FAMILIAR
FORMULA
For new offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig, piecing together
a game plan begins with the quarterback but ends with more
of the power running game Badgers fans are accustomed to
BY MIKE LUCAS • UWBADGERS.COM
I
t was a milestone win for the Fresno State
football program, its first over a Big Ten
opponent; a stunning 32-20 victory over
Wisconsin at Camp Randall Stadium.
Rallying behind Bernard Berrian's 96yard touchdown return of the second half kickoff,
the underdog Bulldogs erased a 20-10 halftime
deficit by scoring 22 unanswered points.
The triggerman was quarterback David Carr,
who completed 22 of 38 passes for 240 yards and
two touchdowns. Carr went on to become the No.
1 pick overall in the 2002 NFL Draft.
The Fresno State offensive coordinator was
Andy Ludwig, who had not been back to Madison
since that upset of the Badgers on Sept. 8, 2001.
On that day, the Bulldogs executed their offense better than Wisconsin did. They not only
outrushed the Badgers, 174-128, but they held on
to the ball for six more minutes in the second half.
Fresno State's head coach then was Pat Hill,
who said afterward, "It was nothing fancy. We
ran straight at 'em. We played a little bit of Big
Ten football and that was good to see.''
Twelve years later, Ludwig is now Wisconsin's
offensive coordinator; one of the recent hires of
first-year coach Gary Andersen, whose friendship
with Ludwig dates back to their days together at
Utah.
"It's a great fit,'' Ludwig said of his opportunity
"to come to a world-renowned university with a
storied football tradition and to work for a head
coach that I know and trust and have great respect for.''
Ludwig does not come with training wheels.
He has been calling plays for 18 years while serving as a coordinator at San Diego State, Cal, Utah,
Oregon, Fresno State, Cal Poly and Augustana
College.
"You're going to see Wisconsin football,'' Ludwig pledged of his play selection for the 2013 season. "You're going to see a strong, power running
game and a great play-action football team.
"But the most important thing that we will do
is make sure the schemes that we're running will
fit the players because it's all about the players,
especially the quarterback.''
