Career highs by quarterback Tyler Donovan and wide receiver Luke Swan were instrumental in helping the No. 7 UW football team overcome early mistakes in a 42-21 victory over Washington State in Saturday's season opener at Camp Randall Stadium.
The Badgers (1-0 overall) set the tone early offensively by scoring on their opening drive to even the score at 7-7 with 8:21 to play in the first quarter. One play after a key third-down conversion on a 14-yard pass to wide receiver Xavier Harris, Donovan rolled right and threw a perfect strike to a leaping Swan in the corner of the end zone.
The duo connected again just before halftime following a 16-yard punt return by freshman wide receiver David Gilreath and a 10-yard holding penalty that put UW in good field position at its own 47 yard line. After hitting junior tight end Travis Beckum for 15 yards, Donovan found a wide-open Swan in the left corner of the endzone with just 30 seconds remaining in the quarter. The Badgers held a 28-14 advantage going into the locker room.
I thought we'd give him one more chance for him to score,"" Wisconsin head coach Bret Bielema said. ""We really emphasize to our guys when you're put in this position to have the kind of mentality that you're going to score before the end of the half.""
Donovan, making just his third career start, threw a career-best of three touchdown passes, all of which came in the first half. The senior compiled 284 yards on 19-for-29 passing and also ran for a score early in the fourth quarter.
""I liked his composure,"" Bielema said. ""He didn't throw interceptions, he managed the game, he handled the clock well.""
A senior captain, Swan notched eight receptions for 160 yards and two touchdowns, all career highs. Donovan had plenty of praise for his favorite target following the game.
""He's just a finesse guy. You know where he is every time and you feel good going to him with the ball because he's so sure-handed,"" Donovan said. ""He's smooth coming out of his routes. If you ever get a one-on-one with Luke, you try to take advantage of it.""
Two bizarre special teams' plays helped the Cougars (0-0 Pac-10, 0-1) stay in the game for the first three quarters. The first occurred on the opening drive of the game. On 4th-and-four from their own 42 yard line, Washington State junior Darryl Blunt had his punt blocked by Badger freshman Kirk DeCremer.
However, after hitting DeCremer, the ball bounced right back to Blunt who proceeded to run 11 yards for a first down. Cougar tailback Dwight Tardy capped the drive with a nine-yard touchdown scamper around left end for the first score of the game.
In the third quarter, the Badgers were forced to punt on a 4th-and-three at the Washington State 44 yard line. Senior punter Ken DeBauche, in an attempt to pooch punt and pin the Cougars deep in their own territory, shanked his punt badly to the right. The ball bounced backward and rolled back toward DeBauche, who batted it forward to make it appear that the ball was downed farther back in Washington State territory. The end result was a one-yard punt and a 15-yard illegal batting penalty that put the Cougars at the Badgers' 42 yard line to start their drive. WSU quarterback Alex Brink found receiver Brandon Gibson for a seven-yard touchdown on third and goal to pull the Cougars within a touchdown with 5:35 left in the third quarter.
""I think this is the first big test we kind of needed to see how we respond,"" junior linebacker DeAndre Levy said. ""We were backed up a couple of times, gave up a couple of big plays, faced a little adversity and managed to overcome it.""
