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UA rallies to make it close at halftime, but Wisconsin pulls away late in game
By Tom Gaffney
Beacon Journal sports writer
Published on Sunday, Aug 31, 2008
MADISON, WIS.: One consolation for the University of Akron football team is that it will not face a better opponent this season or play in a tougher environment.
The University of Wisconsin lived up to its high ranking by doing what was expected and wearing down the Zips on Saturday in gaining a methodical 38-17 victory before an enthusiastic crowd of 80,910 at Camp Randall Stadium.
The Badgers, ranked No. 12 in the USA Today coaches poll and No. 13 in the Associated Press media poll, led 17-0 early in the second quarter, saw UA battle back to 17-10 at the half and then used its physical superiority to score three touchdowns in the second half to end all hopes of an upset.
''Obviously, we played a very good football team today. You know what their strengths are. . . . You know that coming in,'' UA coach J.D. Brookhart said. ''They didn't shock us with anything they did. They are a very physical team.''
The Zips were hampered by the loss of two of its three starters on the defensive line: Eric Lively (elbow) and Ryan Bain (foot). That meant UA started a sophomore and two redshirt freshmen in their place.
The Badgers' coaching staff understood that and unleashed a three-man stable of running backs that saw plenty of holes and daylight.
Junior P.J. Hill, who had rushed for more than 1,000 yards in each of
his first two seasons, led the way with 210 yards on 26 carries and two touchdowns. Sophomore Zach Brown added 87 yards on 15 carries, and freshman John Clay had 71 yards on 12 attempts.
Overall, the Badgers ran for 404 yards on 63 carries (a 6.4-yard average) behind a dominating and punishing five-man line that averaged 319 pounds.
''Upfront defensively, they handled us pretty good. They wore us down. I bet they do that quite a bit this year,'' Brookhart said. ''They are very complete in the running game, without question.''
The Zips actually didn't fare that badly in the afternoon portion of the game. It was the morning part that paved the way for the three-touchdown loss.
After the 11 a.m. kickoff, the Badgers scored on its first two possessions and led 14-0 at the 7:20 mark. The total yardage after one quarter was 200-5.
''We needed to settle down a little. They stuck it to us pretty good,'' said Brookhart, whose team outgained Wisconsin 292-279 in the final three quarters. ''They took that opening drive and ran it down our throat. We have got to be able to handle it better than we did.''
After a 32-yard field goal by Philip Welch of the Badgers early in the second quarter, the Zips put the disastrous morning behind them by scoring the next 10 points to trail by one touchdown at the half.
UA put together a 10-play, 72-yard drive that ended with a 3-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Chris Jacquemain to tight end Merce Poindexter.
Late in the half, the Badgers appeared ready to score again with a first-and-goal from the UA 6. But senior strong safety Bryan Williams made the Zips' biggest defensive play by intercepting a pass in the end zone and returning it 62 yards.
''I read the corner route. The receiver did it the last time. I knew he was going to the corner,'' said Williams, a Buchtel High graduate. ''I came inside a little bit more and read it.''
Four plays later, Igor Iveljic kicked a 26-yard field goal with two seconds remaining in the half to make it 17-10.
That swing of momentum was negated on the second-half kickoff, when a costly penalty turned a long return by Dennis Kennedy into the Zips having the ball at its own 8.
A punt followed and the Badgers scored on their ensuing possession. Wisconsin then took advantage of a Zips fumble and other mistakes to regain the momentum by scoring once more in the third quarter and once early in the fourth to make it 38-10.
The deflating Wisconsin drives went for 55 yards in seven plays, 28 yards in seven plays and 80 yards in 11 plays.
''We were excited at the half. We closed out the first half pretty well. We were excited coming out for the second half,'' said Jacquemain, who completed 22-of-36 passes for 227 yards and two touchdowns. ''It kind of fell apart for us. We didn't execute the way we wanted to, and you can't have the mistakes that we did against a good football team like that.''
Kennedy led all UA rushers with 35 yards on eight carries. Deryn Bowser, in his first start, led the receivers with five catches for 76 yards.
The Zips also are on the road next Saturday, playing at Syracuse.
Tom Gaffney can be reached at tgaffney@thebeaconjournal.com.
MADISON, WIS.: One consolation for the University of Akron football team is that it will not face a better opponent this season or play in a tougher environment.
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