TAMPA, Fla.-The new year did not start out the way the Wisconsin Badgers had hoped. Its offense sputtered out of the gates and the Badgers dug themselves a hole they could not recover from, falling to the Georgia Bulldogs 24-21 at Raymond James Stadium in front of 62,414 attending the 2005 Outback Bowl.
Sophomore quarterback John Stocco and the Badger offense did not get rolling until the third quarter, and by that time they already trailed 24-6.
\We lost to a very good Georgia football team,"" head coach Barry Alvarez said. ""I didn't think we played particularly well, yet I liked the way our guys competed and gave ourselves a chance. But we made too many mistakes and I'm not pleased with that.""
After the two teams traded field goals in the opening quarter, UW senior kicker Mike Allen gave the Badgers their only lead of the game with a 44-yard field goal.
The Badgers mustered those six points on just 54 yards of total offense in the first half. But a Georgia touchdown pass from senior quarterback David Greene to senior wide receiver Fred Gibson midway through the second quarter gave the Bulldogs a four-point halftime lead.
Georgia added another touchdown on its first drive of the second half when Badger senior defensive back Robert Brooks broke up a pass, but the ball fell into Bulldog senior fullback Jeremy Thomas' arms and he scampered for a 24-yard score. Georgia scored its final touchdown, a 29-yard run by freshman running back Thomas Brown, minutes later to make it 24-6.
""We had plenty of opportunities to make plays,"" senior defensive end Erasmus James said. ""We just didn't make enough plays to win the game.""
Brown finished with 16 carries for 111 yards while Wisconsin senior running back Anthony Davis finished his career with a 21 carry, 79-yard performance.
The Badgers finally clicked in the third quarter. They cut the lead to 11 on a 19-yard strike from Stocco to senior wide receiver Darrin Charles. Stocco completed four of five passes on the drive, which went 88 yards in 8 plays and gave Wisconsin the momentum.
""I wanted to get into a rhythm early in the game ... but I wasn't hitting my throws,"" Stocco said. ""All it takes is a couple completions to get things rolling.""
Stocco completed 12-of-27 passes in the game for one touchdown. On the other side of the ball, Georgia senior running back completed 19-of-38 passes and two touchdowns, but also threw two interceptions.
The Badgers had the momentum and twice had good field position, but the Bulldog defense, on the shoulders of All-American senior defensive end David Pollack, slammed the door.
Allen pushed a 37-yard field goal wide right on the first play of the fourth quarter. The Badgers got the ball on the Georgia 31 yard line minutes later, but Stocco was sacked and fumbled the ball.
""We had our chances in the second half,"" Alvarez said. ""We got some turnovers and we had the momentum. Against a team like [Georgia] you better cash in.""
Pollack may have saved the game for Georgia on the Badgers' next drive. Wisconsin drove all the way to the Bulldog five-yard line, but Pollack sacked Stocco and stole the ball from him on the way down. Pollack had four tackles, three sacks, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and one pass deflection and was named the game's Most Valuable Player.
Freshman linebacker Andy Crooks gave the Badgers hope though, intercepting Greene and taking it in for the touchdown, cutting the score to 24-21 with 4:13 remaining. But Georgia held the ball for the remainder of the game as Thomas Brown ran six times for 49 yards to close out the game.
Looking at the stat sheet, it seemed like the Bulldogs should have won in a blowout. They doubled the Badgers' total yardage, ran for 136 more yards on just two more carries and sacked Stocco seven times.
""Things didn't quite go our way ... but we had a very good season. Georgia's a very good football team, and I thought we did a lot of good things this year,"" Stocco said.
The loss marked the third straight for the Badgers after a 9-0 start. However, their 9-3 finish marks their best season since 1999.
