No Montee Ball? No problem for the Wisconsin Badgers (3-1 overall).
The Badgers finally kept the fans’ stress level to a manageable amount by beating Texas-El Paso (1-3 overall) 37-26 to round out the non-conference portion of their schedule.
Junior running back James White and redshirt freshman Melvin Gordon took over the backfield Saturday afternoon and ended up turning in the best performance the Badgers’ backfield has recorded this year.
After senior running back Ball went down at the beginning of the second quarter after a heavy hit during his one-yard touchdown run, White and Gordon were expected to ensure the team that they can still play Wisconsin football and continue its bruising running game.
It’s safe to say that they accomplished that and then some.
Gordon, a Kenosha, Wis. native, finished with 112 yards, 46 of which came in the fourth quarter, and a touchdown on only eight carries. White carried the ball 15 times for 65 yards with two scores, and Ball had 40 yards and a touchdown on nine carries before exiting.
“Our team knew those guys could handle the workload,” Wisconsin head coach Bret Bielema said.
The extent of Ball’s injury is unknown. It is not surprising to know that he was not hesitant in encouraging the other running backs to carry the weight.
“As soon as Montee went down, he came over to me and said, ‘It’s yours and Melvin’s turn,’ and I knew we had to come out there and lead the team to victory,” White said.
Redshirt freshman Joel Stave looked as confident as a first-time starter could be, minus the interception he threw with just over two minutes in the first half. The turnover did result in a field goal by the Miners and tightened the score to 23-9 heading into halftime If not for that play, his performance was nearly flawless.
“There was only one play out there that I didn’t like, and that was the pick,” Bielema said of Stave’s performance.
He finished 12-of-17 for 210 yards, 147 of which went to junior Jared Abbrederis, and one touchdown.
Perhaps most impressive though was the way he handled the pressure when UTEP pulled within four at 23-19 with just 7:59 remaining in the game. Even though Wisconsin stuck to its run game at this point, everyone was impressed with how he handled the situation.
“[Joel] comes out, doesn’t make a big hoopla, he doesn’t try to pump us up,” redshirt junior center Travis Frederick said. “He comes out with confidence and calls the play and gets the play done. He does that every single time. I really enjoy playing with him.”
An inconsistent defensive performance resulted in some very long scoring drives by the Miners in the second half. They pulled within seven with 4:57 left from a 5:20 drive that was capped by an eight-yard touchdown run by freshman running back Xay Williams. Then, they had a drive that lasted 6:57 to start the fourth quarter that resulted in a field goal to pull within just four.
After holding the Miners to just 29 rushing yards in the first half and 108 yards total, the Badgers let up 228 yards in the second half.
“It was a good effort, but it was inconsistent,” redshirt junior Chris Borland said, who finished with 12 tackles and two sacks. “We did let up that big touchdown at the end. But it did feel good to put out a performance like we did today.”
The tandem of White and Gordon put things away after UTEP pulled close at 23-19, and it appeared the coaching staff had the utmost confidence that they and the offensive line could do such a thing despite struggling in this facet throughout the first three games.
“That’s what you have to do as an offense,” White said. “When the game’s tight and there’s like four minutes left on the clock, you have to run the ball and try to waste the clock. You have to be really locked in.”
Gordon also admired the way the coaching staff believed in the two backs, even when things got tight in the fourth.
“That’s Wisconsin football,” Gordon said. “[Doing that] gave [the running backs] confidence. It gave the team confidence that we can make something happen.”
White punched the ball in the endzone with 3:20 left on a two-yard scamper. Gordon finished Wisconsin’s scoring on a 26-yard run just 14 seconds later thanks to UTEP fumbling the kick return after White’s score.
However, a blown assignment by redshirt sophomore Michael Trotter resulted in a 62-yard touchdown by senior wide receiver Michael Edwards with just 50 seconds left in the game. The Badgers kneeled to run the clock out, sealing their third victory of the season.
Bielema and numerous players came to a consensus that offensive coordinator Matt Canada called his best game yet.
“I think we got cleaner on offense as far as what we wanted to do,” Bielema said. “The offensive coaches had a good gameplan.
“The good news is we haven’t showed a lot of things that we have been working on, so I think there are nice things that can come down the line that haven’t been shown yet.”
Wisconsin opens up conference play Saturday at Nebraska. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
