Even with a new head coach manning the sidelines and wholesale changes in player personnel, the philosophy for UW football is a holdover: establish the running game, and create and capitalize on opponents' turnovers.
When the Badgers stay true to that formula, the result is often in their favor. Saturday night, in the season opener and coaching debut for Bret Bielema, the result was a 35-14 victory over Bowling Green in Cleveland, Ohio.
""One thing that I've always talked to our team about is it's not what happens during the course of the game, it's how you respond to it,"" Bielema said. ""Today was a classic example.""
Early on, it looked as if the specter of a rushing quarterback was back to haunt UW. Redshirt freshman Freddie Barnes (150 yards rushing, 2 TDs), running five times on the first drive, dodged defenders with a 21-yard run for a 7-0 lead.
But, as Bielema pointed out, the Badgers responded on their first offensive possession of the season, capping a 67-yard drive with a 7-yard run by senior running back Dywon Rowan. From that point forward, the Badgers never trailed.
Special teams put its print on the game in a major way. Sophomore linebacker Jonathan Casillas, who blocked two punts last season, blocked one deep in Falcons territory and recovered it in the end zone for a 14-7 lead in the second quarter.
Then, with only several minutes left in the first half, junior Ben Strickland fielded a low, misdirected punt and ran it back for 33 yards, enabling the Badgers to start from the Bowling Green 17-yard line. Senior quarterback John Stocco (9-15, 1 TD, 1 INT) snuck in from one yard out to give UW a 14-point lead at the half.
""Special teams created momentum in the first half,"" Bielema said.
Meanwhile, the Badger defense was ratcheting up the pressure, allowing only 29 yards on the five drives leading into the half.
On their first possession of the second half, the Falcons closed to within 21-14 on another Barnes rushing touchdown, but Stocco then directed the Badgers 75 yards downfield, throwing a four yard pass to sophomore fullback Bill Rentmeester. Stocco, who missed two weeks of training after undergoing knee surgery, was a game-time decision.
""(The knee) felt really good. I think part of that might be the adrenaline flowing,"" Stocco said.
Burly redshirt freshman running back P.J. Hill, expected to be the featured rusher for UW this season, added the final Badger touchdown. His impressive first game in a Wisconsin uniform included 130 yards on the ground and bruising hits on the Falcons defense.
""I have no problem being the workhorse,"" Hill said. ""As long as the coaches see I'm helping to win this game.""
The victory was the ninth straight for the Badgers in season openers, and Bielema became only the second coach in UW history to win an away debut.
""The thing I told our players ... the greatest thing is, most teams make their largest amount of improvement from game one to game two,"" said Bielema, who was given the game ball.
The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel contributed to this report.
