at the scoreboard and I'm not going to lie to you, it went through my head," he said. "I thought, 'Wouldn't it be great if we could do it again?'"
His reference was to the Badgers falling behind 17-0 in the second quarter of his first career start and shocking the Buckeyes by scoring 42 unanswered points in the '99 comeback.
It turned out to be a season-altering triumph since the Badgers were coming off a stunning road loss at Cincinnati (a 26-point underdog) and a frustrating home loss to Michigan.
They didn't lose again.
"I've been around a lot of great wins," Alvarez said, "and this was one of them."
• • • •
On the night before the 2004 game in Columbus, Alvarez treated his players to the movies. They watched the 1999 and 2001 road victories over the Buckeyes. It rubbed off on them, too.
While they didn't fall behind 17-0 like they had on the two previous trips, they did trail 10-0 in the second quarter as the result of Ted Ginn's 65-yard punt return for a TD and a Mike Nugent field goal.
"I didn't want to particularly start like that," Alvarez said sarcastically. "But our guys are fighters. They're not going to fold their tent because they fell behind."
Bollinger was on the roster of the New York Jets, so he couldn't work his Horseshoe magic. Instead, it was sophomore quarterback John Stocco who sparked Wisconsin to a 24-13 victory.
"I was not concerned about the atmosphere one bit with John," said UW offensive coordinator Brian White. "He's a very level-headed, poised, unflappable guy. He just goes about his business."
Stocco connected on touchdown passes to Darrin Charles and Jonathan Orr, improving his record to 6-0 as a starter. Meanwhile, Anthony Davis rushed for 168 yards on 39 carries.
Winning at Ohio State came down to one thing, according to Brandon Williams.
"We didn't panic," said the confident wide receiver. "We preached, 'Compete, compete, compete' all offseason. When it's on the line, it's you versus the other guy. You have to compete."
• • • •
Ohio Stadium opened in 1922, and for nearly 60 years, the Badgers were generally not very competitive against the Buckeyes. During that span, they were 0-19-3 in the venue.
In 1982, they finally broke through. Playing in a steady downpour, they drove 80 yards on their first series with John Williams scoring on a 1-yard run. The extra point was blocked.
But they made it stand up for a 6-0 victory — their first in Columbus since 1918.
"This is probably my biggest win," said Wisconsin head coach Dave McClain, a former Woody Hayes assistant. "I'm extremely proud of these young men.
"It's a great victory because a lot of those guys stood in this locker room three years ago when we got beat here, 59-0. We never once mentioned that all week long.
"But each guy, if he's got any memory at all, remembers three years ago."
All-American nose guard Tim Krumrie had not forgotten.
"It was a horrible feeling when I was down here as a freshman," Krumrie said. "I've never been beat that bad before in my life and I never hope to be again."
The Badgers ended the game by playing Keep Away. They controlled the football for the final 8 minutes and 33 seconds. McClain called 17 straight running plays.
"Couldn't think of a better way to finish it," he said, grinning like Hayes had all those years that the Buckeyes dominated the series.
• • • •
Nobody saw it coming (not unlike last Saturday's loss at Illinois). The Badgers were a heavy favorite to beat Northwestern on October 19, 1985. They had won 13 straight over the Wildcats.
But they were guilty of four turnovers and Northwestern made them pay for their mistakes when John Duvic booted a 42-yard field goal as time expired for a 17-14 upset win.
With 3 minutes and 27 seconds left, the Badgers had the ball on their own 43 and they were looking to get into field goal range for placekicker Todd Gregoire.
But Mike Howard's first-down pass was intercepted allowing the Wildcats to set up the last-second heroics for Duvic, much to the chagrin of a Parents Day crowd of 78,401 at Camp Randall.
Defensively, the Badgers deserved a much better fate after limiting the Wildcats to just 211 total yards while sacking quarterback Mike Greenfield 11 times. Tim Jordan had six sacks.
Less than a month later, UW linebacker Charlie Fawley had still not flushed the Northwestern loss from his system. In fact, he used it for motivation before facing Ohio State in Columbus.
"I had a coach once who told me that any time you lose a game you're not supposed to lose, another game will come along that you aren't supposed to win, yet you find a way to pull it out," said Fawley, who was the Badgers leading tackler.
"I kept thinking about that Friday night. It happened last year when we lost to Minnesota and we came back to beat O-State in Madison. And it happened again this year when we got beat by a lowly Northwestern team and now, we had something to prove to ourselves again."
The Badgers had the Buckeyes right where they wanted them — looking ahead to their next opponent, Michigan — and they exposed all their warts during a 12-7 win at the Horseshoe. Coach Earle Bruce called it, "A devastating loss for Ohio State University. We played bad, they played good."
It was only Wisconsin's second Big Ten win in seven games. But it was the Badgers' fourth victory over the Buckeyes in five seasons (which would become part of Bruce's legacy). Nobody enjoyed it more than UW offensive lineman Bob Landsee.
"They must have felt like they could rest Pepper Johnson against us and save him for next week," he cracked after OSU's leading tackler didn't start the game, but entered after the Buckeyes fell behind. "It was a signal to me that they wanted to get this game over and get ready for Michigan.
"Did they think that we were a bunch of scrubs?"
From the lowest of lows to the highest of highs in Columbus.
The Badgers got their redemption for the inexplicable Northwestern loss.
"They were playing not to lose," Landsee grumbled. "We were playing to win."
