North Carolina
Wisconsin
Tar Heels Fall To Wisconsin, 38-27
September 20, 2003 | Football
Sept 20, 2003
By ARNIE STAPLETON
AP Sports Writer
MADISON, Wis. - Redshirt freshman Booker Stanley rushed for three touchdowns as Wisconsin bounced back from one of its worst losses in coach arry Alvarez's 14 seasons by beating North Carolina 38-27 Saturday.
One week after turning the ball over five times in a stunning 23-5 home loss to UNLV that sent the Badgers tumbling out of the Top 25, Wisconsin (3-1) took advantage of the nation's worst defense.
Lee Evans caught five passes for 80 yards and a touchdown and surpassed Al Toon's school record for career receptions. He now has 134 catches, three more than Toon had from 1982-84.
The Badgers haven't lost non-conference home games on consecutive weekends since 1969, and Stanley helped keep that streak intact by rushing 28 times for 119 yards and scoring his first three career touchdowns.
With Anthony Davis sidelined with a sprained left ankle, Dwayne Smith got his second career start and rushed 15 times for 73 yards before leaving early in the third quarter.
The Badgers never announced an injury, but Smith was seen stretching his legs on the sideline.
Even before Smith went out, Stanley got the ball whenever the Badgers got into scoring position, and he scored on a 5-yard run and a 1-yard dive as Wisconsin built a 21-17 halftime lead.
His 2-yard TD run in the third quarter made it 28-17.
Before Saturday, Stanley had rushed just nine times for 36 yards.
After Dan Orner's 51-yard field goal made it 28-20, Jim Sorgi hit Darren Charles with a 17-yard touchdown pass and Mike Allen kicked a 20-yard field goal to give the Badgers a 38-20 lead.
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Wisconsin beats North Carolina 38-27. 100k | 300k |
The Tar Heels (0-3) scored on the last play of the game when Jesse Holley came down with a 26-yard pass from backup quarterback C.J. Stephens despite seven defenders in the end zone.
The Tar Heels started the game with a 97-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Michael Waddell, who was never touched.
Waddell left with a sprained right ankle early in the third quarter and was replaced by Mike Mason, whose 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the closing minutes was negated by an illegal block.
Evans broke a 14-all tie with a 44-yard touchdown reception from Sorgi in the second quarter, shortly after he'd broken the school's reception record.
The Badgers blew a big opportunity to extend their 21-17 lead just before halftime when Sorgi's pass into traffic bounced off Brandon Williams' hands and into the arms of sophomore strong safety Mahlon Carey, who also wrested the ball from Evans earlier in the quarter for his first career interception.
Badgers kicker Scott Campbell injured his right foot in the first quarter and was replaced by Allen.
Jacque Lewis rushed six times for 82 yards for North Carolina, including a 56-yarder in the second quarter.
