Notebook: Orr ready for Rose Bowl, Cephus unsure about future

MADISON, Wis. – Chris Orr felt that if he would have just waited a few seconds longer to compose himself, he would have been able to stay on the field for the University of Wisconsin during a critical juncture of the 2019 Big Ten championship game.

But in a rush to get off the field and show he was fine, the senior’s wobbly legs wouldn’t cooperate.

“The ref was like, if you don’t get up, you’re going to have to go out,” Orr recalled. “I didn’t want to go out of the game, so I tried to hurry up and get out. If I would have collected myself more and just left for a play, I wouldn’t have missed any time.”

Missing the second half of Wisconsin’s 38-21 defeat to Ohio State in the 2019 Big Ten championship game sits as a sore spot for Orr, a missed opportunity to finish what he and his defensive teammates had started.

In firm control against the top-ranked team in the nation, Orr was ruled out with a head injury after his helmet collided with defensive tackle Garrett Rand’s helmet on a tackle attempt in the second quarter. Diagnosed with a minor concussion, Orr said he passed all the tests immediately.

“But because I got all wobbly,” Orr said, “I really couldn’t go back in the game.

He spent the remainder of the game trying to “coach up” his teammates and freshman Leo Chenal, who tried to fill Orr’s large absence. Unable to play, Orr made his main goal trying to keep the spirits high, a hard goal considering the Buckeyes scored on their first five possessions of the second half to turn a 21-7 deficit into a runaway victory.

“It was demoralizing to see everybody go to war, come up short and you can’t be there with them, physically,” Orr said. “It’s hard to sit there and watch any time you are forced to watch football, the game you love. You put all these hours of work in to get to that position and then you have to watch. There’s no worse feeling than that.”

Orr has enjoyed a stellar senior for Wisconsin (10-3), which will finish the year in Pasadena, Calif., playing in the 106th Rose Bowl against Pac-12 champion Oregon (11-2) Jan.1 (4 p.m. CT/ESPN). A consensus second-team All-Big Ten selection, Orr enters the postseason with 11.5 sacks and has anchored a defense that is allowing just 16.1 points to its 12 opponents.

Wisconsin has yet to take a deep dive into Oregon prep, spending the days and weeks following the championship game loss on recovery and self-scouting. When full game preparations begin, Orr will be back to lead a full-strength defense.

“Anytime you can have all your starters out there, the guys with the most game experience, it obviously is going to be a difference,” Orr said.

The overlooked playmaker of the group because of tailback Jonathan Taylor’s brilliance, junior receiver Quintez Cephus enters the post-season with a team-high 842 yards on 52 catches and six touchdowns. His yards are the most by a receiver since Alex Erickson had 978 yards in 2015, not bad for someone who didn’t know four months ago whether he’d be able to eligible or not.

While draft-eligible juniors can submit paperwork to the NFL Draft advisory board, looking for a potential draft grade and feedback on where they could potentially be selected, Cephus said he hasn’t filled said paperwork.

“Honestly, I really haven’t thought much on my career after,” Cephus said. “I really want to make sure I put all of my focus into this bowl game. I guess that will come after the bowl game.”

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“Oregon vs. Wisconsin. I don’t know who is the underdog. We don’t worry about that. This is the opponent we’re playing against, this is what they do, this is how we do it to beat them. That’s it.”