BTN.com staff, September 22, 2012
James White rushed for a pair of touchdowns Saturday, helping Wisconsin overcome the early loss of Montee Ball in a 37-26 victory over UTEP. Ball suffered a head injury on a 1-yard scoring run at the start of the second quarter, and was on the sidelines in street clothes for the second half. It was a tough day all around for the Heisman Trophy finalist, who had the first fumble of his career on Wisconsin's opening drive.
[AP: Montee Ball out of game with head injury]
Despite the victory, this was another shaky outing for the Badgers (3-1). The Miners (1-3) kept a third-quarter scoring drive alive with two fourth-down conversions, then got a 43-yard field goal from Steven Valadez on their next possession to cut Wisconsin's lead to 23-19 with 7:59 to play. But Melvin Gordon ripped off a 20-yard run to set up White's 2-yard scoring run, the Miners fumbled the kickoff and Gordon put the game away with a 26-yard rushing TD.
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FINAL: Michael Edwards caught seven passes for 151 yards and one touchdown, but UTEP lost to No. 24 Wisconsin 37-26 on Saturday at Camp Randall Stadium. The Badgers' explosive offense used big plays to take down the Miners. Wisconsin burned UTEP's defense for six plays of more than 20 yards.
With 12:22 to go in the second quarter, Joel Stave found Jared Abbrederis open for a 60-yard pass, the Badgers' biggest gain of the game. The big play set up a seven-play drive that gave Wisconsin a 16-6 lead after James White pounded in a three-yard touchdown run.
Stave threw for 212 yards while completing 12 of 17 passes for the Badgers. Stave finished the game with one touchdown and one interception. Abbrederis was the player Stave targeted most often. He hauled in six catches for 147 yards.
Wisconsin racked up 424 total yards. In addition to Stave's efforts through the air, the Badgers also rushed 39 times for 212 yards.
The Miners' Nick Lamaison went 22 of 39 through the air for a total of 260 yards. Lamaison finished the game with two touchdowns and no interceptions.
UTEP's offense finished the game having gained 336 yards. The Miners' rushing attack only managed to contribute 76 yards on 33 carries in addition to Lamaison's passing effort.
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