Saturday's football game between No. 7 Oregon and No. 23 Wisconsin was expected to be an easy victory for the Ducks, who were 10-point favorites coming into the contest.
Apparently no one told the Badgers the game wasn't supposed to be close.
The Badgers traded blows with the Ducks for four quarters and had a chance to tie or take the lead with less than a minute in the game, but on fourth and 10 from the Oregon 47-yard line, Jim Sorgi's pass across the middle bounced off of Davis' hands, and the Ducks escaped with a 31-28 victory.
'We had our opportunities,' Wisconsin Head Coach Barry Alvarez said. 'They made a play or two more than we did.'
The lead changed six times in the second half, with the Ducks taking the lead for good on quarterback Joey Harrington's quarterback sneak on fourth and goal with 4:03 left. Sorgi was hit and turned the ball over with a little more than three minutes left, but the Badgers' defense forced Oregon to punt, and Wisconsin got the ball with just over a minute remaining.
Sorgi went deep a couple of times, but the Ducks' secondary responded, knocking down a couple of long bombs to wide receiver Lee Evans. The Badgers had a shot at extending the game, but Davis' drop with 58 seconds left sealed Wisconsin's fate.
'Any new experience is good, especially when you respond to it well,' Alvarez said. 'I really like the way [the Badgers] competed. I thought they fought and gave themselves a chance to win.'
Early in the game, however, it didn't look like the Badgers would have a shot at winning. The Ducks scored on their first two possessions to open a 10-0 lead with six minutes left in the first quarter.
Despite being down 10 points to Oregon and playing at raucous Autzen Stadium, Wisconsin didn't panic and used a steady diet of redshirt freshman running back Anthony Davis and a four-wide receiver set to drive down the field. The Badgers pulled within three on Sorgi's 18-yard touchdown strike to Davis with about nine minutes left in the second quarter.
'We threw the ball well enough that they had to respect [the spread],' Alvarez said. 'They had to support enough people to cover the four wideouts.'
The Badgers continued to throw as the second half opened. Sorgi's 13-yard strike to freshman Darrin Charles early in the third quarter put the Badgers up 14-10.
Sorgi, who was 16 for 32 for 231 yards and threw two touchdowns, connected with five different receivers in the game and said it was important not to force the ball to Evans and Davis.
'I have total confidence in all the receivers,' Sorgi said. 'When I'm dropping back, it's not like 'Where's Lee? Where's Nick'? It's more like, 'Who's open''?
Still, Evans turned out to be the key player for Wisconsin for the second week in a row. Evans caught eight passes for 168 yards, giving him 303 receiving yards in his first two games. Evans is averaging 25.2 yards per catch and has become the Badgers' best big play threat.
'I knew [the Ducks] were going to have a good quick defense,' Sorgi said. 'I knew they were going to come with some blitzes a lot, but I knew that would leave the receivers one-on-one and that we'd hit some big plays, which we did.'
Redshirt freshman Anthony Davis also had another big game, gaining 130 yards on 13 carries. He registered his first collegiate touchdown in the third quarter when he broke up the middle for a 69-yard scamper that put Wisconsin up 21-17.
'I think our coaches do a good job with some adjustments and letting them know many times where the hole will be anticipated,' Alvarez said. 'He had some good seams [against Oregon]. They blitzed nine guys and you pop the line of scrimmage, there's nobody left.'
The Badgers also played very well defensively, holding Heisman Trophy candidate Harrington to 22 of 47 passing with two interceptions.
More impressive was Wisconsin's attack on the Ducks' running game. Oregon had just 136 rushing yards and tailback Maurice Morris gained just 18 yards on 15 carries.
'I feel pretty good about the defense and how we played,' linebacker Nick Greisen said. 'I'd like to have maybe six plays back, but overall, I thought we played pretty damn good.'
