KEVIN KLAUS/Arizona Daily Wildcat Junior wide receiver Gary Love wraps-up punt-returner Jim Leonard during Saturday's 31-10 loss at Madison, Wisconsin.

Offense sputters, Wildcats crushed by Badgers 31-10

MADISON, Wis. öö Though it piled up 969 yards of total offense in the first two games of the season, few thought Arizona's offense was going to have its way with No. 22 Wisconsin.

But this was unexpected.

The Wildcats (2-1) put up one of their worst offensive efforts in head coach John Mackovic's tenure, losing 31-10 to the Badgers on Saturday in Camp Randall Stadium.

After a scoreless first quarter, Wisconsin scored on an Anthony Davis run less than a minute into the second frame. After going three-and-out on the ensuing possession, Wisconsin junior linebacker Alex Lewis blocked a Danny Baugher punt that gave the Badgers the ball on the Arizona three-yard line.

One play later, Davis scored his second touchdown and the score was 14-0 less than 1:50 into the second quarter. Wisconsin (5-0) pushed the lead to 24-0 before the half on a touchdown catch by Jonathan Orr and a Scott Campbell field goal.

While Wisconsin's offensive prowess was impressive, it was Arizona's offensive ineptitude that was surprising.

Senior quarterback Jason Johnson, who had the nation's fourth-highest pass-efficiency rating coming into the game, completed less than 50 percent of his passes and was held to 129 yards and no touchdowns by a Badger defense designed to disguise coverages and pressure the quarterback.

"They really came out and just took it to us physically," Johnson said. "Schematically, they had a great game plan against us that said, ÎWe're going to let you nickel and dime us for 80 yards down the field, but we're not going to give you any deep chances,' yet at the same time they were able to put pressure on me rushing only three or four guys."

What few offensive opportunities the Wildcats had were squandered by mental errors or sloppy play. Junior wideout Andrae Thurman, who had emerged in the previous games as a viable No. 2 option in the passing game, caught only 2 passes for 10 yards and dropped two crucial passes that would have kept Arizona drives alive.

The Wildcats were also penalized heavily both on offense and defense, to the tune of 8 for 66 yards. But it was the nature and timing of the penalties that were truly devastating, particularly a first-quarter offensive pass interference call that negated a 16-yard pass from Johnson to Steve Fleming. That completion would have put the team on the Wisconsin 26-yard line while the game was still scoreless.

"We came out flat, played flat," said senior wideout Bobby Wade, who caught 7 passes for 85 yards. "Taking nothing away from their defense, but this offense hurt itself."

The lone bright spot on the UA offense came in the third quarter, when junior tailback Clarence Farmer broke through for a 70-yard touchdown run, the highlight of a breakthrough game for the previously struggling back. Farmer, who ran for only 108 yards in the first two games, finished with 131 yards on 20 carries.

The Arizona defensive unit was already reeling from the loss of standout cornerback Michael Jolivette on Wednesday, and things only got worse once the Wisconsin rushing attack asserted itself. The Badgers finished with 271 yards on the ground. Davis, who didn't play in the second half, racked up 100 yards on 16 carries, and Bollinger chipped in with 74. Bollinger added 127 yards through the air on 13-of-19 passing.

"Bollinger did really well," said senior linebacker Lance Briggs, who finished the game with a team-leading 15 tackles. "When you know what a team's going to run, and they're successful, then you know you've done something wrong. We were out-coached and out-played today."

Jolivette, considered one of the top players at his position in the conference, suffered a knee injury in practice believed to be an ACL tear in the team's final practice in Tucson before traveling to Madison. If the injury is as severe as thought, he will likely miss the rest of the season. He was replaced by senior David Hinton on Saturday.

"Whether Mike played or not had nothing to do with losing the game. (But) Michael's an outstanding football player, and you miss a guy that could only make plays for you," said defensive coordinator Larry Mac Duff.

Mackovic said the loss shouldn't deter the Wildcats from continuing the progress started in the first two games.

"We've got to try to get something positive out of this, even though right now you don't know where to look," Mackovic said.