MADISON, Wis. _ One week before the Big Ten opener, which is on the road against No. 12 Michigan State, coach Paul Chryst's team fashioned its worst performance of the young season.
If not for the play of redshirt freshman quarterback Alex Hornibrook, who relieved ineffective Bart Houston in the third quarter, the Badgers might have suffered a humiliating defeat against Georgia State Saturday at Camp Randall Stadium.
With Hornibrook directing three scoring drives, No. 9 UW escaped with a 23-17 victory in front of a nervous crowd of 79,883.
Hornibrook completed 8 of 12 passes for 122 yards and a touchdown on four possessions. He directed a 69-yard touchdown drive to help UW take a 13-3 lead in the third quarter and then directed a 59-yard touchdown drive to help UW regain the lead, 20-17, with 7 minutes, 25 seconds remaining.
Hornibrook capped the drive with a 1-yard to tight end Kyle Penniston.
His next-to-last full possession ended with Rafael Gaglianone hitting a 41-yard field goal to help UW push its lead to 23-17 with 3:36 left.
Houston, who never appeared completely comfortable, hit 10 of 18 passes for 91 yards on six possessions.
UW improved its record to 3-0; Georgia State, a 34-point underdog, fell to 0-3.
With starting tailback Corey Clement (ankle) held out Saturday and reserve tailback Taiwan Deal exiting early with an ankle injury, UW struggled to run the ball against a defense that entered the game last nationally against the run at 394.5 yards per game.
Led by Dare Ogunbowale (20 carries, 65 yards, one touchdown) and Bradrick Shaw (16-62), UW rushed 49 times for 187 yards.
UW's issues on offense were obvious early.
The Badgers drove from their 25 to the Georgia State 23 on their first series but settled for a 41-yard field goal Gaglianone after a third-down incompletion.
They drove from their 32 to the Georgia State 13 on the next series but settled for another field goal after Houston's pass to fullback Alec Ingold on third and 2 gained 1 yard.
They took over at the Georgia State 23 after a muffed punt and lost the ball on fourth-and-goal at the 1 after Shaw fumbled the ball.
They drove from their 28 to the Georgia State 38 on then next series but three consecutive incompletions, two on drops by Penniston, led to a punt.
Unfortunately for those UW fans watching the game wherever they were, it got worse before it got better.
UW moved the ball from its 33 to the Georgia State 12 on the final possession of the half.
Houston, unable to locate an open receiver, had to scramble for gains of six and 13 yards to get the ball to the 12.
That left Gaglianone, who made his first six field-goal attempts of the season, with a 30-yard attempt from the right hash with four seconds left.
Wide left.
End of half.
UW held the ball for 18:48 in the half and limited Georgia State to seven rushing yards and 86 total yards and had a lead of 6-0 to show for it.
The third quarter held more of the same for UW's moribund offense.
Georgia State went three-and-out to open the quarter but the Badgers answered by generating seven yards on six plays.
The series ended when Houston overthrew Jazz Peavy on third-and-14.
Georgia State then drove 49 yards to cut the deficit to 6-3, on a 45-yard field goal by Rogier ten Lohuis with 6 minutes left in the quarter.
Chryst, looking for a spark, turned to Hornibrook.
That turned out to be Chryst's best move of the day.
Hornibrook hit Peavy for 29 yards to the Georgia State 40, on third-and-10, and then hit George Rushing for 19 yards to the 21.
Ogunbowale gained 19 yards on the next play, a sweep to the left, and scored from two yards with 2:58 left to help UW take a 13-3 lead.
UW's double-digit lead lasted just 2:39.
Quarterback Conner Manning hit pass plays of 40, 20 and 13 yards, the last a touchdown to Robert Davis with 19 seconds left in the quarter.
When ten Lohuis added the extra point, UW's lead was 13-10 and the Camp Randall Stadium crowd was silent.
Hornibrook came on for his second series and helped the Badgers move to the Georgia State 42 but his sixth pass of the game was an interception. The ball sailed through the hands of Rushing and into the arms of Baker at the Georgia State 32.
The Panthers shredded UW's suddenly vulnerable defense for a touchdown in just three plays and 68 yards.
Manning found Smith for 60 yards to the UW 9 on the second play of the drive as Tindal, safety D'Cota Dixon and cornerback Sojourn Shelton missed tackles. Tailback Kyler Neal scored on the next play, untouched, with 11:36 left. The conversion left UW facing a 17-13 deficit.
Ogunbowale sparked UW with a 41-yard kickoff return to the Badgers' 41. Hornibrook had completions of 11 yards to Robert Wheelwright and 29 yards to tight end Kyle Penniston, who had dropped two passes earlier, to the 17.
Five plays later, Hornibrook executed a play-action fake and found Penniston for a 1-yard touchdown with 7:25 left to help UW take a 20-17 lead.
UW fans could exhale and begin to wonder whether Hornibrook would lead UW's offense against Michigan State in the Big Ten opener.
