The No. 18 Wisconsin football team made history Saturday against Michigan; it's just that the history will go down in their books, not UW's.
With a 19-point lead to begin the second half, the Badgers (0-1 Big Ten, 3-1 overall) seemed well on their way to another Big Ten season opening win at the unfriendly confines of Michigan Stadium, also known as the Big House. Instead, the Badgers allowed Michigan (1-0 Big Ten, 2-2 overall) to record the biggest comeback at Michigan Stadium, and the second biggest comeback all-time in the school's history.
I didn't know how to react. It was embarrassing,"" senior linebacker DeAndre Levy said. ""Other than that, I didn't know how to react. I couldn't believe it just happened.""
The Wolverines used a 155 yard, 20-point fourth quarter to take an eight-point lead, and the deficit would prove too much for Wisconsin to overcome. Considering the amount of missed opportunities for Wisconsin, the loss is even more bitter.
""I think it came back to bite us in this one,"" sophomore wide receiver David Gilreath said. ""We had a lot of field goals and couldn't execute and couldn't get into the end zone. I've always heard that field goals beat you, and that's the case here.""
Michigan had five first-half turnovers, four of which the Badgers had a chance to turn into points. Of those four plays, Wisconsin had three field goals and one, lone touchdown - coming from the legs of freshman running back John Clay. If Wisconsin had been able to turn one, or even two of those field goals into six points, things could have been very different.
Throw in the missed field goal on the opening drive, and it seems obvious that the Badgers have to find a new approach to get points on the board at a rate more than three.
But even with the missed opportunities, the Badgers still had a chance. With 13 seconds left in the game, senior quarterback Allan Evridge threw a touchdown pass to Gilreath on a hitch pattern, bringing the Badgers within two points.
The two-point attempt had Evridge throw a bullet to senior tight end Travis Beckum, as the Wisconsin sideline jumped for joy at the thought of being able to right the wrong they had committed. However, an ineligible man downfield penalty was called, and Evridge was unable to complete the following play, giving Michigan the Big Ten opener victory, as well as a spot in the history books.
""This one is really tough. It's definitely a hard loss,"" senior cornerback Allen Langford said. ""We got up, but we didn't play four quarters. We didn't play like we were supposed to.""
After missing a 34-yard field goal on the opening drive, freshman place kicker Phillip Welch did his part, making field goals of 21, 42, 41 and 52 yards. All of his field goals came in the first half, as well as freshman running back John Clay's impressive drive.
Midway through the second quarter, UW had the ball on their own 49-yard line. On the very next play from scrimmage, Clay took the handoff and bounced the play outside, and after breaking a few would-be tackles, ran free down the right sideline. He was dragged out of bounds at the Michigan five-yard line, and scored on the next play after again bouncing the play outside.
But unfortunately for the Badgers, that would be the end of the team's scoring until Evridge's pass to Gilreath with 13 seconds left.
Michigan was able to use it's spread-option offense very effectively in the second half, scoring on a run of 34-yards by junior running back Brandon Minor - which was set up by a 56-yard scamper by freshman quarterback Steven Threet - and a three-yard run by freshman running back Sam McGuffie.
However, the biggest play of the day came on defense.
With 10:24 left in the fourth quarter, Wisconsin was looking up at the scoreboard and wondering where its 19-point lead had gone. Just one play after Minor scored on a 34-yard run; the Wolverines were back in the end zone.
On the first play from scrimmage of the following possession, UW's Evridge threw a pass that was tipped into the air by wide receiver Kyle Jefferson and intercepted by Michigan linebacker John Thompson.
""My first goal was to get to the end zone,"" Thompson said. ""The ball popped up '¦ so I ran to the football and got my hands on it and as soon as I did I was thinking end zone.""
Thompson was able to follow the lead of his blockers downfield and scored the game-changing touchdown on a 25-yard run.
That play seemed to suck the life out of Wisconsin, and the team was never able to recover.
