No. 12 Wisconsin survives scare from Northern Iowa

By Jeff Hanisch, US Presswire

"Wisconsin football may not be the prettiest thing to watch, but we get Ws," head coach Bret Bielema said.

By Jeff Hanisch, US Presswire

"Wisconsin football may not be the prettiest thing to watch, but we get Ws," head coach Bret Bielema said.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — After watching a comfortable fourth-quarter lead melt away in a matter of minutes, No. 12 Wisconsin needed a big defensive play from Ethan Hemer to fend off FCS school Northern Iowa on Saturday.

The redshirt junior defensive lineman batted down a pass by Panthers quarterback Sawyer Kollmorgen on fourth-and-1 in Wisconsin territory, allowing the Badgers to escape with a 26-21 victory over the Panthers — who showed why they're regarded as one of the top teams in Division I's second tier.

Badgers coach Bret Bielema figured his team might learn more from a close call than a big blowout to start the season.

"You've got to touch a hot stove once," Bielema said. "Once you get burned, you're not going to do it again. And hopefully our guys learn, hey, you've got to put people away when we can."

Montee Ball rushed for 120 yards and a touchdown for the Badgers, while new starting quarterback Danny O'Brien completed 19 of 23 passes for 219 yards and a pair of touchdowns to Jared Abbrederis in his debut.

"I believe we didn't make the statement that we wanted to," Ball said. "But I believe this was a great learning experience for us all, because we believe that the mentality (we had) toward the game, we weren't attacking the defense like we should have. But it's a lot easier to correct your mistakes after a win than a loss."

Kollmorgen threw for 265 yards and three touchdowns.

It was another huge effort against superior competition for the Panthers, who had one-point losses at Iowa in 2009 and at Iowa State last season. Northern Iowa beat Iowa State in 2007.

"Without the batted ball, we might still be playing," Northern Iowa coach Mark Farley said. "A guy got a hand up, so credit him."

Kollmorgen said the Panthers didn't get what they wanted, but should leave with their heads held high.

"Coach Farley said to come out and prove we belong," Kollmorgen said. "We did that today."

Despite their classification, Bielema said he knew the Panthers would put up a fight.

"There's a lot of FBS schools that I'd rather play than those guys," Bielema said. "They're a really, really good football team."

Although the Badgers got off to a sluggish start on offense, they appeared to be on track for a fairly comfortable win.

Wisconsin's defense didn't allow Northern Iowa on its side of the 50-yard line until the 4:27 mark in the third quarter — but then the Badgers nearly melted down.

Leading 26-7 in the fourth quarter, Wisconsin allowed Kollmorgen to throw a pair of long touchdowns to David Johnson, cutting the lead to five.

After forcing a Wisconsin punt, the Panthers drove again.

Facing fourth-and-1 at the Wisconsin 41-yard line, Hemer tipped the ball at the line of scrimmage to stop the drive.

"To me, we get a lot better out of this than a 42-0 blowout," Bielema said. "I don't see what that gets. I know our fans, it kept them in their seats."

The Badgers won their 15 consecutive season opener, extended their home winning streak to 17 games, the second-longest streak in school history, and have now won 33 consecutive regular-season nonconference games.

It was an efficient day for O'Brien, a transfer who was eligible to play for the Badgers right away because he already had graduated from Maryland — the same rule Russell Wilson took advantage of to play for the Badgers last year.

Coaches and teammates went out of their way this week to establish realistic expectations for O'Brien and shield him against direct comparisons to Wilson — a remarkable playmaker who led the Badgers to a Big Ten title and Rose Bowl appearance last season, and now has won a starting job with the NFL's Seattle Seahawks as a rookie.

"We weren't consistent on our side of the ball, but you take a win any way you can get it," O'Brien said. "(The score was) too tight, whatever you want to say. You want to win easily, obviously, but you take a win any way you can get it."

For Ball, it was a chance to brush off his recent off-the-field trouble. Ball was beaten up in an attack near campus a month ago, sustaining a concussion and missing part of camp.

"I know, and everyone else should know, that I'm going to come back even stronger next game and it will take off from there," Ball said.

It also was the debut for Badgers offensive coordinator Matt Canada, who replaced new Pittsburgh head coach Paul Chryst.

Bielema, who has grown fond of saying there might be sexier teams in college football than Wisconsin, stuck with that theme in summing up Saturday's win.

"Wisconsin football may not be the prettiest thing to watch, but we get Ws," Bielema said.

View the original article here

Badgers get a scare from Northern Iowa

We've become so accustomed to seeing Wisconsin blow out opponents, even excellent ones, at Camp Randall Stadium that many of us assumed the opener against FCS Northern Iowa would be a laugher.

But the Badgers weren't laughing in the fourth quarter. They were sweating. Big time.

The surprisingly game Panthers trailed just 26-21 and had the ball on the Wisconsin 41 late in the game. But a fourth-and-1 pass play was tipped away by Ethan Hemer, and the Badgers were able to run out the clock and survive.

It was a head-scratching result, especially since Northern Iowa didn't score during the first half. But the Badgers defense gave up some big plays late, including a 55-yard touchdown pass and a 31-yard scoring strike on a fourth down that shaved the lead down to five.

And while Danny O'Brien had a very efficient debut at quarterback (19-for-23, 219 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions), the Wisconsin offense lacked its normal explosiveness. Montee Ball ran for 120 yards and scored a touchdown for the 21st straight game. But he averaged just 3.8 yards per carry, and the Badgers had 168 rushing yards as a team. Credit Northern Iowa's defense, but against a lot of opponents at home, especially FCS ones, you'd expect something like double that number on the ground for Bret Bielema's club.

