In Wisconsin's final regular season game against Cal Poly - a Champion Subdivision"" and former division I-AA school - fans got to see some old-fashioned Wisconsin football Saturday. Only the Mustangs, not the Badgers, were running the ball and controlling the clock, reminiscent of how Wisconsin played in its heyday.
Utilizing its triple option, Cal Poly laid out a barrage of handoffs and quarterback runs with an occasional pass to slowly move downfield and keep the Badger defense on its heels in the cold. Sometimes Cal Poly would make it all the way to the end zone, but the offense almost always got at least a couple first downs to eat up plenty of time.
The Mustangs were on offense for 39 minutes, 59 seconds to Wisconsin's 20:01, one second short of a perfect 2:1 margin. They ran the ball for 276 total yards, with quarterback Jonathan Dally gaining 124 on 23 carries. When he didn't give the ball to one of five different rushers, Dally would frequently fake a handoff before charging up himself.
""It's very difficult because you're getting a lot of the same looks but you never know who has the ball,"" senior linebacker DeAndre Levy said. ""You try to focus on your keys and the next thing you know, somebody is running up field with the ball. It's a complicated offense, one of the more challenging ones we faced.""
One sign that Wisconsin's defense couldn't figure out Cal Poly's uncommon three-back formation was that strong safety Aubrey Pleasant, not a linebacker, wound up with the most tackles. If the Mustangs got significant yardage on first down, the Badgers had a difficult time stopping Dally, the quick and versatile quarterback who managed to turn near-sacks into first downs again and again.
""They were doing the same thing over and over again, but they were executing it and we had a hard time stopping that,"" junior defensive end O'Brien Schofield said. ""They kept driving the ball, which didn't give our offense a chance to be successful.""
Wisconsin's offense, in contrast, was hit-or-miss, either going three-and-out or putting together big passes and breakaway runs to score a touchdown within two minutes. Either way, the offense didn't get much playing time. None of Wisconsin's four touchdown drives lasted more than two-and-a-half minutes.
Running the ball with tailbacks P.J. Hill and John Clay got a bit stale after the first quarter, so junior quarterback Dustin Sherer took to the air, completing 13-of-22 passes for 245 yards. Sherer connected with wide receivers David Gilreath and Isaac Anderson four times each in what always seemed like a hurry-up offense.
""We came in and found a way to make plays,"" Sherer said. ""We knew we weren't going to have a lot of possessions, so we had to capitalize on the ones that we got.""
Wisconsin's running game picked up momentum toward the end of the game, especially since Clay, a freshman, wound up with 107 yards on 11 carries. Ultimately, Clay's ability to exploit his size and strength to break tackles and pummel through Cal Poly defenders, sometimes leveling them to the ground, got Wisconsin its game-winning touchdown in overtime.
Thankfully for the Badgers, freshman placekicker Philip Welch was used to kicking the ball in cold Wisconsin weather, unlike his Cal Poly counterpart.
It wasn't pretty, but the Badgers squeaked out a 36-35 victory and are likely to make it into a bowl. Even though better fortune on three extra point attempts for Cal Poly could have knocked UW out of bowl contention, head coach Bret Bielema said putting another tally in the ""W"" column is all that matters for his 7-5 squad and the committee that determines bowl placement.
""It was a win,"" Bielema said. ""That's how it's going to be perceived.
