By Ryan Reszel
the daily cardinal
A crowd of 18,020 watched as the Wisconsin starters dominated the reserves as the Cardinal defeated the White 35-6 in the Badgers' annual Spring Game Saturday at Camp Randall Stadium.
Quarterback Tyler Donovan hit fellow senior Paul Hubbard for a 40-yard completion on the first play of the game. Four plays later, senior wide receiver Luke Swan made a diving touchdown catch on a post pattern, giving the Cardinal a lead it would not relinquish.
After the starting defense forced sophomore quarterback Dustin Sherer and the White offense to go three and out, junior quarterback Allan Evridge put together a two-play scoring strike.
""You like quarterbacks to start fast and both of them started fast today,"" Wisconsin head coach Bret Bielema said.
Evridge found Swan for a 43-yard gain down the right sideline. On the next play, sophomore running back Lance Smith carried the ball left off tackle, cut briefly to the inside and then raced back outside for a 25-yard touchdown run.
Donovan completed seven out of his 11 passes on the afternoon for 95 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Evridge finished 8-of-14 for 120 yards and two touchdowns.
""I think we moved the ball pretty well, but we've got to keep getting better this summer,"" said Donovan, who, despite wearing a green no-contact jersey, recorded a tackle after being intercepted by sophomore defensive back Chris Eernisse.
The White defense stopped the starting offense for the first time on the Cardinal's third possession. Senior defensive lineman Jamal Cooper keyed the effort with a tackle and sack.
Although Bielema acknowledged that Cooper had improved since rejoining the team April 12, he also said the former starting defensive end had to be more consistent.
""[Cooper] made plays, but on the same account in the fourth quarter, he jumped offsides and didn't try to get back,"" Bielema said. ""There's just a constant curve of things that need to keep improving for him.""
Sophomore safety Shane Carter put the Cardinal in excellent field position by picking off a Sherer pass and returning it 38 yards to the White 12-yard line.
Incomplete passes by Evridge on third and fourth down gave the ball back to the White squad. Yet another third down sack—this time courtesy of junior defensive lineman Jason Chapman—shut down the second-string offense.
The Badgers starting front four of Chapman, junior Matthew Shaughnessy and seniors Nick Hayden and Kurt Ware held the White offense to negative-five yards rushing. They also combined for seven tackles and four sacks.
""It's going to be pretty fun coming up in fall because everyone wants a kill shot on the quarterback and a lot of people had those today, but no one could do it [because of the green no-contact jerseys],"" Ware said.
Smith ran for his second touchdown with 13:52 remaining in the second quarter.
Sophomore cornerback Josh Nettles' interception of freshman quarterback Scott Tolzien set up the Cardinal's fourth score of the half. Evridge fired a pass between defenders to Hubbard in the end zone and gave the Cardinal a 28-0 halftime lead.
Although the White team slowed the Cardinal offense in the second half, the reserves' only score came on a 42-yard field goal by backup kicker Matt Fischer. The rules of the Spring Game gave the White squad double points for their score.
The Cardinal finished the scoring with a touchdown pass from Evridge to junior fullback Chris Pressley on the first play of the fourth quarter.
Quarterback Question Unanswered
After their successful performances, Donovan and Evridge will continue competing for the starting quarterback position during the summer and early fall. Donovan said he would spend most of his summer studying game film while Evridge said he wanted to work more on his route progressions and understanding the offense.
""The ultimate goal is to make this team as good as possible and to go as far as we can,"" Evridge said. ""The main goal is to put wins in the win column and I feel like we'll be in good hands [with] whoever's under center.""
Spring Practice Summary
""We definitely improved as the practices continued to come along,"" Bielema said. ""I thought our guys, especially at certain key positions where we had obviously some seniors who had departed us ... built in some great competition, and I thought that continued out there today, so I was excited to see that.""
Quote of the Day
""I think that's something we have taken upon ourselves. We realize there is a void for leadership and there's going to have to be somebody to step up and be that leader on the team,"" wide receiver Luke Swan said on he and Hubbard emerging as leaders.
