San Diego – Wisconsin senior Joel Stave left the field battered just past the midway point of the final quarter, holding a towel to his nose, which was gushing blood.
Stave, playing in his final college game, had taken harder hits than the one he absorbed in the Holiday Bowl Wednesday night at Qualcomm Stadium.
Some of those hits were delivered on the Internet by fans tired of the fifth-year senior's inconsistent play and clamoring for a replacement.
Yet with UW trailing USC by a point, Stave trotted back onto the field with 5 minutes 34 seconds left.