ROSE BOWL REPORT

FIRST QUARTER

IMPACT PLAYER: Troy Walters, Stanford. Not expected to play at all because of a dislocated wrist, the Cardinal receiver gave his team an emotional boost by being in the lineup. Add in the fact he made two catches in the quarter, and he was the main reason Stanford stayed in the game early. Unfortunately for Stanford, he only caught one more in the game.

MISSED OPPORTUNITY: Television announcer Keith Jackson missed a real opportunity by not retiring as he said he would last season. Instead of going out on top of his game, he decided to come back, and viewers were forced to listen to him Saturday, when he didn’t seem interested at all. Remember the old days, when he took pride in his announcing?

DID YOU NOTICE? Those weren’t actual people in the stands at the Rose Bowl, but cardboard cutouts. Sure, the attendance was announced at 93,731, but it’s impossible for that many people to be so quiet. The crowd had to have been part of an elaborate Hollywood special-effects scheme.

HIGHLIGHT REEL: On second and nine from the Stanford three, Cardinal quarterback Todd Husak found Walters streaking down the sideline for a 28-yard reception that moved Stanford out of trouble and eventually led to three points.

BEST NUMBER: Stanford held Wisconsin to seven yards of offense in the quarter.

WORST NUMBER: A tie. Stanford’s Husak completed one of his first seven passes. Several passes were intended for receivers who were 10 feet tall. Also, for two offensive powerhouses, the 0-0 score after one quarter was embarrassing. Have two worse teams ever played in the Rose Bowl?

SECOND QUARTER

IMPACT PLAYER: The Wisconsin defense. Stanford had trouble moving the ball the entire game, so the Badgers decided to help them along. After Husak ran for a gain of eight yards, the Badgers sent a message with a little rough play and a late hit. The officials got that message and slapped them with a personal foul penalty, giving Stanford the ball on the 22-yard line. That set up Stanford’s lone touchdown.

MISSED OPPORTUNITY: A bad snap led to a missed extra-point attempt after Stanford’s touchdown and only a 9-3 lead. If Stanford had managed to score on the final drive of the fourth quarter, it still would have had to go for two to tie.

DID YOU NOTICE? Stanford had just scored to take a 9-3 lead, so Wisconsin decided to go with its most powerful offensive weapon--the arm of quarterback Brooks Bollinger. On their next offensive series, the Badgers attempted four passes and had to punt. Ron Dayne didn’t touch the ball. Hello?

HIGHLIGHT REEL: The only highlight in this quarter, and in the half, was when it ended. A sloppily-played contest had thankfully reached intermission. If you were very quiet, you could hear televisions all over the country turning off.

BEST NUMBER: Eight. The number of times people around me were heard to say, “I can play quarterback as well as that guy.” Never have two quarterbacks made so many couch potatoes take such pride in their athletic ability.

WORST NUMBER: Bollinger and Husak were a combined 11 for 25 in the half and it seemed hard to believe that these teams reached the Rose Bowl with such inept passers.

THIRD QUARTER

IMPACT PLAYER: Dayne. In his second rush of the quarter, he broke off a 64-yard run, his second-longest of the season. The play immediately gave Wisconsin some much-needed offensive life, and Dayne scored a touchdown two plays later to give the Badgers their first lead.

MISSED OPPORTUNITY: Midway through the quarter, Stanford has a first-and-goal on the six, and fails to score. Two incomplete passes, a run for no gain and a blocked field goal equals a goose egg on the scoreboard. The blocked field goal came as a result of a bad snap, the second of the game for Stanford, costing the Cardinal four points.

DID YOU NOTICE? Stanford’s receivers were being held by Wisconsin’s secondary all through the quarter. Keith Jackson noticed. Dan Fouts noticed. Everyone watching on TV noticed. The only ones who didn’t notice were the officials.

HIGHLIGHT REEL: Dayne showed why he was the Heisman Trophy winner with his performance on Wisconsin’s opening series. Not only did he break off a Barry Sanders-like 64-yard run, he also showed patience getting around the corner when he ran four yards for a touchdown.

BEST NUMBER: Dayne rushed for 64 yards on one play in the quarter. Stanford had rushed for 28 yards through three quarters.

WORST NUMBER: Bollinger completed five passes through three quarters. All five went to split end Chris Chambers. You think Stanford would have considered double-teaming him at one point? All of Chambers’ catches helped Wisconsin avoid third-and-long situations.

FOURTH QUARTER

IMPACT PLAYER: Wisconsin linebacker Chris Ghidorzi. Any time the Cardinal tried to run the ball, Ghidorzi was there. Run it up the middle? Run into Ghidorzi. Run it to the weak side? There’s Ghidorzi. Try the strong side? Ghidorzi’s waiting.

MISSED OPPORTUNITY: A tie. Wisconsin had a chance to put the game away with a 34-yard field-goal attempt with just over two minutes remaining. Vitaly Pisetsky’s attempt was wide left by several miles, giving the ball to Stanford. The Cardinal promptly moved the ball quickly to midfield, where it was stopped by two false-start penalties and a baffling play call on fourth down that looked like something Spanky and Alfalfa would run in the old “Our Gang” comedies.

DID YOU NOTICE? Husak must have been suffering from double vision throughout the game. His passes seemed to always be an arm’s length or more away from his intended receiver.

HIGHLIGHT REEL: On fourth and two from the 32, the Stanford defense seemed to have everyone covered. Everyone except little-used Wisconsin tight end John Sigmund. Wide open up the middle, Sigmund bobbled a pass from Bollinger once, twice, three times before pulling it in for a first down. It was only his seventh reception of the season.

BEST NUMBER: Wisconsin held Stanford to minus-five rushing yards in the game.

WORST NUMBER: Wisconsin was third in the Big Ten with a 47% third-down conversion percentage. Saturday, the Badgers were at 26.7% (four for 15). They had many chances to dominate the game and didn’t.