Saturday saw two hallmark teams of the Big Ten play 60 minutes of grind-it-out, tough-it-out-style football. UW, while not pretty by any stretch of the imagination, brought back a sense of nostalgia with a running back that weighed in at 270 pounds and a defense that allowed Penn State only one third-down conversion in 13 attempts.
From the outset the Badger defense set the tone of the game. On the first play of the game, senior defensive end Erasmus James got to senior Penn State quarterback Zack Mills. Although Mills was able to complete the pass for 49 yards, he would stay in for only one more play. Mills dropped back again, was hurried and this time threw a much more fortuitous pass for the Badgers. Junior defensive back Brett Bell tallied his first career pick and gave the Badgers the ball on their own 34-yard line. The momentum that the Badgers had accumulated, however, quickly deflated.
The Badgers' first drive of the game netted -13 yards. Getting the ball back after a PSU punt, sophomore tailback Booker Stanley ran 10 yards to the left side but had the ball stripped away by PSU defenders. In fact, the first three Badger drives netted a loss of four yards, a time of possession of 3:18 and one fumble.
Finally, after senior defensive back Robert Brooks forced a fumble, which was recovered by James, the Badgers crossed into PSU territory and moved toward the goal line. A 17-yard pass from sophomore quarterback John Stocco to junior receiver Brandon Williams set up the Badgers' first score. After two Stanley runs for nine yards, the Badgers were on the doorstep. Stocco took the snap, rolled out to the right and scooted in for a five-yard touchdown.
The rest of the half was dominated by UW's defensive front four. They dictated Penn State's tempo and limited a very mobile PSU junior quarterback Michael Robinson, who spent a short time at quarterback in relief of an injured Mills. Just before the end of the first quarter, however, James made another game-changing play. Robinson dropped back to pass from his own 18-yard line and James laid him out for a loss of nine yards. James' hit concussed Robinson, who lost consciousness and was driven off the field via an ambulance.
\With those four guys rushing the quarterback the way that they do, there's going to be some errant balls. These quarterbacks get hesitant and they get those happy feet, that's when the DBs get a chance to get a pick,"" said senior safety Jim Leonhard.
The Badgers made two solid drives into PSU territory but failed to punch the ball into the end zone. Instead, the Badgers settled for a pair of field goals from senior kicker Mike Allen.
""I think all year that's been happening to us. We've been moving the ball and just kind of stalled. If I didn't make a few mistakes, this game would not have been close. The last one [interception] should have been a touchdown. I held on to the ball too long and tried to throw it as I got hit,"" Stocco said of UW's offensive struggles so far this season.
The second half of the game, however, saw a drastic change that brought joy to Badger fans everywhere. With Stanley suffering from turf toe and freshman running back Jamil Walker out with a shoulder injury, senior fullback Matt Bernstein found himself next on the depth charts.
""Coach White just came in there [at half] and said, 'Bernie you're up.' And I'm like, 'Up for what? I'm playing fullback.' And he says, 'tailback.' I was just shocked. [The offensive line] opened up holes, I'm not a fast guy but it's easy when you've got holes like that,"" Bernstein said.
Bernstein changed the course, attitude and outcome of the game with career highs in carries and yards (27 for 123), and manliness. Bernstein, who was observing the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur, fasted for the entire day and was unable to warm up with the team for religious reasons.
The second half was the Matt Bernstein show. The Badgers featured him as the lone setback on a number of plays and made no move to disguise the fact that the ball would be going to Bernstein. All Penn Sate could do was hope to contain him.
""I thought our defense really played well again. I'm really proud of the way Bernstein played. We were very limited at tailback so we told Bernie at half that he'd be playing. I thought he really brought a lot of personality and punch to the offense. [I am] disappointed in how our offense played. We are going to face a lot more potent offenses down the road and we really need to get straightened out,"" said Head Coach Barry Alvarez of his team's play.
The Badgers are at home next week against the University of Illinois, who gave a very good Purdue team quite a scare last week, but fell short 38-30. The Badgers may get a much-needed boost from the return of senior running back Anthony Davis next week but, according to Alvarez, his return is not a guarantee. Regardless, the 4-0 Badgers need to improve to continue winning.
