Badgers make Rebels see red
Starr Fuimaono wasn’t completely to blame. A teammate made a mistake, but Fuimaono was the one grasping at air when what appeared to be a startling upset became a heartbreaking defeat for UNLV.
Fuimaono had the chance to sack Tyler Donovan, but the Wisconsin quarterback got away, turning a loss into a 29-yard bootleg run for a touchdown.
That play, with 1:53 to go, and the ensuing 2-point conversion allowed the Badgers to escape Las Vegas with a 20-13 victory on Sept. 8, 2007.
Three years later, the teams open the season at 8 p.m. Saturday, back at Sam Boyd Stadium where that play happened. Fuimaono, now a senior, is ready for the rematch.
"It’s pretty much a revenge game for me," the linebacker said. "I came on a blitz and didn’t get the sack. I’ll hopefully make the tackle this time if it comes down to it."
The most recent meeting was like so many between the teams. It’s a cross-sectional rivalry between programs with little in common, yet one that has produced unforgettable moments.
The tone was set from the first meeting, in 1985, when the rebuilding Rebels were starting a new quarterback, Steve Stallworth, who had the burden of following Randall Cunningham. UNLV nearly pulled off a shocker at Wisconsin, leading 23-13 in the third quarter before the Badgers rallied for a 26-23 victory.
"If there was ever a game I wanted back, it was that one there in the rain," said Stallworth, now the South Point Arena general manager.
But, Stallworth said, that close call helped propel the Rebels to a 17-7 victory over Wisconsin the following season.
"In 1986, we were going in with so much confidence because we should have beaten them the year before," he said. "We were faster than them. We had better athletes. I think we outcoached them."
It was an all-around disaster of a visit to Las Vegas for the Badgers, who found their locker room flooded.
Wisconsin interim coach Jim Hilles, according to The Capital Times of Madison, Wis., couldn’t accept the result: "I still felt we were the better team."
In 1996 and 1998, the Badgers were better, scoring 52 points each time in easy victories.
Then the series moved from blowouts to a blackout — the 2002 game at Sam Boyd Stadium that ended with Wisconsin leading 27-7 with 7:41 to play.
A power outage was to blame, but conspiracy theories thrived because the game was not considered an official one by Nevada sports books.
Controversy was lacking the following year at Madison, but the outcome made a national splash anyway. UNLV pulled off one its greatest victories in an unrelenting downpour, stunning the 14th-ranked Badgers, 23-5.
Rebels safety Jamaal Brimmer made 11 tackles, including two sacks, returned a fumble 55 yards for a touchdown, intercepted two passes and forced a fumble. He was named the national Defensive Player of the Week.
The following year, the Rebels hung with Wisconsin in Madison for nearly a half before losing, 18-3.
Then there was 2007, when then-freshman Travis Dixon nearly quarterbacked UNLV over the No. 5 Badgers.
"It was right there for us to take," said Dixon, now a senior safety.
UNLV led 13-12, but Wisconsin had the ball at the Rebels’ 29-yard line. A Fuimaono teammate was supposed to keep the action inside but became too aggressive, giving Donovan room to break out.
"It wasn’t my fault, but it pretty much looked like my fault," Fuimaono said.
Fuimaono and Dixon had major roles in that game, but few current players on either team were in college then, so Rebels coach Bobby Hauck said he is placing no significance on the previous games.
But UNLV’s history of giving the Badgers a battle gives Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema a great talking point with his 12th-ranked team. He can tell his players the 20½ points they’re favored by don’t mean much. After all, Wisconsin was favored by 26½ in that 2007 game.
"We know we’re going to have a tremendous challenge on our hands," Bielema said.
■ TICKETS REMAIN — A crowd in excess of 30,000 is expected for Saturday, but the game might not be a sellout. Wisconsin’s four previous visits to Las Vegas were sellouts, and three accounted for the largest crowds in stadium history.
Contact reporter Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914.
