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Wisconsin Coach Zings Refs, Two Conferences

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 2, 2008

TAMPA - Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema took some jabs at the officials after his Badgers' 21-17 loss to Tennessee in Tuesday's Outback Bowl. In doing so, though, he made an error of his own.

He identified the officiating crew as being from the Western Athletic Conference. The crew was from the Mountain West.

"I know you guys media during the offseason are going to ask me some questions about scheduling, and I can guarantee you that I'm never going to schedule a game officiated by WAC officials," he said. "That's for sure."

Bielema said he was "very upset" about what he believed was a helmet-to-helmet hit by Tennessee S Eric Berry on QB Tyler Donovan on Wisconsin's first touchdown.

Bielema said one of the officials apologized to him afterward for missing the call.

The coach also was bothered by some confusion that took place over whether the clock was stopped for an appropriate amount of time after Wisconsin made a first down on its final possession.

"In that type of situation, a first down stops the clock and allows the offense to come together, even for a split second, because the chains have to move," Bielema said. "They told us it was second down, so we line up and we're trying to get a play run.

"Well I assume five to seven seconds had ticked off there, so I just said, 'hey, we need to put some time back up.' ... I'm glad they went upstairs for a review and I'm sure with the quality of the WAC officials, they got the proper call."

TRIUMPHANT EXIT: With its bowl victory, 10-win season and SEC Eastern Division championship, Tennessee sent offensive coordinator David Cutcliffe off a winner.

Cutcliffe, ending his second tenure with Tennessee, will begin his new job Thursday as the head coach at coaching graveyard Duke.

"I'm fortunate in that both times I left, I walked out a winner," Cutcliffe said. "I don't know if you call that lucky or what, but that makes all the difference in the world."

In the final game of Cutcliffe's previous tenure at Tennessee, the Vols beat Florida State for the 1998 national championship.

DOWN-HILL RUNNER: Wisconsin wasted one of the game's best individual performances: sophomore RB P.J. Hill's 132 yards rushing on 16 carries.

Hill broke a 50-yarder to the Tennessee 18 in the fourth quarter, giving Wisconsin a shot at taking the lead or pulling to within one. But the Badgers' threat ended when Donovan's fourth-and-2 pass from the 10 fell incomplete.

Hill finished the year with 1,212 yards, the 15th highest total in school history.

WELL-COVERED: Wisconsin All-American TE Travis Beckum, well covered by Tennessee's defense, showed his frustration after the Badgers' fourth-and-2 incompletion when he came to the sideline and threw his helmet.

"There are so many times that we could have went up, and we just didn't take advantage of it," Beckum said. "I knew it was there, and that really hurts."

Beckum leads the nation among tight ends in receiving yards and was second in receptions, but he didn't catch a pass Tuesday until midway through the fourth quarter. He finished with two receptions for 22 yards.

CLOSE CALL: Wisconsin suffered a scare in the second quarter when Donovan appeared to injure his left knee when his leg twisted unnaturally during a slide. But after giving way to backup QB Allan Evridge, Donovan returned on the Badgers' next possession.

"It kind of scared me because I felt a little pop," Donovan said. "I went to the sidelines, and the more I ran on it, the better I felt about it."

SMALLER CROWD: Fewer fans saw a terrific game that wasn't decided until Antonio Wardlow intercepted Donovan's potential winning touchdown at the Tennessee 1 with 28 seconds left..

The 60,121 tickets distributed were the fewest since 54,059 were sold for the 2000 game between Purdue and Georgia. Large blocks of seats were empty in both upper decks at 65,657-seat Raymond James Stadium.

The largest crowd in the Outback Bowl's 22-year history was 68,085 for the 1990 game at old Tampa Stadium between Auburn and Ohio State.

Six of the past eight Outback Bowls have been sellouts.

ETC. Tennessee played without six players who were declared academically ineligible, including leading receiver Lucas Taylor. Josh Briscoe picked up the lost receiving production, catching seven passes for 101 yards and a touchdown. ... Three-time Super Bowl MVP Joe Montana presented the first "Joe Montana Quarterback of the Year" (high school) award to Matt Barkley, a 6-4, 220-pound junior from Santa Ana, Calif.

Tony Fabrizio

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