DAVID STLUKA
T
38
here's at least one play that Wisconsin outside linebacker Brendan Kelly would love to
have back from last season's loss to Stanford
in the Rose Bowl. Nose guard Beau Allen could also
think of one. So could defensive tackle Ethan Hemer. So, too, probably, could anyone who played in the
game.
"It's funny, I've played a lot of games; I've played
football for 15 years," Allen said, "and you always
think about the plays that you wish that you could
have taken back ― going all the way back to high
school and middle school. You kind of replay those
moments in your mind."
Those moments, or mistakes, are magnified in
a season-ending bowl game. "You kind of torture
yourself with those plays in the off-season because
you have such a long off-season before you play
football again," said Allen. "That's why you have to
prep as hard as you can for bowls."
Months later, it might seem like a little thing, but
it can still eat at a player. "As times goes by," Allen
said, "you look back and think, 'Aww, man, if my foot
work would have been better on that power play,
//
VARSITY December 26, 2013
I wouldn't have gotten washed and the hole would
have been smaller (for the tailback)."
Little things ― like footwork, hand placement,
or techniques ― can impact the one-on-one battles
that make up a game. "At this level of football," Kelly said, "when two really good teams are playing,
they're not that different. So I honestly think it's the
little things that make the biggest difference."
Kelly paused before saying, "I still think about the
first third down versus Stanford."
Allen and Kelly had combined on a second down
tackle to hold Cardinal running back Stephan Taylor to a 4-yard gain. That left Stanford quarterback
Kevin Hogan, with a third-and-3 from its own 27 on
the opening possession of the Rose Bowl.
"As a 3-technique," said Kelly, who was lined up
off the shoulder of the offensive guard, "I had a rush
on and a clean win. But the guy got a hold of me up
top (shoulder pads) and pulled me down. I just wish
for the simplest rip (technique) because it would
have been a rip and a sack."
Instead, Hogan rolled out and rushed for 4-yards
and the Stanford first down. "I always think about
