Wisconsin left tackle rushes for touchdown against Illinois
Michael Deiter is 6-foot-6, 328 pounds and plays left tackle for the No. 5 Wisconsin Badgers. He’s also now the proud owner of a rushing touchdown in a Big Ten game.
With the Badgers on the road against Illinois on Saturday — and stuck in a sluggish 17-3 battle late in the fourth quarter — coach Paul Chryst decided to dial up a play that was sure to fire up his offense: A lateral to Deiter on 3rd-and-goal.
The result was a thing of beauty.
Perfect backwards pass. Perfect blocking. Questionable running. Perfect celebration.
“I was super nervous,” Deiter said on ESPN after the game. “My legs were mushy. I was nervous I was going to fall down. I’ve never touched a football in a game other than at center but that doesn’t really count. I had the whole offensive line in front of me, there was no way I wasn’t getting in.”
Wisconsin needed a statement game this week to balance out a questionable schedule with the first College Football Playoff rankings being released on Tuesday. The Badgers’ 24-10 victory over Illinois didn’t quite accomplish that, but it did show a willingness to get creative if nothing else.
This is the second time in three days we’ve seen a lineman get a carry in the red zone. We are absolutely here for this becoming a staple in power five offenses.
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Blake Schuster is a writer for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at blakeschuster@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Schustee
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