Late in the year, Wisconsin would have a long, non-scoring drive of 98 yards in the win over Auburn in its bowl game. In this game, Michigan almost matched that. Starting at its own 5, the Wolverines had a 94-yard drive that ended on the Wisconsin 1 when Kevin Grady was stuffed on 4th-and-Goal. Of the 94 yards, Max Martin rushed for 37 yards and Chad Henne threw for 38, but the drive would end at the Wisconsin 1. The game would remain scoreless at the end of the first quarter.
Michigan would go onto score on three consecutive drives in the second quarter. After an incompletion on first down, Henne threw to Mario Manningham for 24 yards down to the Wisconsin 35 on the first full drive of the second quarter for the Wolverines. That would lead to a Garrett Rivas 44-yard field goal to give Michigan the 3-0 lead.
Wisconsin would go three-and-out on the following possession and the Wolverines would add to the lead. Henne would have a great drive, going 4-for-5 for 57 yards and a touchdown. It was a 9-play drive, going 71 yards, ending with a Henne pass to Jason Avant from four yards out and the Wolverines took a 10-0 lead with four and a half minutes to go in the half.
Bucky would be in desperate need of a score to put the Badgers on the scoreboard at the end of the half. The Badgers went on an 11-play drive in which Stocco completed passes to four different receivers. Stocco went 4-for-8 on for 53 yards on the drive, but he would throw three consecutive incompletions to end the possession and Taylor Mehlhaff kicked a 35-yard field goal to put Wisconsin on the board.
However, the Wolverines would zoom down the field to give Michigan a 13-3 lead at halftime. Martin would rush twice for 22 yards and Henne went 2-for-4 for 33 yards on the drive. However, the Wisconsin defense stood tall and forced a field goal after the Wolverines moved inside the Badgers 10.
Wisconsin’s offense would come alive in the second half. After a Michigan punt to begin the second half, the Badgers would go 37 yards in 11 plays to cut the deficit back down to seven. Calhoun would have 25 total yards on the drive to help set up Mehlhaff’s 43-yard field goal to make it a 13-6 game. That would start a string of possessions where the Badgers would score on three of four drives.
Michigan would drive and knock on Wisconsin’s territorial door, but the Badgers would hold and force a Wolverines punt. Calhoun would dominate the next drive once again, as he would have 52 combined yards, but the Badgers would have to settle for a 27-yard field goal to cut it to 13-9. That would end the 15-play, 64-yard drive. However, Wisconsin would need to punch it in the end zone when it gets that close. Settling for field goals would not work out against the Wolverines.
The score would not remain 13-9 for long. After a poor kick return by Steve Breaston, who only made it out to the 8, the Wolverines would make their first major mistake of the night. Martin would have a first down on a run up to the 23, but Dontez Sanders would force a fumble and Mark Zalewski recovered for the Badgers. Michigan was also whistled for a personal foul after the play, which would put the ball on the 12 to start the drive. The possession would last just two plays with Calhoun getting the ball both times. After a rush of five on first down, he would get the handoff on second down and would find the edge and dive to the pylon for the score to give Wisconsin its first lead of the night. Calhoun would have a terrific game, rushing for 155 yards and the touchdown. He also was the leading receiver for the Badgers, catching seven passes for 59 yards.
The momentum would stay with the Badgers on the following drive. On the second play of the Michigan series, Henne threw a pass to the left side intended for Avant that was picked off by Johnny White. However, following a holding penalty, Stocco gave it right back. Stocco threw a short pass that was picked up by Grant Mason at the Michigan 39.
It did not take long for the Wolverines to take advantage of the turnover. After back-to-back 6-yard runs, the Wolverines had the ball at the Badgers 49. That would be when Michigan would take the lead back. On the first down play, Henne handed the ball to Grady, who then pitched it back to Henne for the flea flicker. Henne launched a pass to an open Manningham, who got behind the defense for a 49-yard scoring play and the Wolverines led 20-16 with 9:03 to play.
Wisconsin would have an important drive on the next possession, despite having to punt. DeBauche’s punt was downed at the 3. The Badgers defense would force a three-and-out and Michigan would punt from deep in its own territory, After the punt, Wisconsin would take over on its own 48 with 4:20 remaining.
Calhoun would play a big role in Wisconsin’s final drive. The Badgers would go on an 11-play drive to gain those 52 yards. Wisconsin would convert three third downs on its final drive, thanks to Calhoun and Stocco. The star running back would combine for 38 yards rushing and receiving on the 52-yard scoring march, but he would play the role of decoy on the game-winning play. After a pair of Stocco incompletions, Bucky was faced with a 3rd-and-Goal from the 5. Everybody from the fans to the Michigan defense expected the ball to be in No. 2‘s hands. But offensive coordinator Paul Chryst had other ideas. On the third down play, Stocco went back to pass and much to the surprise of the Michigan defenders, Calhoun played the role of lead blocker. Stocco tucked it and ran, following his blocking and he would crash his way into the end zone on the quarterback draw to give the Badgers a 23-20 lead with 24 seconds remaining.
Michigan would have one more chance to tie it up. After starting at its own 20, the Wolverines would move to their own 44 on a 24-yard completion from Henne to Avant. But that was as far as they would get. After an incompletion on first down, Michigan was whistled for a holding penalty, which pushed Michigan back to the 34. On the final play of the game, Henne dropped back to pass preparing to throw the Hail Mary. However, the Michigan quarterback slipped and fell and Wisconsin would have its first signature win of 2005.
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