MIKE LUCAS Senior Writer Related Content • Varsity Magazine

BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer

COLLEGE PARK, Md. – William Likely should have sensed that it was … likely.

Last season, Wisconsin pulled off a fake punt in the first quarter against Maryland.

On fourth-and-9 from the Terps 36, UW punter Drew Meyer received the long snap, took a few steps towards the line of scrimmage like he was going to run the ball and then morphed into Tim Tebow.

Meyer left his feet on a jump pass – made famous by the former University of Florida quarterback – and connected with tight end Troy Fumagalli for a gain of 17 yards.

Likely made the tackle on Fumagalli.

Saturday, the circumstances were much different.

Although it was the second offensive possession of the game for the Badgers – just like it was in 2014 against Maryland at Camp Randall Stadium – this was far more of a gamble.

It was fourth-and-1 from Wisconsin 22 and the score was tied, 7-7.

"We all know if it doesn't work, right?" posed UW coach Paul Chryst knowing that he would have been open to criticism if the fake had failed. "But that's the life that you're in. Trust your players."

And that's what he did with linebacker Joe Schobert, who took the short snap on the punt.

"I felt like Schobes could get a yard," Chryst said.

His confidence was understandable. Schobert was a super high school tailback at Waukesha West. He rushed for well over 2,000 yards during a junior season that was capped by a state title.

In the 2010 WIAA Division I final against Steven Point, Schobert ran for 296 yards, breaking the single-game record set by Racine Park's John Clay, who went on to star at running back for the Badgers.

"He (Schobert) guaranteed that the fake would get whatever we needed to get," Chryst said.

It got a lot more. Schobert rambled for 57 yards before he was finally brought down.

"We had it (the fake) in the whole year pretty much," Schobert said. "I'm supposed to get the snap and take a side step. But I don't remember if I did or not.

"I kind of read where the blocks are going. If nothing is there, I put it up the middle. Everyone is supposed to pinch down. Or, if there's a hole, I just hit it.

"I think they (the Terps) came after that one a little more," said Schobert, taking note of Drew Meyer's punt on the UW's first series. "They came to the right, which allowed the left side to be open."

And once he got into the open field, he had a flashback to his prep days.

"A little bit, yeah, for a brief time," said Schobert, who even switched the ball from his left hand to his right. "That was so I could stiff-arm that guy. That was my thought.

"That's what I always used to do in high school. It's probably just natural."

The recipient of the Schobert stiff-arm was none other than William Likely.

"I never saw him play (running back)," said UW linebacker Jack Cichy. "But from talking to guys on the team, that's pretty much what you got out of him in high school. It really turned the tide for us."

Schobert's run was one of two huge special teams plays in the first half that bailed out a stagnant offense and helped carry Wisconsin to a 31-24 victory over Maryland.

The Badgers have had only two other rushes of 50-plus yards this season. Wide receiver Alex Erickson ran for 56 yards on a jet sweep at Illinois and tailback Corey Clement ran for 58 against Rutgers.

Last Saturday, Clement was making his first appearance since the season opener because of sports hernia surgery and it was apparent when he tried to pull away from defenders, he couldn't. That soreness lingered throughout the week of practice. On Thursday, it was determined that Clement was not physically ready to play and would not make the trip to Maryland.

"Every day, Corey tried to go … and you could see it wasn't happening," Chryst said.

Clement rushed 11 times for 115 yards and three touchdowns in the 48-10 win over Rutgers.

"Corey is talented," said Chryst. "He certainly adds value to our team. You guys know that. But it was good to get Taiwan (Deal, who missed the last three games) back. He adds value."

Schobert was the leading rusher. Deal and Dare Ogunbowale combined to rush for 89 yards.

"It's a disappointing thing for him (Clement), I know, because he wants to play, he wants to compete," said quarterback Joel Stave. "But his health is the most important.

"Once we knew that he wasn't going to be there, we were confident moving on with Taiwan and Dare. It was good to see Taiwan get back in there and play a little bit."

Deal, a redshirt freshman, is from Capitol Heights, which is a 20 mile drive on the Baltimore-Washington Parkway from the Maryland campus.

Deal had a sizeable cheering gallery. And Wisconsin's kickoff return specialist Natrell Jamerson gave them something to cheer about on a 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the first quarter. The Badgers came into the game ranked No. 124 in the nation in this specialty. Jamerson, a converted wide receiver, had been averaging 18.4 yards per return. His longest was 33.

But he hit a crease in the cover unit at full speed and got a key block from defensive lineman Zander Neuville which allowed him to get to the boundary.

Maryland placekicker Brad Craddock, the 2014 Lou Groza Award winner, seemed to have a tackling angle but Jamerson shifted into another gear and left Craddock in his wake.

