It wasn't pretty, but the Badgers' defense made stops when it had to.
Fighting an emotional, fired-up UNLV offense, UW's fourth quarter stops made it possible for the seventh-ranked Badgers to avoid a huge upset and escape with a 20-13 triumph Saturday night at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas.
They came out ready to play,"" sophomore safety Shane Carter said. ""Their quarterback played well, he threw the ball a little bit better maybe than we thought, but he was a good player and they were a good team and I take my hat off to them. We did some things to hurt ourselves, we could have played a lot better.""
Midway through the fourth quarter, with a first-and-10 at the Badgers' 16-yard line, the Rebels looked poised to put it in the end zone. UNLV had driven 51 yards in just seven plays and were driving for a 17-12 lead. However, UW stood its ground.
After linebacker Jonathan Casillas and defensive tackle Jason Chapman stuffed UNLV running back Chris Brogdon on first down, the Rebels' freshman quarterback Travis Dixon threw an incomplete pass and was stopped for just a two-yard gain on a great play by freshman defensive end Kirk DeCremer.
Although Rebels kicker Sergio Aguayo converted on a 35-yard field goal to give UNLV a 13-12 lead, the momentum seemed to shift in the Badgers' direction. Wisconsin scored on its next drive on a 29-yard scamper by quarterback Tyler Donovan with 1:53 remaining to take a seven-point lead that the defense would not relinquish.
Chapman and DeCremer came up big again on the Rebels' last-ditch effort to tie the game. Chapman downed Dixon for a four-yard loss on the first play of the drive, and DeCremer's third-down sack forced UNLV into a fourth-and-15 at its own 19-yard line with just 1:04 on the clock back. Dixon's final pass was dropped by sophomore wide receiver Rodelin Anthony, giving the Badgers the ball with 58 seconds remaining and a huge sigh of relief.
""We have a lot of guys up there who are hungry,"" sophomore safety Shane Carter said. ""Chapman and [defensive end Nick] Hayden obviously are playing their butts off and obviously Kirk DeCremer, the one [play] that he made. Guys are hungry and they're making plays.""
The Rebels had good field position at their own 42-yard line early in the quarter after a stop and a 32-yard punt by the Badgers' Ken DeBauche. However, on the second play of the drive, Dixon scrambled and forced a throw down the field with defensive end Matt Shaughnessy draped all over him. The throw sailed and was picked off by Carter, who returned it 32 yards, setting up a 51-yard field goal by Taylor Melhaff for a 13-12 Badger lead with 12:22 remaining in the contest.
""I don't really think about that, I was just happy to be able to try and make it and try to help us win the game - obviously it was key,"" Carter said. ""He kind of threw it to me, but it was a play that I made.""
Despite allowing 258 yards through the air, the Badger defense shut down the Rebels' running attack, allowing just 48 yards on a meager 1.8 yards per carry. Dixon, known for his athleticism and ability to sting defenses with his feet, was held in check throughout the game. After running for 129 yards and a touchdown in UNLV's 23-16 win over Utah State last week, Dixon netted just five yards on 15 carries. His longest run was just seven yards.
""I mean, basically what we needed to do is keep him in the pocket, and even if he is going to scramble, we had to keep him at a level that he's not willing to maintain,"" Chapman said. ""We watched a lot of film on the guy and he was running around pretty good, but we needed to maintain that leverage and leverage the ball.
