Michigan State University
Wisconsin
Spartans Go Down To Wisconsin
11/15/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov 15, 2003
By ARNIE STAPLETON
AP Sports Writer
MADISON, Wis. - Lee Evans tied the Big Ten record with five touchdown catches in Wisconsin's 56-21 rout of 21st-ranked Michigan State on Saturday.
Evans, who missed all of last season following two knee surgeries, established several school records on a cold, misty afternoon at Camp Randall Stadium.
Evans, whose five TD receptions tied the Big Ten mark set in 1993 by Minnesota's Omar Douglas, caught 10 passes for a school-record 258 yards. He teamed with Jim Sorgi on TD plays of 9, 75, 18, 70 and 18 yards.
Sorgi, who completed 16 of 24 passes for 380 yards, became the first Wisconsin quarterback to throw for four or more touchdowns in consecutive weeks. Both he and Evans were out of the game by early in the fourth quarter.
Their big performances helped the Badgers snap a three-game losing streak and send the Spartans to their third straight loss. Both teams are 7-4 overall and 4-3 in the Big Ten.
Dwayne Smith, who replaced Booker Stanley (knee) on the first series, ran 21 times for 207 yards and three touchdowns, giving the Badgers a 200-yard receiver and 200-yard runner in the same game for just the second time in school history - the first time was against Akron on Sept. 6.
Evans' 258 yards receiving topped Al Toon's record of 252 set against Purdue in 1983. His 12 TDs this season and 26 for his career are both school records, too. Tony Simmons held the previous career mark of 23 TDs from 1994-97 and Evans shared the mark for nine TDs in a season with Toon.
The only other time Evans had as many as three TDs in a game was against Michigan State in 2001, when he tied Toon's 1983 mark with nine TDs for the year.
The Spartans have always been Evans' favorite team to face.
In 2000, he caught just one pass against them, but it was a 45-yard game-winning touchdown with 29 seconds left. Against Michigan State the following year, he had nine catches for 228 yards and three TDs.
Evans tied that touchdown total in the first half Saturday, scoring on passes of 9, 75 and 18 yards as the Badgers rolled to a 28-7 halftime lead.
Evans' 9-yard catch and Smith's 3-yard run made it 14-0. Then, on third-and-10 from his own 25, Evans sprinted down the right side and cut upfield, leapt over safety Greg Cooper to catch Sorgi's slightly underthrown pass, then spun and raced the remaining 30 yards into the end zone for a 75-yard score and a 21-0 lead.
Chad Simon returned the kickoff 59 yards to the Badgers 25, and Jeff Smoker hit Kyle Brown in stride for a 21-yard touchdown with 2:51 left before halftime.
Evans and the Badgers weren't done, however.
Smith reeled off a 60-yard run - he had 153 yards by halftime - to the Spartans' 21, setting up Evans' 18-yard TD catch with 1:39 left in the half that made it 28-7.
In the third quarter, Evans caught a 6-yard pass in the right flat and blew past cornerback Darren Barnett for a 70-yard score and a 35-7 lead.
Evans' final TD came on a diving, fingertips catch that made it 42-14 with 4:05 left in the third quarter.
Evans wasn't even in the game when Smith scored on runs of 14 yards late in the third quarter and 26 yards early in the fourth following an interception by three-way player Brandon Williams.
Smoker, the Big Ten's leading passer, finished 16-of-31 for 207 yards with two TDs and two interceptions.
