MADISON - It remains to be seen if the 2009 installment of the University of Wisconsin football team will be any better than the 2008 version, which began the season with high hopes and ended it with almost as many losses as victories.

But there is at least one significant difference: Unlike last year's team, which got very little accomplished in the spring because of an absurd amount of injuries, the Badgers had a productive spring this time around, in large part because they remained relatively injury-free.

It wouldn't be a stretch to say UW is further along today than it was at this point a year ago.

Badgers coach Bret Bielema agreed with that notion after watching the Cardinal's 56-20 victory over the White in the spring game Saturday afternoon before an announced crowd of 23,500 at Camp Randall Stadium.

"I think we made good progress because we were able to keep a lot of the same people out there, so they definitely got better," Bielema said.

Only one projected starter, junior strong safety Jay Valai, sat out Saturday's game. Valai missed time this spring after having offseason surgery to repair a sports hernia.

Another potential starter, junior wide receiver Isaac Anderson, came up limping after catching a pass late in the first quarter and didn't return to the game. But Bielema said preliminary reports indicated Anderson's injury wasn't very serious.

It was a far cry from a year ago, when a rash of injuries ruined any chance to build momentum during the spring. It got so bad that UW almost didn't have enough healthy defensive linemen to have a real scrimmage for the spring game.

"Last year, it seemed like everybody was going down - broken hands, sprained ankles and torn knees," junior left tackle Gabe Carimi said. "This was a really clean year, really just minor injuries that will be gone about a month after this."

Not surprisingly, the Cardinal team, which consisted of starters and key reserves, dominated the White. The Cardinal held a 563-21 advantage in total offense and ran 71 plays to the White's 32.

The White was awarded double points for its touchdown and extra point. The point totals also included "rapid fire" field goal competitions at the end of each quarter in which a point was added to a team's score for each successful conversion.

Leading the way for the Cardinal was redshirt freshman quarterback Curt Phillips, who directed touchdown drives on four of the six series he played with the No. 1 offense.

When Bielema talks about players making progress this spring, Phillips may be one of the best examples of that.

After struggling the first two weeks of camp, Phillips came on late and put an exclamation point on his spring by completing 10 of 16 passes for 122 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for a touchdown.

"You always want to finish strong," Phillips said.

UW got production out of each of its top three tailbacks.

Starter and former Park High School tailback John Clay finished with 62 yards on 12 carries. The sophomore has been bothered by nagging ankle injuries, but he ran strong - there was no sign of a limp.

Junior backup Zach Brown carried the ball 14 times for 110 yards and a touchdown and drew praise from Bielema.

"I really liked Zach," Bielema said. "He's physical, he's strong, he's into it. I know that everybody wants to focus on John Clay, but I think Zach really brings some durability to the position."

Redshirt freshman Erik Smith played mostly for the White team, but had a 43-yard run for the Cardinal team late in the game.