Lucas at 50: Lee Evans’ heroics set up ‘gratifying’ win over Buckeyes
December 06, 2019 | Football, Mike Lucas
Taking a deeper look into Wisconsin’s thrilling 2003 upset of Ohio State
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
MADISON, Wis. — Former UW quarterback Jim Sorgi would serve nicely as a tour guide at Lucas Oil Stadium, the site of Saturday night's Big Ten Championship Game between Wisconsin and Ohio State.
Sorgi definitely knows his way around the 11-year-old, 67,000-seat venue that sits a block south of the old RCA Dome location in downtown Indianapolis.
A sixth-round draft choice of the Colts in 2004, Sorgi went on to serve five-plus seasons as Peyton Manning's backup. Since retiring, he has been a color analyst on the team's radio network.
Not that the Badgers need someone to show them around Naptown.
Since the inception of the conference's title game, they've turned Indy into their home-away-from-home by making a league-high six appearances in nine years, one more than the Buckeyes.
Oh, by the way, the aforementioned Sorgi, the string bean QB and ninth leading passer in school history with 4,498 yards and 33 touchdowns, turned 39 on Tuesday.
Seems like only yesterday when Sorgi threw for 380 yards and five touchdowns — all to Lee Evans — in a 2003 beat-down (56-21) of Michigan State at Camp Randall Stadium.
Evans caught 10 passes for 258 yards and scored on plays of 9, 75, 18, 70 and 18 yards. In doing so, he overshadowed tailback Dwayne Smith, who rushed for 207 yards and three scores.
"Me and him have it," Sorgi boasted about his fellow senior co-captain Evans. "It's been that way since we got here. He's just been the guy I've found most of the time."
Seems like only yesterday, too, when Sorgi got choked by Ohio State linebacker Robert Reynolds and Evans rambled 79-yards for the game-winning touchdown snapping a long Buckeyes win streak.
That took place five weeks earlier.
Along with the 14-14 tie in 1993 (the snow globe game), it still ranks as one of the most dramatic, pulsating finishes in the Badgers-Buckeyes series.
October 11, 2003
They had already watched tape and taken notes, studying each other's game. Now, it was inevitable that they would cross paths on the turf and compete for the same prize — the football.
Inevitable that it would come down to a one-on-one duel between two of the best players in the nation at their positions: Evans, the UW flanker; and Chris Gamble, the Ohio State cornerback.
Evans: "I think they'll mix it up a little bit. I don't know if he (Gamble) will follow me around the entire game. But I definitely think, in certain situations, he'll follow me."
Gamble: "I think they'll probably come after me. But I'll just let them know that Chris Gamble can play the game … I like showing everybody that Chris Gamble can play with the best."
Evans vs. Gamble. It was the game and gamesmanship within the primetime showdown on a rainy late night (8 p.m. kickoff) in Madison pitting No. 23 Wisconsin (5-1) vs. No. 3 Ohio State (5-0).
The Buckeyes were playing on the road for the first time since winning the national championship in double-overtime against Miami. They were also coming off a bye.
"At some point, you're going to see those guys matched up, Gamble and Evans," predicted Buckeyes secondary coach Melvin Tucker, a former Badgers safety.
"I don't know what the percentages will be — Gamble on Evans — but I think people are looking forward to seeing that matchup."
UW wide receivers coach Henry Mason was one of those people.
"To me, this is as good as it gets," he said. "It's like a heavyweight fight. I like our guy, but he knows that he has a challenge and he's going to have to work for everything he gets."
Evans vs. Gamble. What separates one from the other?
"It's really simple," said Mason. "The guy who wins the most plays, wins the battle, period."
The week of the game, Mason had a chat with Evans. More of an informercial than pep talk.
"Hey, this is going to be the tape that the scouts are going to put on to see what you can do because you're going against a quality defensive back," Mason told him.
Did Evans understand the ramifications?
"No question because Lee is such a competitor," Mason said. "I really wasn't challenging him. Throughout his career, he was a guy who always had taken advantage of his opportunities.
"I just wanted to make sure that he understood that this was an opportunity for him to get what he really wanted and that was to be a first-round draft pick."
