Bret Bielema will tell you that Fresno State is tough enough. No additional challenges are necessary when the Bulldogs pop up on the schedule, because they'll give you all that you can handle.The Wisconsin coach couldn't just steer his team past Fresno on Saturday at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison. He also had to deal with virtually-unprecedented circumstances during the week. It showed at times on the field, as Wisconsin twice fell behind by 14 points, but they were able to rally for a 34-31, double-overtime win.
Bielema wasn't shy after the win, talking boisterously about how much his team was able to overcome to pick up the win. He told Learfield Sports that 45 players missed practice during the week due to flu-like symptoms, as the virus rapidly flew through his team. He also relayed that sophomore defensive lineman J.J. Watt fell ill on the team bus ride to the stadium.
The fourth-year coach lauded the work of quarterback Scott Tolzien, who fought off the virus and threw for 225 yards while avoiding any turnovers.
It wasn't an easy day at all. Fresno State jumped to a 14-0 lead with two Ryan Colborn touchdown passes. One of those, a 70-yard bomb to Devon Wylie, came one play after a missed Wisconsin field goal. The Bulldogs responded to a Wisconsin touchdown with a long drive of their own, taking a 21-7 lead. Wisconsin was far from done, however. They cut the lead to 21-17 by halftime, thanks in part to a 57-yard field goal by Philip Welch.
It stayed 21-17 until the last few minutes of regulation. After Fresno State missed a crucial field goal, the Badgers took the lead. Running back John Clay rumbled virtually untouched through the Fresno defense for a 72-yard run. It gave Wisconsin their first lead of the game.
Fresno State forced overtime with a field goal in the final seconds, but Wisconsin won it in the second overtime. Chris Maragos intercepted Colborn on the first play of the second overtime, and Welch hit a short field goal for the win.
"I can't say enough about their tremendous effort, from individuals, coaches, the fans," Bielema said. He went on to talk about the willingness of his players to get the work in during the week, despite the run of illness that swept through.
"You know we don't usually practice on Fridays," Bielema said, "and I told the guys Thursday night because of the work we didn't get Tuesday we need to go out and practice and they didn't bat an eye. I told them today, they won today because they out-worked people. We weren't clean, there's enough things out there that we got to get corrected and I don't want to see repeated mistakes. And believe me, we did some things out there, we beat ourselves before the snap three or four times and we can't have that happen and win consistently."
The Badgers move to 2-0, and will host FCS member Wofford Saturday in Madison. Fresno State falls to 1-1, and prepares for a home game Friday night against WAC favorite Boise State.
