Northern Iowa Panthers vs Wisconsin Badgers Match Player Stats On Sep 01, 2012

SportsDirect Inc. staff
Sep 1, 2012

Wisconsin 26, Northern Iowa 21: Danny O’Brien completed 19-of-23 passes for 219 yards and two touchdowns in his debut for No. 12 Wisconsin, which managed to hold off visiting Northern Iowa.

Montee Ball rushed for 120 yards and a touchdown on 32 carries and Jared Abbrederis caught six passes for 84 yards and a pair of scores for the Badgers (1-0), who are breaking in a transfer quarterback for the second straight season.

Wisconsin got off to slow start, managing only a pair of field goals from Kyle French until O’Brien found Abbrederis for a 10-yard touchdown pass with 50 seconds left in the first half. The Badgers got the ball to start the third quarter and moved 60 yards in eight plays, extending the lead to 19-0 when Ball punched it in from one yard out.

Northern Iowa finally got on the board with 52 seconds left in the third on Sawyer Kollmorgen’s 2-yard scoring pass to Chad Owens, but the Badgers responded on the ensuing possession when O’Brien found Abbrederis again, this time for a 53-yard score.

Kollmorgen and the Panthers (0-1) were not ready to let Wisconsin off the hook. The defense forced the Badgers into three-and-outs on the next two possessions and Kollmorgen took advantage.

David Johnson hauled in a 55-yard touchdown pass from Kollmorgen with 11:11 left in the game to cut it to 26-14, and the two hooked up again less than four minutes later, this time on a 31-yard touchdown pass to make it a one-possession game.

Northern Iowa had one more chance to score, but this time the Wisconsin defense stepped up, stopping Kollmorgen on fourth-and-1 from the Badgers’ 41 with just under three minutes left. Ball rushed for a pair of first downs on the ensuing possession, allowing Wisconsin to run out the clock.

GAME NOTEBOOK: The Badgers improved to 11-0 all-time against FCS opponents and extended the second-longest home winning streak in the nation to 17 games. … Kollmorgen finished 18-of-34 for 265 yards and three touchdowns while Johnson rushed for 18 yards and caught four passes for 107 yards. … O’Brien, who transferred from Maryland to take the place of Russell Wilson, is attempting to guide Wisconsin to its third straight Rose Bowl. He spread his completions among seven different receivers in an impressive debut.