Craddock injured his hand on the missed tackle and did not return.

"Natrell's name goes on that return," Chryst said. "But it's cool, the excitement all of those guys had (on the kick return unit), even the ones who weren't on the field.

"We haven't been great on kickoff returns. It was good to get that one."

Especially since it knotted the score.

"I loved seeing it," said Cichy, an integral component of special teams. "Coach (Chris) Haering had been telling us all year that we were close (to breaking one). We just had to keep working.

"We had it blocked up perfectly. Jam (Jamerson) hit the hole and that's all she wrote."

The Badgers put themselves in a hole with a sputtering offense in the first half.

"We got some bad field position and we weren't able to run our normal stuff," said Erickson. "We got behind the chains on first and second down. We had some third and longs. It made it tough."

In the first quarter, the Badgers had two possessions, ran eight plays and had two first downs.

One drive started from the UW 5. The other drive started from the UW 13.

"It was hard to get into a rhythm," Chryst said.

On their first series of the second quarter, Stave was picked off.

"He didn't see the hole player," Chryst said of Maryland's dropping linebacker Jalen Brooks.

On the subsequent UW series, Stave was sacked three times.

"A couple of them, we just got beat," said Chryst. "I thought they had a heckuva front."

The Badgers did convert a Tanner McEvoy interception into a Rafael Gaglianone field goal. But they found themselves back in a hole. They started their final drive of the half from their 13.

Chryst was asked what adjustments the Badgers made during intermission. "There wasn't a lot to adjust in the first half," he said, "because we weren't doing anything."

Schobert pointed out that the Badgers used halftime to regroup. Someone put "Swag" on the white board to remind everyone to play with swagger and confidence.

UW outside linebacker Vince Biegel, who overflows with swag, delivered a passionate pep talk, Schobert said, which got everybody fired up.

"We just had to get everybody doing their job – trust the guy next to them, trust themselves," said fullback Derek Watt. "The coaches came in and told us, 'It takes all 11 on every play.'"

Added left tackle Tyler Marz, "We had to come out with a different mindset."

In the first half, the Badgers were limited to 94 total yards and four first downs. They were 0-for-5 on third downs after averaging 52 percent on such conversions over the last three games.

Stave completed just 3 of 8 passes for 20 yards.

But Chryst had no doubts that Stave would play better.

"Joel is that way," he said. "He's resilient. He's got confidence in himself."

Stave didn't dwell on his first-half numbers, nor his interception.

"That's just the name of the game," he said. "You have to make sure that you're moving on to the next play. Every coach that I've been with has really preached that to us.

"Next play, next play, next play. That's something that Coach Chryst is huge on. You throw a pick – flush that one and you're moving on to that next one.

"That's one thing I take a lot of pride in. If things don't go good, they will. If it's cloudy, just keep pushing through until it clears."

The sun peeked through those clouds in the third quarter for Stave, who was 8-of-9 for 133 yards. Erickson was the primary beneficiary of the reawakening with four catches for 84 yards.

"In the second half, we got ahead of the chains a little bit," Erickson said. "We were able to pass on first and second down and dictate our tempo to them a little bit more."

The Badgers broke a 17-17 tie with an eight play, 69-yard scoring drive. Stave completed passes to four different receivers: Erickson, Fumagalli, Jazz Peavy and Tanner McEvoy.

"We just had to keep him (Stave) upright," Watt said. "It's hard to get into a rhythm as a quarterback when you're getting knocked down so much."

Without Clement, the Badgers did what they do best: they grind on offense.

"We finally started moving the ball with the run," said McEvoy. "And we got a few explosive plays from Alex Erickson coming across the middle. And we needed them."

McEvoy was one of the leaders on defense with two interceptions. For the season, Maryland quarterbacks have now been guilty of throwing 25 picks in nine games.

"We knew we'd have our opportunities," McEvoy said. "We just needed to capitalize on them."

In the three previous games, Terps quarterback Perry Hills had rushed for 398 yards, including 170 against Ohio State. Hill had 11 rushes for minus-14 against Wisconsin. His long was 8 yards.

"We knew that we had our work cut out for us," said Cichy, who had a game-high 10 tackles, 3 TFLs and 2 sacks. "It took us awhile to get our sea legs but the defense as a whole bowed up."

All three phases contributed to Wisconsin's fifth-straight Big Ten win.

"It was the definition of a team win," Stave said.

"It takes a whole team," Chryst said.

Despite the absence of Clement, despite the flaws, they keep grinding and winning.

"I don't think any area, any group, any individual was perfect," Chryst said. "But we found a way to fight, scratch and claw and get one ... we needed everyone tonight, I will tell you that much.

"We just did enough things that made it harder than we would have liked to have been. But the guys kept playing. It's all part of the story that makes up the game, right?" 

And the season.