Thursday, December 30
Bollinger credited with Badger resurgence
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES -- Brooks Bollinger got his first collegiate
start in front of 93,524 fans at Ohio State. Wisconsin fell behind
17-0 before the freshman quarterback led the Badgers to two
second-quarter scores.
Senior offensive tackle and team captain Chris McIntosh was
amazed by what happened next.
"He came into the huddle and said, "OK, we're taking it to the
house,"' McIntosh recalled. "He just became a leader. It kind of
blew my mind, but after that, we didn't miss a beat."
Bollinger led Wisconsin to eight straight scores in all as the
Badgers embarrassed the Buckeyes 42-17. The freshman generated 245
total yards rushing and passing. It was the first of seven straight
wins by Wisconsin, which went on to win the Big Ten title.
"Teams have to respect Brooks, because he can beat them with
his running or his passing," Ron Dayne said. "He's one of the
most multitalented quarterbacks I've seen."
Dayne says Bollinger was the reason the Badgers rebounded from a 2-2 start. His offensive numbers aren't impressive, but the impact
Bollinger makes on opponents' defensive plans is enormous.
"Brooks enables us to have a completely different look, if we
choose to," coach Barry Alvarez said. "We're a grind-it-out run
team usually, but when we want to, we can do several different
things because of Brooks' talents."
Bollinger was redshirted last season, and he spent Wisconsin's
Rose Bowl win over UCLA picking up the phone for quarterback Mike
Samuel and "trying to stay out of the way." He'll be at center
stage on Saturday, when the fourth-ranked Badgers face No. 22
Stanford.
"This year, I'm trying to focus on the game and not so much on
the people in the stands and planes flying overhead, that stuff,"
he said with a grin.
An intelligent, self-effacing 20-year-old from Grand Forks,
N.D., Bollinger has taken in stride the accolades he is receiving,
including the Big Ten Freshman of the Year award. He passed for
1,028 yards and rushed for 445 and five touchdowns.
He laughs when asked if he expected so much so soon.
"I'm kind of spoiled," he said. "I've been here two years,
and I've been to two Rose Bowls. I remember standing on the
sideline last year and thinking, 'This is going to be on the
Classic Sports Network someday."'
Before Bollinger's emergence, Wisconsin was a one-dimensional
offensive team struggling to distract teams from stopping Dayne.
Senior quarterback Scott Kavanagh was Samuel's backup for three
seasons, but he was a tentative passer and not a running threat.
Bollinger and Kavanagh fought a close battle for the starting
job during the preseason, and the freshman played briefly in
Wisconsin's first three games.
When the Badgers fell behind Michigan on Sept. 25, Alvarez
inserted Bollinger to give the team a jump-start. It worked, as
Bollinger directed a 10-play, 80-yard drive near the end of
Wisconsin's 21-16 loss.
Dayne, who also became a starter early in his own freshman year,
said Bollinger's emergence was the reason Dayne rushed for 981
yards in Wisconsin's last five games, a string of performances that
locked up the Heisman Trophy. Wisconsin averaged 37.7 points in
Bollinger's seven starts.
Bollinger doesn't seem to worry much about the pressure of being
the starting quarterback on the nation's fourth-ranked team. He
plans to enjoy the entire Rose Bowl week.
He even got the chance to appear on "The Tonight Show" on
Tuesday when he was picked out of the Badgers' group to participate
in a skit. When he got back to the hotel, he called his parents --
Rob, a former offensive coordinator at North Dakota, and Lisa -- and
told them to tape the show that evening.
"I guess that was my 10 seconds of fame," he said.
If Bollinger continues to play at his current level, that's not
likely.
