Senior quarterback Brooks Bollinger never dazzled anyone. His numbers were good, but not great. His arm was not as strong or as accurate as many of his counterparts. He even spent a large part of his career as the second most-popular quarterback on the team--at least in the eyes of the student section. Despite all this, Bollinger leaves with three bowl victories under his belt and 30 wins; the most ever for a UW quarterback. The Daily Cardinal pays tribute to Bollinger's career with a look at his top five games.
As a freshman, and in his first start at quarterback (he had replaced the injured Scott Kavanagh in the second half of the Michigan game a week earlier), Bollinger led the Badgers to a stunning come-from-behind victory in front of 93,524 disbelieving Buckeye fans.
Down 17-0 late in the first half, Bollinger sparked the Badgers to 42 unanswered points through a combination of running, throwing and handing the ball off to Ron Dayne. When Ohio State succeeded in slowing Dayne in the first half, Bollinger emerged as another threat, giving the Buckeye defense fits with his scrambling ability and poise in picking apart their defense.
Dayne, of course, exploded in the second half and ended up with 161 yards and four touchdowns, but Bollinger was just as important in this huge swing game for UW in their Rose Bowl season. UW won 42-17 and, more importantly, found a quarterback.
Ironically, in his worst performance of the season, Bollinger did just enough to help Wisconsin eke past an undermatched, but overachieving Stanford team 17-9 to win its second Rose Bowl in as many years.
The freshman signal caller battled nerves early, missing Chris Chambers on what would have been a sure touchdown in the first half, but eventually settled down. His numbers for the game were not impressive, but he scored the game-clinching touchdown and kept the clock running late in the game with several key third down conversions.
Although Bollinger struggled, this game deserves inclusion because of the magnitude of the situation and because it is a prime example of his ability to win ugly; a major reason why he would eventually end up as the winningest quarterback in Wisconsin history.
While 2000 was ultimately a disappointing year for the Badgers, who were supposed to contend for a national championship, Bollinger enjoyed his best year statistically and absolutely lit up Minnesota in the battle for Paul Bunyan's Axe.
With running back Michael Bennett sitting out with an injury, Bollinger dominated the Gopher defense, gaining 146 yards on the ground, 204 yards through the air and scoring three times.
On his finest statistical day, Bollinger showed just how much of an offensive threat he could be when healthy, and singlehandedly earned Wisconsin a 41-20 victory over the Golden Gophers.
The Border Battle took on added significance this past season, as the Badgers needed a win in their final game to become bowl eligible. After a tearful address to his team before the game, Bollinger delivered another masterful performance against the Gophers in a 49-31 Wisconsin victory.
The two-headed attack of sophomore running back Anthony Davis and Bollinger ran wild, accounting for nearly 450 yards on the ground. Bollinger ran and threw for a touchdown and propelled the Badgers back to a bowl after missing out in 2001.
The 2002 Alamo Bowl against Colorado was Bollinger's best game as a Badger, and simply because of two passes.
With less than two minutes remaining, Bollinger led the Badgers on a drive that, by all rights, should have ended twice. Instead, Bollinger brought the Badgers back to life; once on a fourth-and-18 conversion to freshman wide receiver Brandon Williams, and again on a 28-yard pass on fourth-and-10 to sophomore wide receiver Darrin Charles.
Either two passes could qualify for the best of Bollinger's career. His pass to Williams seemed to weave in and out of the entire Colorado defense before finding itself in Williams' arms, and his strike to Charles required a perfect throw and catch, both of which occurred.
After plunging in for the game-tying score and watching Mike Allen win the game 31-28 in overtime with a 37-yard field goal, Bollinger was rightfully awarded as the outstanding offensive player of the Alamo Bowl.
An ideal end for a player who cared about one thing: winning.
