Wisconsin's 20-13 win over Arizona State in the 2021 Las Vegas Bowl was not necessarily pretty, especially in the second half where an offense sputtered outside of one series. That said, UW held on thanks to a variety of factors, which included a defense containing the Sun Devils to only one touchdown scored and younger players stepping up on both sides of the ball with starters unavailable.

"Really proud of this group," head coach Paul Chryst said during his opening postgame comments."Obviously tonight was a good night. It took a lot of guys to get us that victory, and I think that's really what this season's been. It's a special team because it's made up of a special group of individuals. Got a large number of guys who played their last game, and truly grateful for all they've given to this program."

BadgerBlitz.com presents its grades for each phase of the game, along with our game balls after the victory.

Really a tale of two halves, and you could split the grade between an "AB" for the first half where it gained 216 yards and put all 20 points on the scoreboard, and a "D-" for the second where it mustered only 78 yards. But then you have to figure out the grading curve with Wisconsin missing two key starting lineman and both starting wide receivers by the second half. Oh yeah, the unit also was down to essentially one healthy tight end with Jake Ferguson suffering a leg injury in the contest as well in the third quarter. Granted, Arizona State was missing its top two cornerbacks, and both a starting defensive lineman and linebacker as well.

So I'll stick with this for now considering everything. Wisconsin overall gained 294 total yards (157 rushing, 137 passing). True freshman Braelon Allen gained 157 rushing yards on 29 carries on way to the game's MVP honors.

Quarterback Graham Mertz completed 11-of-15 passes for 137 yards with one touchdown and one interception each. He displayed the ability to air it out when needed, though his one pick in the second quarter inside UW territory led to an Arizona State field goal. In one key stat, he completed 4-of-5 throws for 88 yards on third down. All the completions moved the chains, and two went for 30 or more yards to wide receivers Markus Allen and Chimere Dike. Overall, UW converted five of 11 third down opportunities.

The offense sputtered significantly in the second half, running just 10 plays for -7 yards in the third quarter alone that allowed Arizona State to stay in the game. However, Mertz and Co. rebounded for a game-icing, 18-play, 90-yard series that took up the final 9:57 of clock in the fourth quarter.

Jim Leonhard's defense contained Arizona State's offense to only 219 total yards on Thursday evening. The Sun Devils were missing leading rusher Rachaad White (opt out), but it goes without saying that it was another impressive outing in allowing only 60 yards rushing on 33 attempts (1.8 yards per carry).

Quarterback Jayden Daniels finished 11-of-21 (52.4%) for 159 yards with one interception. He gave UW fits at times, picking up seven first downs with his legs, according to StatBroadcast. Five of those came on third downs, and overall, the Badgers allowed the Sun Devils to move the chains on 7-of-13 opportunities in that category.

However, Wisconsin tallied four sacks and eight total tackles for loss on the evening, keeping pressure on Daniels throughout the night. Pro Football Focus (PFF) credits UW with 27 pressures in 55 snaps. Even when Arizona State drove into UW territory twice in the second half after cutting the deficit to 20-13, the Badgers responded and did not allow a point to be scored in those respective series.

Collin Larsh connected on his two field goal attempts against Arizona State in the first half, including a new career long of 48 yards. Punter Andy Vujnovich drilled three punts for an average of 55.3 yards per attempt. All three boots by the former D-III transfer went over 50 yards inside Allegiant Stadium, though the coverage unit allowed an 18-yard return in one instance.

Wisconsin did not attempt a kickoff return, and cornerback Dean Engram averaged six yards per punt return.

Arizona State only averaged 12.5 yards per kickoff return, and when used, Jack Van Dyke displayed his power with a couple of touchbacks.

The group as a whole was a net positive largely due to Larsh and Vujnovich.

The true freshman tailback gained 159 yards on 29 carries on the evening. His 43-yard run on Wisconsin's second series helped set up the Mertz to Ferguson seven-yard touchdown pass.

Allen's first half (102 yards on 12 carries) helped springboard UW to a lead it would not relinquish throughout the game, even with a rough second half. On the final drive, he carried the ball 11 times for 45 yards.

The sophomore edge rusher registered two sacks, 2.5 tackles for loss and seven tackles overall in the win. Those two sacks were the first since the road win at Rutgers on Nov. 6. PFF credited him with a team-high seven total pressures in 49 snaps.

Herbig finishes the 2021 as the team leader in sacks (nine) while ranking third in tackles for loss (14.5) and total tackles (64).

Chenal tied for a game-high nine tackles with Arizona State's Timarcus Davis, and the Fitzgerald-Butkus Big Ten Linebacker of the Year also registered a sack and 1.5 tackles for loss.

He concludes his All-American campaign with a team-leading 115 total tackles and 18.5 tackles for loss. He sits second in the program behind Herbig with eight sacks.

For Turner, he worked in and recorded four tackles, including one key play on Daniels in the backfield for a seven-yard loss in the second half. That stands out, because the second-year 'backer played only six snaps according to PFF.

Larsh rebounded during the 2021 season, connecting on 17-of-22 field goal attempts (77.3%) in 13 games. That included the 48-yard field goal against Arizona State on Thursday.

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