Once again the Badger offense racked up high numbers.
But it was the UW defense that came up big in the fourth quarter as the Badgers staved off bowl elimination for one week, beating the Iowa Hawkeyes 34-28.
While it was not the most aesthetically pleasing game, with 16 total penalties called, Wisconsin Head Coach Barry Alvarez was happy with the victory.
\Winning is good for the system,"" Alvarez said. ""We've done a lot of good things and lost, but it's nice to have that win and feel good again and be able to enjoy it for a little bit.""
For a defense that has taken its share of abuse the last two weeks in giving up 84 points to Illinois and Michigan State, redemption today was every bit as important as getting the victory.
""When it got tight [in the fourth quarter] we were able to pull tight, whereas in the last couple of weeks, things got a little bit loose,"" senior free safety Joey Boese said.
From the offense's perspective, things could not have been better for junior wide receiver Lee Evans. While not finding the end zone this week, Evans picked up where he left off yardage-wise against Michigan State, catching seven balls for 175 yards.
The Bedford, Ohio, native now has 1,363 yards on the season and needs 73 more to break former Ohio State standout wide receiver David Boston's Big Ten record for most yards in a season.
But it was a holding penalty by Evans on an apparent touchdown by freshman tailback Anthony Davis, which resulted in a shanked field goal by freshman kicker Mark Neuser that nearly proved to be costly for Wisconsin.
Evans said he felt the call was undeserved.
""It was one of those bullshit calls,"" Evans said. ""It kind of looked like [a penalty] because [Iowa sophomore cornerback Benny Sapp] was trying to dive [toward Davis], but I wasn't really holding him.""
While the holding penalty allowed the Hawkeyes a chance to win, it was two key turnovers by Iowa late in the first half, resulting in a Badger touchdown and a halted drive deep in Badger territory that changed the momentum and ultimately the outcome of the game. From there, the defense responded and shut out the Hawkeyes in the final quarter.
With this victory, the Badgers keep their slim hopes for a bowl game alive. Now Wisconsin will have two weeks to prepare for Big Ten frontrunner Michigan.
