PASADENA, Calif. – A new decade has yielded a new set of heartbreak for the University of Wisconsin.
After three consecutive one-possession defeats started the last decade in the Rose Bowl, the Badgers started a new decade with the same result, as No. 6 Oregon bested No. 8 Wisconsin, 28-27, in front of 90,462 in the 106th Rose Bowl.
Quarterback Justin Herbert ran for three scores for the Ducks (12-2) on his way to earning game MVP honors and safety Brady Breeze returned a muffed punt for a touchdown in the third quarter.
Wisconsin (10-4) out-gained Oregon, 322-to-204, and held the ball for over 16 more minutes, but those Badgers' four turnovers turned into 21 points for the Ducks.
Jonathan Taylor was bottled up all afternoon in what was likely his last game for Wisconsin, rushing for 94 yards on 21 carries. He went over 2,000 yards for the season but didn’t score a touchdown and lost a fumble in the first quarter.
Quarterback Jack Coan finished 23-for-35 for 186 yards and threw what at the time was a momentum-swinging touchdown to Quintez Cephus at the end of the first half. However, the junior quarterback also threw an interception that led to the second Ducks' touchdown.
Wisconsin erased three deficits with quick scores, none bigger than its response in the third quarter. After the Ducks returned a muffed punt by Anthony Lotti 31 yards to take a 21-17 lead, the Badgers chewed 6:59 off the clock in 11 plays that included Taylor gaining 34 yards on a wheel route on fourth-and-1 and fullback Mason Stokke converting another fourth-and-1 with a 2-yard touchdown plunge.
But in a theme throughout the game, neither team could hold on to momentum long enough. With a six-point lead and a chance to potentially ice the game, wide receiver Danny Davis fumbled on a hit by Breeze that Oregon recovered. It was the fourth turnover of the game and led to Herbert taking a run-pass option 30 yards and a gut-punching score.
As had been the case in the last three Rose Bowl defeats, Wisconsin had the ball in its hands late with a chance to tie or win. But an offensive pass interference penalty on Davis wiped out a first down and an incomplete pass on third down forced a punt.
The offense didn’t get the ball back.
The first half was a battle of momentum, with turnovers and Aron Cruickshank swinging the tide between the sidelines.
Receiving the opening kickoff, Oregon went up tempo from the start in part to neutralize Wisconsin’s sub packages. It worked, as the Ducks smoothly marched down the field in a little more than five minutes. Herbert’s four-yard touchdown on a run-pass option was a perfect cap to the drive, considering the Badgers was a step slow in accounting for him and he broke a tackle on his way into the end zone.
Luckily, Cruickshank wiped the board clean with a program-record 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, using his blazing speed to break two tackles as he streaked down Oregon’s sideline on the ensuing kickoff.
UW defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard made good use of the 18 seconds of game he had to adjust his unit. Jack Sanborn – whose late father played for Oregon in the early 1980s – registered his third interception of the season on the field play of the drive. Collin Larsh capitalized with a 44-yard field goal to give the visitors a 10-7 lead.
Oregon's next three drives went nowhere, as the Badgers’ defense registered minus-1 total yards on the next 11 plays.
The Badgers’ offense had their own share of problems. A couple of costly holding penalties wiped out 12-yard Taylor runs, including one penalty that took UW out of the red zone and led to a missed 47-yard field goal attempt. Taylor also coughed up the football to give Oregon prime field position at Wisconsin’s 36, but linebacker Noah Burks and Chris Orr stopped Ducks tailback CJ Verdell for no gain on fourth-and-1 at UW’s 27. UW wasn’t as fortunate on the next turnover.
After Coan’s fifth interception of the season started the Ducks drive at UW’s 33, Herbert needed only three plays and 47 seconds to put Oregon back in front, rushing from five yards out. Once again, Cruickshank saved the Badgers by weaving his way through traffic for 47 yards.
It was here that UW’s offense finally started to click. Sustaining its longest drive of the first half (eight plays), Coan converted his second third down of the drive when he found Quintez Cephus just past the goal line for an 11-yard touchdown with 11 seconds left in the half.
But for all the momentum Wisconsin had going into the locker room, it quickly gave it away. Missing an opportunity for a 59-yard touchdown when Coan under-threw an open Kendric Pryor, Lotti muffed his drop, allowing Oregon to scoop and score from 31 yards to retake the lead early in the third quarter.
