Wisconsin Badgers vs. USC Trojans: Final Thoughts from the Holiday Bowl Victory

Final thoughts from a Wisconsin Badgers Holiday Bowl win

The Wisconsin Badgers came into Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego in search of a signature win to close out the season, and the Badgers picked up a big 23-21 victory over the USC Trojans in the Holiday Bowl on Wednesday night.

More badgers: Joel Stave finishes Wisconsin career on high note

Badgers needed a big game to show the rest of the country that their 9-3 regular-season record was legitimate. Coming into the game, Wisconsin had yet to beat a team with a winning record, and the teams the Badgers defeated finished with a combined 34-75 regular-season record. This was the ultimate prove it game for the Badgers, and they made their statement.

Wisconsin outplayed USC statistically with more first downs, total yards, and dominated in time of possession. The Badgers battled through a great deal of adversity with injuries to key players Corey Clement and Joel Stave and a blown call that negated what would have been a 73-yard touchdown run for Tanner McEvoy.

Wisconsin left their fans with perhaps their best performances of the season, giving the program momentum heading into the difficult schedule that awaits in 2016.

For the last time, here are some final thoughts from the Badgers’ big win in the Holiday Bowl.

Joel Stave Shined in Final game

Fifth-year senior quarterback Joel Stave is perhaps the most polarizing player in Wisconsin football history, and he gave his supporters a big game as he finished his career in Madison a winner. He completed 18 of his 27 passes for 217 yards with a touchdown and zero turnovers.

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Stave remained poised throughout the game and led the Badgers to scoring drives near the end of both halves. A bloody-nosed Stave was forced to leave the game after getting his face stepped on midway through the fourth quarter. He missed the remainder of the drive, which resulted in a punt.

After the Badgers forced a USC punt on the next drive, Stave returned with strips on his nose and a cotton ball stuffed up the right nostril and guided Wisconsin to the game-winning drive in which had two 17-yard completions to put the Badgers in field goal range. Rafael Gaglianone connected on his third field goal of the day to give the Badgers the 23-21 lead.

Stave was named the Holiday Bowl’s offensive MVP, and the victory improved Stave’s record to 31-10 as a starter, and the 31 victories surpassed Brooks Bollinger‘s 30 wins as the winningest quarterback in Wisconsin football history.

Defense Proved Itself

Wisconsin’s defense came into the game ranked No. 1 in scoring defense, but the big knock on Dave Aranda’s unit is the fact that the Badgers did not play very many good offenses. Wisconsin never saw an offense as good as USC’s, but the Badgers proved they are worthy of being discussed as one of the top defenses in the country.

The Trojans came into the game averaging nearly 450 yards and 35 points per game, and Wisconsin held them to just 286 yards of offense and 21 points.

Redshirt sophomore Jack Cichy missed the first half because he was called for targeting against Minnesota in the regular-season finale, but he dominated the second half. In a series of three plays, Cichy did something football fans may have never seen before, and it came at a critical time for the Badgers.

After a touchdown for USC and a three-and-out for the Badgers offense on the next drive, momentum swung toward USC’s side as they began their drive from midfield trailing 20-14. As it has all season long, Wisconsin’s defense made the big plays when it needed to. Cichy brought down USC quarterback Cody Kessler on three consecutive plays for a total of 23 yards lost to kill the Trojans’ momentum.

Cichy’s pressure also forced an interception for junior cornerback Sojourn Shelton late in the game. Cichy finished with a team-high nine tackles and earned the Holiday Bowl’s defensive MVP award despite playing just one half. With senior Joe Schobert departing from the linebacker group, Cichy may have earned himself a starting spot next season.

Seniors Step Up

Including Stave, the Badgers received big performances from several of their seniors, who stepped up in their final game. Fullback Derek Watt finished with career bests with five carries for 32 yards and also caught two passes for 12 yards.

When Stave exited, McEvoy stepped in and should have scored a 73-yard touchdown run but was ruled out of bounds when replays showed he was not. He finished with four carries for 25 yards. McEvoy also recorded three tackles, including a big stop on third down to force a punt that led to Wisconsin’s game-winning drive.