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UW FOOTBALL

Jeff Potrykus, beat writer

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Houston -- The most obvious question in the wake of Wisconsin’s 28-24 loss to LSU went unanswered.

Where was tailback Melvin Gordon in the second half?

“There was a little bit of a scenario with Melvin being completely ready to go at halftime,” UW coach Gary Andersen said.

“But he came out and hit the long run and he seemed to be OK.”

Gordon rushed 12 times for 76 yards in the first half, ripped off a 63-yard run on UW’s first offensive play of the second half but got only three more carries, for a combined 1 yard, the rest of the night.

Why was Gordon on the bench so frequently for the final 1 ½ quarters?

“I don’t know that,” Andersen said.

Gordon’s absence was reminiscent of what happened last season at Minnesota. He fumbled out of bounds on his first carry of the game and was held out for several series out by then-running backs coach Thomas Hammock.

Gordon was steamed after that game and didn’t hide his frustration.

UW ran 25 plays in the second half against LSU and Gordon was on the sideline for most of those plays.

This time, he didn’t exhibit any signs of frustration.

“I was good, man,” Gordon said when asked about the lack of playing time. “I was all good.

“They went with Corey… I’m a little sore. Obviously you get hit…but I’m A-OK.”

Corey Clement, who had one carry for 4 yards in the first half, carried 14 times for 41 yards and a touchdown after halftime.

“Just coach’s choice,” Clement said when asked why he played more than Gordon in the second half. “Melvin is perfectly fine. Melvin has his time and I have my time. I just try to make the most of my opportunities.”

Senior right tackle Rob Havenstein was asked if he wondered why Gordon spent so much time idling on the sideline in the second half.

“That’s not my call,” Havenstein said. “I’m not the offensive coordinator. If I was I’d be making a whole lot more money.

“Whoever is back there…our job as offensive linemen is to make holes big enough where anyone can get through.

“Plain and simple we didn’t get that done tonight.”

From the infirmary: UW lost defensive end Konrad Zagzebski (head/neck) in the first quarter and defensive end/nose guard Warren Herring (knee) on the final play of the third quarter.

Zagzebski was removed on a stretcher and taken to an area hospital for precautionary reasons. He was released, however, and returned home with the team.

Andersen had no update on the status of Herring.

“We could use that as a crutch if we wanted to,” he said of the loss of two senior starters on the line. “But we had enough kids to go out there and play. So we expect them to go out there and play at a high level.”

Drew Meyer had ugly punts of 25 and 26 yards on back-to-back possessions in the third quarter but appeared to suffer a leg injury on the first attempt.

Meyer hit the ball well on his lone punt in the fourth quarter, for 57 yards.

Keep your chin up: Senior inside linebacker Marcus Trotter, who recorded 2 ½ tackles for loss and 12 tackles overall, thought some UW players lost a bit of confidence as the Tigers were in the midst of their comeback.

“I wish we could play them again,” he said. “I really do.

“When a team is coming back you can’t hang your heads. We’re still winning the game. I think that is the thing that people have to understand.”

