It took the Badgers three games and the wait of an entire offseason, but Wisconsin Head Coach Barry Alvarez finally got his 100th win Saturday afternoon as the Badgers opened their 2004 season with a 34-6 victory over Central Florida.
In front of a record crowd of 82,116, in the newly rennovated Camp Randall Stadium, the Badgers (1-0) ran all over the Golden Knights (0-1), dictating the game on both sides of the ball the entire contest.
\I'm very proud of [the 100 victories] and it's very meaningful to me,"" Alvarez said. ""Our guys really competed hard and did a lot of good things today.""
Most notable was the UW running game, and the majority of the first half was all Anthony Davis. The senior running back carried the load, especially during the first drive. He accounted for all 52 yards, 40 rushing and 12 receiving, and capped off the opening drive with an eight-yard touchdown run.
In the process, Davis also moved past Billy Marek (1972-'75) and into second place on UW's all-time career rushing list. He finished the game with 78 yards on 13 carries before leaving the game with an eye injury late in the second quarter.
Davis, however, set the pace for the rest of the Badgers, as the team went on to gain 230 yards on the ground and 400 for the game.
The success of the Badger running attack provided a nice set up for sophomore quarterback John Stocco in his first collegiate start. Stocco connected on 8 of 18 passes for 164 yards and two touchdowns while also running one in for a score as well in an overall solid outting.
""I thought as the game went on ... first of all, he protected the ball in the game,"" Alvarez said. ""He had a couple of mis-snaps. I thought one just came out wrong, while the other didn't get up to him, but he protected it in the passing game. I thought he managed well during the game and got stronger as it went on.""
Stocco led the Badgers on touchdown scoring drives of 50, 52, 66 and 80 yards and displayed the ability to make both the touch pass and even the ones in traffic, evident on the 16-yard touchdown strike to junior wide receiver Jonathan Orr and the 52-yard connection with junior tight end Owen Daniels.
""Before the game I was trying to visualize making big plays, and fortunately we made a couple,"" Stocco said. ""We did a lot of good things. We did some bad things too but we can fix those. I think as the game went on I progressed a little bit. We got a win. That's all that matters.""
Senior kicker Mike Allen wrapped up the rest of the UW scoring as he connected on 29-yard and 40-yard field goal attempts.
As successful as the offense was, not to be outdone was the UW defense which stymied the Central Florida offense all game.
""Defensively, I thought our guys played very well, but yet, there were some third and long situations where they converted them and were able to stay on the field. And we'd like to correct that,"" Alvarez said.
Besides connecting on a few deep passes, the Knights offense could not get anything started and were held to just 53 yards on 35 rushing attempts and 230 total yards courtesy of the UW defense which set the tone in opening drive with a sack from senior defensive lineman Jason Jefferson.
For the contest, the Badgers defense collected four sacks, a forced fumble, an interception and only allowed six points behind a heavy dose of blitzing.
""We harp on our guys that if we call [the blitz], we have to get home, and we did it,"" Defensive Coordinator Greg Bielema said. ""I'm sure Dontez isn't a big fan of the replay right now but at least the turnover happened and there was good pressure and the kids can begin to feel confident.""
It was also in the the second quarter that the teams got a heavy dose of the Big Ten's experimental replay system.
Late in the quarter UW freshman defensive lineman Jamal Cooper sacked UCF quarterback Steven Moffett. In the process he jarred the ball loose, allowing UW junior linebacker Dontez Sanders to collect the ball and carry it 50 yards to the endzone.
However, after reviewing the play, the ball was brought back to the 50 after ruling that Sanders' knee hit the ground.
""I'm not a fan of [instant replay] at all anymore,"" Sanders said. ""I don't think I was down.""
On the next play Davis carried the ball to the 28-yard line. The officials again went to the replay to check the spot of the ball. The referree first announced that Davis had stepped out at the 41-yard line, but then was called back again by the replay judge. Eventually the ball was spotted at the 29-yard line.
