The Wisconsin Badger football team provided fans with plenty of excitement in their Camp Randall home opener, and much of it came down to a matter of an inch. In the end, the No. 18 Wisconsin Badgers (2-0) defeated the Akron Zips (0-2) by a score of 48-31.
Badger junior running back Anthony Davis continued to raise eyebrows across the nation with 29 carries for 252 yards and three touchdowns. Wisconsin senior wide receiver Lee Evans proved he was back up to full speed with 214 yards receiving and two touchdowns, including a 99-yard touchdown reception which set a new school record for longest pass completion. The 200-yard rushing and 200-yard receiving effort was the first ever in Badger history.
\[Davis] is really playing at a level that I don't think we've ever had a back play before,"" said Badger's Head Coach Barry Alvarez. ""Lee's big time and I don't think I'll have to answer any more questions about 'Do you think Lee's back to full-strength or back to where he was?'""
Senior quarterback Jim Sorgi felt the same way about the performances of Davis and Evans.
""When you have weapons like that,"" Jim Sorgi said, ""It's easy to do what you have to do.""
In a losing effort, Zips junior quarterback Charlie Frye completed 31 of 49 passes for 372 yards and a touchdown. Zips senior running back Bobby Hendry added 105 yards and a touchdown.
The game started out shaky for the Badgers as sophomore fullback Matt Bernstein fumbled the opening kickoff, which was recovered by Akron. The Zips kicked a 30-yard field goal minutes later to take the first lead of the game.
The Badgers wasted little time striking back. Wisconsin drove 65 yards in only 1:40, capped off by a 10-yard Davis touchdown. Davis was responsible for 52 of the those 65 yards, all coming from rushes.
The rest of the half belonged to Wisconsin. The Badgers added two more Davis touchdowns and Evans' first touchdown at Camp Randall in over a year. The score going into halftime was a 31-10 advantage for the Badgers.
The second half started out as a completely different story. Akron's Frye came out firing to lead the Zips to touchdowns on their first two drives. After a Wisconsin field goal and a defensive stop by Wisconsin, the Zips took advantage of a Sorgi interception to set up a rushing touchdown by junior fullback Dan Basch to bring the score to 34-31.
""I was very impressed with Akron's offensive scheme and particularly their quarterback,"" Alvarez said. ""He's a fierce competitor and an accurate thrower.""
After a Wisconsin punt, the Zips proceeded to drive all the way to Wisconsin's 1-yard line to set up a fourth and one. Instead of kicking a field goal to tie the game, Akron tried for the touchdown by sending Hendry over the pile, where he was met by Badgers senior strong safety Ryan Aiello and senior linebacker Jeff Mack. Once the dust settled, the ball rested just inches from the goal line.
""I remembered seeing a couple fourth down plays on the film where Hendry jumped over the pile,"" Aiello said. ""I jumped and met him at the goal line, a couple guys did and we were able to spin him around and stop him.""
On the very next play, Sorgi hit his favorite target in Evans for a 99-yard touchdown reception to open their lead up to 41-31. The touchdown pass tied the Big Ten record for longest touchdown pass.
""I knew it was a critical time in the game and that's the time to make a play,"" Evans said. ""They called my number and we were able to connect on a big one.""
Wisconsin sealed the game with a Jim Leonhard interception on Akron's next drive and a final touchdown by sophomore running back Dwayne Smith to bring the game to its final score of 48-31.
""Our guys showed resiliency,"" Alvarez said. ""They did what they had to do down the stretch to swing the momentum again.\