Evans, a Bedford, Ohio, native, knew what was at stake.
"This is what you play college football for — to play in big games," said Evans, who missed the 2002 season while rehabbing from ACL surgery. "This is what you work for.
"It's not often you get to play the defending national champions, so when you get the opportunity you have to embrace it and take advantage of it."
Reserve tailback Booker Stanley, subbing for the injured Anthony Davis, scored the only touchdown in a smash-mouth first half as Wisconsin took a 7-3 lead.
In the third quarter, Gamble lost a fumble on a punt return and the Badgers took over on the OSU 38. On third-and-long, Sorgi scrambled for eight yards, setting up a Scott Campbell field goal.
But, first, Sorgi had to be helped off the field. He couldn't talk and had trouble breathing after Reynolds tackled Sorgi and put a stranglehold on him, jabbing his throat.
Reynolds' WCW move incited UW center Donovan Raiola, who began woofing with Ohio State players on the sidelines and said afterwards, "I lost all respect for all of them."
Fullback Matt Bernstein opined, "That's what happens when the No. 3 team in the nation gets frustrated and they want to take it out on the team that's beating them up."
Added Evans, "For those guys to come out and do something like that to our quarterback is one of the lowest things I've ever seen done in a football game."
(The next day, Reynolds issued a statement and apologized for his actions. It read, "I lost my poise and there is no excuse for that. That is certainly not characteristic of Ohio State football.")
With Sorgi out of the game, backup Matt Schabert got a chance to make a name for himself, even though ESPN's announcers mispronounced it throughout the broadcast.
For the record, it's Shay-bert, not Shah-bert.
On his first series, he ran for 12 yards and a first down on a quarterback draw.
"It was pretty much run for your life," said Schabert, who was tackled by linebacker A.J. Hawk. "It gave me some confidence and I was able to settle in and lead the guys."
On his second series, he completed a pass to Brandon Williams for a gain of 25 yards. Now he was really feeling good about himself.
On his third series, Schabert got the ideal matchup on second-and-9. Evans vs. Gamble. The former had the latter set up for an out-and-up.
"The pre-snap read wasn't good — it kind of looked tough to run that route," Schabert said. "Halfway through, I kind of looked at the backside and as soon as I did, I saw Lee taking off.
"I rolled out, stepped back and threw — I threw to a spot and let Lee run under it."
Seventy-nine yards later, Evans was celebrating in the end zone.
"They were rolling up tight, playing me hard underneath and rolling the safety over the top," Evans explained. "Gamble bit hard on the out fake and I was able to get open."
Gamble liked to gamble and got burned. Evans' only catch of the game broke a 10-10 tie with 5:20 remaining. Schabert sprinted to the end zone to celebrate with his teammate.
"It's kind of pure excitement, pure joy, running down the sideline," he said. "I was thinking, 'Maybe I should do a cartwheel.' But I figured that would probably draw a flag."
Schabert later put the finishing touches on the upset by picking up a first down on a naked third-and-2 bootleg from the UW 14. He stayed in bounds and the Badgers ran out the clock.
"You dream about coming in," Schabert said, "and playing like that."
UW coach Barry Alvarez felt all along that Sorgi would have to play well to give the Badgers any chance of upending the Buckeyes. And he did before tapping out.
"Not in my wildest dreams did I picture Matt Schabert going in there," Alvarez said. "But it's football and, when somebody goes down, you have to move to the next guy and he has to perform.
"This was one of my most gratifying wins. I've never seen an atmosphere where it was prolonged like it was. The fans were at a fever pitch for every snap. They never took a play off."
Neither did Evans, who was taken No. 13 overall by Buffalo in the first round of the NFL draft.
Just like Mason had promised.
"It was one of the most special moments in my athletic career," said Evans. "Going through everything I went through (two knee surgeries) and to come back and make a play like that to help our team win against the defending national champions … I'm overwhelmed with joy."
Sorgi was happy for his good friend and told him so. Once he regained his voice.
That improbable win in 2003 snapped the Buckeyes' 19-game winning streak.
Maybe it's only a coincidence, but Ohio State is currently on an 18-game winning streak.