Remember, though, that this team lost virtually its entire offensive coaching staff and replaced two All-Americans on the offensive line. There may be more of an adjustment period here than some wanted to believe.

The defense, after a strong first half, reverted to its troubling tendency of giving up big plays in the second half. Though Northern Iowa couldn't run the ball at all, quarterback Sawyer Kollmorgen threw for 265 yards and three touchdowns, and Wisconsin did not cause any turnovers. The Panthers are a very good FCS team, but the Badgers usually bludgeon anyone who dares come into Madison.

Maybe this team won't have such an easy time this year. Wisconsin clearly has some things to clean up before going to Oregon State next week.

View the original article here

Stanford survives scare from San Jose State, wins 20-17

STANFORD, Calif. (AP) – Jordan Williamson kicked a career-long 46-yard field goal and the go-ahead score from 20 yards, and No. 18 Stanford survived a 20-17 win over San Jose State on Friday night in its first game since Andrew Luck left.

Kyle Terada, US Presswire

Stanford wide receiver Drew Terrell catches a touchdown pass in front of San Jose State cornerback Ronnie Yell during the first quarter Friday night.

Kyle Terada, US Presswire

Stanford wide receiver Drew Terrell catches a touchdown pass in front of San Jose State cornerback Ronnie Yell during the first quarter Friday night.

Former backup Josh Nunes threw for 125 yards and a touchdown in his first start in place of Luck, the No. 1 overall draft pick. But the redshirt junior struggled to move the offense when it counted and it almost cost the Cardinal (1-0) dearly.

The David Fales-Blake Jurich quarterback combo gave Stanford fits until De'Leon Eskridge fumbled in Spartans (0-1) territory late in the third quarter. That set up Williamson's tiebreaking kick, giving the redshirt sophomore who missed three field goals in a 41-38 loss to Oklahoma State in the Fiesta Bowl a small stroke of redemption.

Nunes finished 16 for 26 with no interceptions. Fales threw for 216 yards with one touchdown and an interception that landed in the hands of Ed Reynolds to seal Stanford's win in the final minutes. Jurich ran for 32 yards and a score.

The fight Stanford showed so many times behind Luck disappeared.

With the two-time Heisman Trophy winner now with the Indianapolis Colts, the Cardinal converted only 2 of 2 third downs (although it was 2 for 3 on fourth downs) and allowed the Spartans to move methodically at times down the field. San Jose State outgained Stanford 288 to 280 total yards.

Stanford beat San Jose State 57-3 last year and has won five straight meetings.

Stepfan Taylor, who finished with 116 yards rushing, ran for 38 yards almost untouched until a defender tackled him on the game's first drive. Remound Wright converted a fourth-and-1 from the 10-yard line, and Taylor dived over the pile for a 1-yard TD on fourth down to give Stanford a 7-0 lead.

The Cardinal followed the 13-play, 81-yard drive with a quick three-and-out by the defense. Nunes quickly led Stanford down field and tossed a perfect ball in the corner on a stop-and-go route by Drew Terrell for an 11-yard score and his first career touchdown pass.

The first-game hiccups eventually surfaced, bubbling later than expected until they almost completely popped Stanford's season.

San Jose State drove deep into Stanford territory in the second quarter until Jurich, the backup quarterback, recovered his own fumble for a 2-yard loss on third down. Austin Lopez kicked a 38-yard field goal to slice Stanford's lead to 13.

Game-clock management became an issue on Stanford's final drive of the first half, tossing a short pass over the middle to tight end Zach Ertz, then throwing incomplete and running on third down to settle for a field goal. Williamson made his career-high 46-yarder as time expired to extend Stanford's lead to 17-3.

All the same problems that plagued the Cardinal defense in losses last year to Oregon and Oklahoma State — no cornerback coverage, poor open-field tackling and quarterback pressure when it counts — looked even worse with two new starting safeties.

Jurich ran for a short touchdown on San Jose State's first possession of the third quarter and Fales floated a 21-yard touchdown pass to Noel Grigsby to tie the score at 17-all late in the third quarter

Fales, who transferred from Monterey Peninsula Community College in the spring, redshirted at Nevada in 2009. Between him and Jurich keeping the Cardinal guessing, San Jose State was outplaying Stanford and in position for the season's first shocking upset.

One mistake ended all that.

Reynolds stripped Eskridge on a pitch play, and Usua Amanam recovered the fumble at San Jose State's 38-yard line. Stanford's offense stalled again, and Williamson made his second field goal.

San Jose State stuffed Taylor on fourth-and-1 with fewer than 7 minutes to play, sending third-year coach Mike MacIntyre jumping and high-fiving all over the sideline and on the field. The Spartans took over at their own 15-yard line, but Chase Thomas tackled Fales as he threw on third-and-6 to force an incompletion.

Fales and the offense failed to even get a first down on the next two possessions and Reynolds stepped in front of his final pass to close out San Jose State's rally.

San Jose State, which went 5-7- last year after posting a 1-12 record in 2010, last win over a ranked team was 27-24 over No. 9 TCU at Spartan Stadium on Nov. 4, 2000. The Spartans are winless against 20 ranked teams since.

———

Follow Antonio Gonzalez at: www.twitter.com/agonzalezAP

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

View the original article here