Goal: To thoroughly experience gameday at every FBS college football stadium. STADIUM COUNT: 113/134
There must have been a deliveryman between quarterback Jim Sorgi and wide receiver Lee Evans because everything Sorgi sent, Evans received. The student section bowed down to Evans as though he achieved deity status with his school record five-touchdown performance. Backup tailback Dwayne Smith packed in a career day with three scores of his own, but his efforts seemed overshadowed by the mystical receiving skills of Lee Evans.
Nothing flashy in this game. In fact, flashy was traded for abysmally embarrassing. Homecoming in Evanston created a party in the stands for those proudly wearing purple. The conspicuous red that penetrated the stadium hoped to quiet the celebration. However, the teams on the field aided in conveying the monotony.
Purdue opened their highly anticipated season with a mind-bending loss to lowly Bowling Green. The Badgers absorbed a similar fate with an early season stumble against struggling UNLV. It would have been difficult to imagine College Gameday, ESPN’s premier pregame show, coming to Madison on month later to broadcast live before the Boilermakers and Badgers prepared to duel on the field. Sure enough, the show’s celebrated hosts, Chris Fowler, Lee Corso, and Kirk Herbstreit descended upon Wisconsin because of the astounding resurgence that propelled these two teams into the top fifteen.
Eleven years ago, I was fortunate enough to witness the Badgers upset Ohio State at Camp Randall Stadium. The weather in Madison that day was chamber of commerce quality. Ever since that momentous victory, Wisconsin has had four opportunities and failed each time to defeat the Buckeyes at home. Each one of those losses took place amidst dreary, cold, and uncomfortable weather. Is it possible that the conditions outside serve as a harbinger for the outcome of this game?
The Fighting Illini are a team two years removed from their Big Ten title, but playing like they never left the basement. However, the energy around Memorial Stadium has not fizzled. Dusk drew over the sky for this early evening contest and the late day sun glinting off the columns around the stadium provided the perfect setting. Both bands marched in down the main drag of the campus offering a pregame battle by pounding out fight songs and marching in stellar cadence. Illinois’s tradition rich playing grounds were stoked for this conference opener.
At the conclusion of this game, my brother turned to me and said, “Well, they scored on the first play and the last play and the Badgers roughed ‘em up in the middle.” Simply stated, this is true. After last week’s complete break down against UNLV, Wisconsin’s fans appeared forgiving as they crammed Camp Randall to capacity. The Badgers looked ready to atone for their errors and take out all aggressions on the baby blue from tobacco road. North Carolina and their followers stood out more than any other team I have seen enter this stadium. Their unique, yet well known shade of blue popped out from the bright red reflecting off the sunny skies in Madison. There was a good contingency from Chapel Hill and their team’s 0-2 start hardly seemed to faze them.
The whole novelty of seeing UNLV’s legendary head coach John Robinson wore off rather quickly on this particular Saturday afternoon. To begin, not one part of anyone’s clothing failed to stick due to the slow, but steady cloud leak that fell from the gray skies in Madison. Ponchos offered a flimsy defense against the rain, especially with the chilly breeze that made the drizzle feel like a monsoon. The Rebels, who are more accustomed to triple digit temperatures and bone dry air masses, appeared undaunted by the unpleasant weather. They probably could have played underwater and still managed to speed through this game.
Early season stumbles against lesser opposition have been a trademark for Wisconsin football the past few years. Generally, these blunders occur in the non-conference portion of the schedule. Teams like Akron are supposed to be the recipients of brutal domination on the scoreboard. Games like this are supposed to instill confidence in players and fans that their team is headed for mountains of success. However, the Zips didn’t come to Madison to sightsee. Akron had an upset plan brewing in their pockets and they almost pulled it off.
How can a team that loses six of their last seven still be in the running for a decent bowl game? Leave all wacky possibilities to the crew from Madison. So many losses suffered by slim margins may destroy the morale of most groups, but Barry Alvarez’s Badgers thrive on adversity. The return of quarterback Brooks Bollinger and runningback Anthony Davis helps too. Davis finished this day tying a school record with five touchdowns. In addition, he toppled the 300-yard mark in a game that finally saw Wisconsin finish with an exclamation point. Just in the nick of time. With a loss, Wisconsin would have been banished to their couches to watch the bowl season from a distance. Instead a resounding victory over their largest rival lofted them one win over .500 and sending them to San Antonio to play Colorado in the Alamo Bowl.
One thing is for certain – osteoporosis will not be a threat to Badger players knowing how long they have had their backs against the wall. Plowing through their first five games undefeated could have been too heavy a load to carry for these younger Badger players. Now 1-4 in the Big Ten, they need just one more victory to secure bowl eligibility.