Mistakes cost Badgers in Outback Bowl

TAMPA, FLORIDA - All-American Erasmus James tried to put Wisconsin&#39;s loss in the Outback Bowl in perspective.<br> <br> ``This is definitely not the way I wanted it to end, but you can&#39;t do anything about it,&#39;&#39; the Big Ten defensive player of the year said after the Badgers&#39; 24-21 loss to Georgia on Saturday. ``All you say is you went out there and did a good job and tried to do what you had to do.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> The senior defensive end from Pembroke Pines, Fla., had two tackles but no sacks in his last game for the Badgers.<br> <br> Wisconsin struggled on offense before putting together an 88-yard touchdown drive late in the third quarter. The Badgers turned the ball over twice and also hurt themselves with seven penalties for 45 yards.<br> <br> Twice, they squandered opportunities to cut into a double-digit deficit missing a 37-yard field goal and losing a fumble after marching to a first-and-goal at the Georgia 5. Quarterback John Stocco got off to a slow start and was sacked seven times.<br> <br> ``We had our chances in the second half. We got some turnovers, and our defense came to life. I thought we had all the momentum, but we missed a field goal and turned one over in the red zone,&#39;&#39; Wisconsin coach Barry Alvarez said. ``Against a team like that you better cash in, even it it&#39;s three. It made a heck of a difference.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Mike Allen kicked two field goals in the first half, Stocco threw a 19-yard TD pass to Darrin Charles late in the third quarter, and the Badgers (9-3) trimmed what was once an 18-point deficit to 24-21 on Andy Crooks&#39; 11-yard interception return and a 2-point conversion with just over 4 minutes remaining.<br> <br> But Wisconsin didn&#39;t get a chance to pull out a dramatic victory.<br> <br> Georgia (10-2) ran out the clock with Thomas Brown running for 49 of his 111 yards on the Bulldogs&#39; final drive.<br> <br> ``It&#39;s very frustrating. Georgia is a very good football team, and we had a lot of opportunities to beat them,&#39;&#39; Stocco said. ``But when you have two good football teams like this, it comes down to who makes plays at the end. They made a few more plays than we did.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> The defeat denied the Badgers a goal of winning 10 games for just the fourth time in school history. It was their second loss to Georgia in the Outback Bowl in the past seven years, and dropped the team&#39;s record to 7-3 in bowl games under Alvarez.<br> <br> ``We definitely wanted to do better, but I couldn&#39;t be more happy with the way we came out and competed today,&#39;&#39; said running back Anthony Davis. ``Even though things weren&#39;t going right, we just kept fighting. That&#39;s all you can ask for.&#39;&#39;

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