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No. 10 Wisconsin Pulls Rank Over No. 21 Fresno St.

Devon Wylie runs for a touchdown in the second half of Saturday's game.
 
Devon Wylie runs for a touchdown in the second half of Saturday's game.
 
 

Box Score |  Quotes |  Notes |  Game Action 

FRESNO, Calif. (AP) - In front of the 10th largest crowd in school history the No. 21 ranked Fresno State football team gave No. 10 Wisconsin all they could handle. But in the end it was the Badgers that pulled out the hard fought 13-10 victory in front of an electric crowd of 42, 387 at Bulldog Stadium on Saturday night.

The Bulldogs outgained the Badgers offensively as they had 343 yards of total offense while Wisconsin had 304. Tom Brandstater threw for 225 yards and one touchdown while Lonyae Miller carried the ball seven times for 58 yards.

"Tonight was a tough loss but the kids played hard," Fresno State coach Pat Hill said. "They're a good team and it was a heck of a game. I'm really proud of our fans and we still have a lot to play for, we still have the entire season."

Wisconsin's P.J. Hill ran for 112 yards and Allan Evridge threw a touchdown pass before leaving with an injury to help the 10th-ranked Badgers to the victory.

The Badgers led 10-0 at halftime but with 9:25 left in the third quarter Devon Wylie caught a 47yard touchdown reception from Brandstater to cut the deficit to 10-7. Wisconsin got a field goal late in the third quarter to take a 13-7 lead and with 16 seconds left the Bulldogs were back within three at 13-10 after a 33-yard field goal by Kevin Goessling.

"All kudos go to Pat Hill for a great game," Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema said. "His success is based on what they do. We couldn't stimulate the heat and the distance is factor. It was a fun atmosphere."

The much-hyped contest was the physical, tight game that both teams expected. The Badgers ended up on top because they capitalized on key special-teams plays. Wisconsin (3-0) scored its only points of the second half on a 23-yard field goal by Philip Welch after a fumbled punt by A.J. Jefferson. That proved to be just enough to win.

Fresno State (1-1) appeared to have another good chance after Robert Malone's punt was downed inside the 1 with 1:55 to go. But backup quarterback Dustin Scherer ran for 2 yards on first down and fullback Bill Rentmeester followed with an 8-yard run, carrying Fresno State defenders on his way to a first down that let Wisconsin just run out the clock.

They Bulldogs had two blocked kicks in the game. Ben Jacobs blocked a field goal and Desia Dunn had a blocked punt.

Wisconsin didn't generate much offensively in the second half but got what it needed when a short punt bounced off Jefferson as he was waving his teammates away. That gave the Badgers the ball at the Fresno State 23, leading to Welch's short field goal.

Wisconsin appeared to be in position to get another score when Levy recovered a fumble by Wylie at the Fresno State 26. But the call was overturned on a replay review and the Bulldogs used a 61-yard screen pass to Ryan Mathews to set up a 33-yard field goal by Goessling that made it 13-10 in the final seconds of the third quarter.

An early goal-line stand by Fresno State fired up the crowd even more as Ben Jacobs and Jefferson teamed to stuff Hill at the 1 on fourth down.

The celebration was short-lived, however, as Matt Shaughnessy batted a pass by Brandstater high enough in the air for Levy to intercept it at the Fresno State 26. Three plays later, Evridge connected with Garrett Graham on a 2-yard score that made it 7-0.

"Join the State - Fresno State!" - The `Dogs hit the road for a non-conference game at Toledo on Saturday, September 20 at 5:15 p.m. Watch the game live on ESPN U. The `Dogs next home game is Saturday, October 4 as they battle Hawai'i at 7 p.m. To purchase tickets, click on the tickets icon at the top of this page, call the Bulldog Ticket Office at (559) 278-DOGS, or stop by the Bulldog Ticket Office.

 

 

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