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The Alamo Bowl 2002
Wisconsin 31 |
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SAN ANTONIO- Throw out records and rankings when the University of Wisconsin football team plays in a bowl game.
If that wasn't apparent before, it should be now after the unranked Badgers worked some more bowl magic with a thrilling fourth-quarter comeback in the Alamo Bowl to pull out a dramatic 31-28 victory on Saturday over No. 14 Colorado in the Alamodome.
Mike Allen's 37-yard field goal following UW's first overtime possession provided the winning margin (video).
The victory improved UW coach Barry Alvarez's bowl record to 7-1, a winning percentage of .875 that trails only John Robinson, who is 8-1 (.889) at Southern California and UNLV. The Badgers had been criticized by some people for qualifying for a bowl with a 7-6 record.
"When you get into these bowl games, it doesn't really matter what record you have because you have so long to prepare," UW senior center Al Johnson said. "Coach's record in all the bowl games we've played here really shows he has the right plan of preparation to get us ready for the games."
The Badgers also thrive in the underdog role and were seven-point underdogs against the Buffaloes, who finished 9-5.
Although Alvarez said he never talked to his players about being the underdog, it was clear it was extra motivation for many of them.
"I love being the underdog," defensive end Darius Jones said on the field during a jubilant trophy presentation. "Then you don't have anything to lose. You can come out and put everything on the line."
Added Johnson: "We're just happy to win the game. Nobody gave us a chance except the guys in our locker room."
UW quarterback Brooks Bollinger had the ninth fourth quarter comeback of his memorable career, and none were more dramatic than this.
Facing a fourth-and-10 from the Colorado 29-yard line with 1 minute, 14 seconds remaining, Bollinger completed a 28-yard pass to Darrin Charles, who made a leaping grab and stretched to the 1-yard line.
Bollinger scored on a 1-yard plunge with 51 seconds left, and Allen's conversion made it 28-28.
Colorado, which was on offense first in the overtime, lost 1 yard on three plays and Pat Brougham pushed his 45-yard field-goal attempt wide to the right.
The Badgers played it safe on their possession, with three running plays that gained 5 yards to the 20-yard line to set up the winning kick.
The big completion to Charles came one play after Jonathan Orr dropped a potential touchdown pass inside the 5-yard line, one of at least three drops he had in the game.
Bollinger had two amazing fourth-down conversions in the final drive, including a 27-yard completion to Brandon Williams on fourth-and-18 from the UW 44-yard line.
"I'm very proud of the way our guys competed," Alvarez said. "I think they really went after things, never gave up, just refused to lose, led by our quarterback. I don't know if I've ever been with anyone who has competed as hard and led the way he did. It's contagious, his competitiveness. I thought he really saved his best for last because it was an awesome ballgame."
"Turnovers killed us," Colorado coach Gary Barnett said. "We had to make plays and we couldn't."
UW, which led 21-14 at halftime, overcame four turnovers, including an interception thrown by Bollinger on the opening drive that was returned 91 yards for a touchdown by Don Strickland.
There were three turnovers by the Badgers in the second half- a fumbled punt by Jim Leonhard and a fumble by tailback Anthony Davis each leading to touchdowns and a 28-21 Buffaloes lead.
With UW driving in the fourth quarter, with a first down at the Colorado 37-yard line, Bollinger couldn't handle a low snap in the shotgun from Johnson and Tyler Brayton recovered.
But nothing would deter Bollinger, not even several dropped passes by receivers.
"There were a lot of chances for this team to cash it in, say,.'Well, we played hard but we came up short,'" Johnson said. "But they didn't do that. They kept fighting to the end. It just shows the character of the guys on this team."
If it's what a team does last that gets remembered, then this will be recalled as a positive year in which a young team might have finally grown up and pointed toward a promising future.
It was also a nice sendoff for a group of seniors Alvarez credited with pointing those young players in the right direction.
"We talked about that (Saturday) afternoon," Alvarez said of the seniors. "They really did a nice job this week of showing our young players how to manage a bowl week. Bowl weeks aren't easy. There's a reason why there are a lot of upsets during bowls. These guys did a nice job. To top off your legacy, a win is the way to top it off. To show them (younger players) how to really enjoy a bowl."
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D.J. Hackett caught two touchdown passes for the Buffalos.
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Mike Allen was the hero. |
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Attendance: 50,690 First Quarter |
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It
was an entertaining, thrilling, hard-hitting and ultimately sloppy game
that included seven turnovers.
