Box Score Game Book (pdf)
MADISON, Wisconsin. – Wofford College was defeated 44-14 by Wisconsin at Camp Randall Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The game began with four fumbles lost in the first seven minutes, two by each team, but three touchdowns by the Badgers in a span of four minutes in the second quarter put the game away.
The Terriers fall to 1-2 on the season, while Wisconsin is now 3-0. The Terriers were led by Mike Rucker with 46 yards rushing and Austin Palmer with 43 yards rushing and two touchdowns. Wisconsin was led by Curt Phillips with 92 yards and Zach Brown with 63 yards and two rushing touchdowns. Scott Tolzien was 15-of-20 passing for 159 yards and two touchdowns.
“Wisconsin is good,” said head coach Mike Ayers. “The football team that they put on the field is very well coached. The coaches did a great job of preparing their defense for our offense in a short time. They are a tough team to defend and very physical.
“Coming into the game, we knew that it would be a long shot. We would have to play well and they would have to play down some. They gave us some opportunities and we didn’t capitalize on them. I think we probably needed to simplify the game plan being a young football team and we didn’t. It’s disheartening I think for our kids and our staff because we feel like we’re a better team than what we showed today. That being said, I was proud of the kids – the effort that they put in. I was proud of our staff. They worked a lot of hours on this one and it just didn’t work for us. I tried to emphasize with the guys (that) I’m still positive to the max about this group of players that we have, even as young as we are, I think we’re going to have a good football team.”
The Badgers opened the game with the ball and after gaining two first downs, SeQuan Stanley forced John Clay to fumble and Kendall Bratcher made the recovery. On the first play from scrimmage for Wofford, Mitch Allen fumbled the handoff and it was recovered by the Badgers.
Just two plays later, the Badgers gave the ball back to the Terriers when SeQuan Stanley forced his second fumble of the game and Tommy Irvin recovered the ball. Wofford went three-and-out on the ensuing drive.
On the next drive for Wisconsin, the Badgers gained one rushing first down before being forced to punt by the Terriers. However, Wofford fumbled the punt return, giving the ball back to the Badgers. Wisconsin got on the scoreboard first when Philip Welch hit a 36-yard field goal attempt at the 4:23 mark in the first quarter. On the next drive for the Terriers, Mike Rucker had a fifteen-yard gain for a first down, but Wofford punted on fourth-an-four.
On the next drive for the Badgers, Scott Tolzien completed two long passes before capping the drive with a three-yard pass to Lance Kendricks at 14:55 in the second quarter. With the ball back, the Terriers were forced three-and-out. The punt was blocked by the Badgers and recovered in the endzone by David Gilbert for a touchdown at 12:50 for a 17-0 lead.
Wofford got the ball back and on fourth-and-four Mitch Allen was sacked. Wisconsin wasted little time with the short field and scored on a four-yard touchdown run by Erik Smith at 10:14 in the second quarter to increase the lead to 24-0. Arsenio Parks gained a first down on the next Terriers’ drive, but again Wofford was forced to punt.
With the ball back, the Badgers drove 60 yards in ten plays and scored on a seven-yard touchdown pass from Scott Tolzien to Garrett Graham with 1:32 remaining in the first half. Wofford opened their next drive with a 31-yard return by Mike Rucker. Austin Palmer added a 15-yard run for a first down, but Mitch Allen was sacked and lost the ball, which was recovered by Wisconsin. The Badgers went three-and-out, punted, and then Wofford ran out the clock to end the first half.
The Terriers took the opening kickoff of the second half. Wofford gained four first downs on the drive, but the 46-yard field goal attempt by Christian Reed was wide left at 8:24 in the third quarter.
Wisconsin gained one first down before fumbling, which was recovered by Preston Roseboro. Wofford opened their drive with a 26-yard reception by Devin Reed from Mitch Allen. Austin Palmer capped the drive with a seven-yard touchdown run at 5:29 in the third quarter for a 31-7 score.
The Badgers answered with an eight-play, 62 yard drive that ended with a two-yard touchdown run by Zach Brown. The PAT was missed, giving Wisconsin a 37-7 lead at 1:45 in the third quarter. Wofford moved the ball to the Wisconsin 15-yard line, but a pass by Allen was intercepted in the end zone by Devin Smith to give the ball back to the Badgers.
Wisconsin added a two-yard touchdown run by Zach Brown at 9:37 in the fourth quarter to take a 44-7 lead in the game. Wofford got the ball back and was able to put together the longest drive of the game as they went 73 yards in 13 plays and took 7:09 off the clock. The drive ended with Austin Palmer scoring from one yard out for a 44-14 score with 2:18 left in the game. Wisconsin gained one first down and was able to run out the clock for the win.
Wofford had 259 yards of total offense, with 214 on the ground. Wisconsin had 430 yards of offense in the game. The Badgers were 5-of-8 on third down. Wofford was 6-of-15 on third down and 1-of-2 on fourth down. Wofford had four turnovers in the game, while the Badgers turned the ball over three times. The Terriers had only three penalties for 20 yards, while Wisconsin was penalized six times for 63 yards.
The Terriers will begin Southern Conference play next Saturday with a contest at Chattanooga with a 6:00 pm kickoff. Wofford returns home on Saturday, October 3 to host Georgia Southern at 1:30 pm for Homecoming.
Wofford vs. Wisconsin Post-Game Notes
The Terriers faced a team from the Big Ten for the first time in school history.
In the first half, the Terriers had only 63 yards, while the Badgers had 225 total yards. Wofford did not complete a pass in the first half and only had three completions in the game.
Senior Austin Palmer scored his first career touchdown in the third quarter and added a second in the fourth quarter. He had a career-high 43 yards on nine carries in the game.
Game captains were Justice Joslin and Mike Niam.
Injuries in the game include Mike Niam (knee) and Anthony Carden (concussion). Niam will have an MRI on Sunday.
The crowd of 78,253 at historic Camp Randall Stadium was the largest ever to see the Terriers play. It ended a streak of 41 straight home games with capacity crowds (80,321) at Wisconsin.
