T
he first time that Wisconsin defensive end Brendan Kelly was introduced to the Border Battle, he was a sophomore in a Richfield, Minn., high school and a spectator at the 2005 game between the Badgers and the Gophers at the Metrodome. "At that point, I was a Minnesota kid and a Go- phers fan,'' said Kelly, who hails from Eden Prairie, a Minneapolis suburb, and attended Academy of Holy Angels, the same high school that produced former UW quarterback John Stocco. Kelly became more open-minded to the Bad-
gers after watching them escape with a dramatic 38-34 victory over the stunned Gophers as Jona- than Casillas blocked Justin Kucek's punt and Ben Strickland fell on the loose ball in the end zone for the winning touchdown with 30 seconds left. Wisconsin overcame a 10-point deficit in the fi- nal 3:27 and Stocco helped trigger the late rally with his clutch passing. Besides the blocked punt, Kelly remembered focusing on UW's defensive ends, notably Matt Shaughnessy, and he thought to himself, "Dang, these Badgers know how to play.''
That planted a seed with Kelly, who was verbal- ly committed to Minnesota for about nine months before he had a change of heart just prior to the 2007 game between the Badgers and the Gophers in the Metrodome. That week, he notified the Wis- consin coaches that he would be coming to Madi- son. "I went to that game and I wore a flat-brimmed
hat and some sun glasses so Gopher fans wouldn't recognize me,'' kidded Kelly, who added that few really disagreed with his decision. "A lot of people in the state knew that Wisconsin had a great thing going and I made the right choice. When the Gophers and the Badgers write a new chapter to their ancient rivalry Saturday at Camp Randall Stadium, Kelly will get an opportunity fol- lowing the game to renew his friendship with Min- nesota linebacker Mike Rallis, an Edina product. Kelly and Rallis are both fifth-year seniors. "We trained together every day in the summer,'' said Kelly, noting that he's also friends with Ral-
26 ยป VARSITY OCTOBER 18, 2012
lis' younger brother, Nick, a freshman linebacker. "When I'm back home, we're always hanging out. We usually talk every single week. "But I haven't sent him a text and he hasn't sent me one yet.''
That may change by the end of the week. One thing that never changes is the magnitude of this Border Battle. "The biggest thing to realize is that the record doesn't matter, whether a team is 1-5 or 5-1, it just doesn't matter,'' Kelly said. "This is a rivalry game, and it doesn't come down to the better team that
DAVID STLUKA
