With the 19-14 loss against Ohio State Saturday, the Badger football team finds itself in a place they didn't expect to be: at the bottom of the Big Ten. Wisconsin falls to 0-3 in the Big Ten and 5-3 overall while Ohio State maintains a perfect 3-0 conference record and remains 8-0 overall.
Although the loss harmed Wisconsin in the conference standings and in the race for a bowl berth, the Badgers played a solid game against one of the toughest teams in the nation.
\The guys are upset about the loss but we all know we left it all on the field so what more can you do?"" sophomore tailback Anthony Davis said. ""I think we played a great football game today.""
Senior quarterback Brooks Bollinger, after taking two consecutive sacks, suffered a concussion, putting him out of the game midway through the second quarter. Junior quarterback Jim Sorgi took the reins of the offense in Wisconsin's next drive, which resulted in a 42-yard touchdown pass to sophomore split end Jonathon Orr. Although it was UW's last scoring drive, Sorgi racked up 137 passing yards.
""Sorgi's always anxious and he always has that look in his eyes throughout the whole game,"" Orr said. ""When he has his chance, when he has the opportunity, he has to take advantage of it.""
Davis once again shone on the field, racking up 144 yards, including a 41-yard touchdown. He outperformed Ohio State true freshman tailback Maurice Clarett, who had 133 yards rushing and did not see the endzone.
""I thought that [Davis] was really, really outstanding in the football game,"" offensive coordinator Brian White said. ""[He] ran with great tempo, broke a lot of tackles, did a great job. I thought our offensive line blocked [for] him [and] really did a great job establishing a line of scrimmage.""
Orr also had an excellent game, gaining 107 receiving yards and one touchdown. His 596 yards receiving this season surpass the record for freshman receiving yards set by wide receiver Tony Simmons, who had 588 in 1994. Orr, disappointed by the loss, did not recognize the milestone and focused on the team's loss instead.
""I wasn't aware of [the record],"" Orr said quietly, with a dejected look on his face. ""I would have enjoyed it a little more with the win. The win was the most important thing.""
Big plays proved to be the key distinction between a win and a loss, as Ohio State capitalized on long passes early in the game and in the fourth quarter. During the opening drive, Ohio State junior quarterback Craig Krenzel connected with junior split end Michael Jenkins on a 47-yard pass into the endzone less than two minutes into the game. Wisconsin answered Ohio State's touchdown with Davis' score.
In the second quarter, UW capitalized on a long pass to Orr, resulting in another Badger touchdown. However, Ohio State came up with more big plays in the second half that Wisconsin couldn't come back from, resulting in a win for OSU.
""I thought the key play of the game was third-and-seven in the fourth quarter,"" Head Coach Barry Alvarez said, referring to Krenzel's pass to Jenkins for 45 yards. ""They hadn't really done much for a quarter-and-a-half and the ball was up in the air and we had two guys in position and no one made a play on the ball. They made a big completion and were able to go down and score on that series.""
Orr agreed that a few key Ohio State plays swayed the outcome of the game.
""In the second half, I thought we came out with our same tempo and everything [but] we just have to make more plays and they happened to make more plays than us. Games like this, that's what it comes down to,"" Orr said.
