The Wisconsin Badgers will take on Western Michigan in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl on Jan. 2. But before the festivities kick off BadgerBlitz.com took a look back at Wisconsin's bowl history and took a stab at ranking its top 10 bowl wins.
Note: This list goes back to Barry Alvarez's first season at Wisconsin and does not include bowl games before 1994.
Our list is included below, and you can make a list of your own in the Badgers' Den.
No. 10 -- 2002 Alamo Bowl: Wisconsin 31, Colorado 28 (OT)
Wisconsin came in to the game at just 7-6 and were matched up against No. 13 Colorado, back when the Buffalos were a national power. The Badgers had lost six of their last eight games, but kept pace with the Buffalos and tied up the game with a one-yard touchdown run by Brooks Bollinger with 51 seconds left in regulation, and won in overtime on a 37-yard field goal after Colorado missed a field goal attempt on the first possession in the overtime period.
No. 9 -- 2000 Sun Bowl: Wisconsin 21, UCLA 20
It wasn't the Rose Bowl, but Wisconsin got another win over UCLA with a 21-20 win over the Bruins in the Sun Bowl following an 8-4 mark in the regular season. Running back Michael Bennett's 6-yard touchdown run gave the Badgers the go-ahead score in the fourth quarter, and their sixth victory in their last seven bowl appearances.
No. 8 -- 2014 Outback Bowl: Wisconsin 34, Auburn 31 (OT)
Wisconsin was reeling after losing head coach Gary Andersen to Oregon State just two seasons after Bret Bielema left for Arkansas. But Barry Alvarez stepped in one more time to provide some stability as UW prepared for a tough game against Auburn. Melvin Gordon rushed for 251 yards and three touchdowns in his final game for the Badgers, who won in overtime after Auburn's game-tying field goal attempt bounced off of the uprights.
No. 7 -- 2015 Holiday Bowl: Wisconsin 23, USC 21
Wisconsin missed out on winning the Big Ten West and competing for another conference title in Paul Chryst's first year as head coach, but they capped off their 2015 season with an impressive win over USC in the Holiday Bowl. Inside linebacker Jack Cichy had three sacks in one half of action, and quarterback Joel Stave threw for 217 yards and one touchdown to finish his career at UW as the team's all-time wins leader.
No. 6 -- 2009 Champs Sports Bowl: Wisconsin 20, Miami (FL) 14
2009 was a turning point season for the Badgers, who fell to 9-4 in 2007 and 7-6 in 2008 after initially going 12-1 in Bret Bielema's first season as Wisconsin head coach. But UW rebounded to win 10 games, including an impressive win over a good Miami team in the Champs Sports Bowl - one year after a humiliating loss to Florida State in the same bowl game. The game was played in Orlando, but the temperature at game time was only 40 degrees, and you could tell that the Badgers were much more in their element than the Hurricanes were. The game served as a spring board of sorts for the Badgers, who won three straight Big Ten titles after returning a lot of players from the 2009 team.
No. 5 -- 2007 Capital One Bowl: Wisconsin 17, Arkansas 14
It's not easy to take over for a coaching legend, but Bret Bielema helped guide the Badgers to a win over a good Arkansas team, finishing his first season as Wisconsin's head coach with a 12-1 record. Quarterback John Stocco was named the game's MVP after throwing for 206 yards and two touchdowns
No. 4 -- 2000 Rose Bowl: Wisconsin 17, Stanford 9
Back in Pasadena as sole Big Ten champions for the first time since the 1962 season, the Badgers overcame a 9-3 halftime deficit to Stanford and rallied behind 154 yards and a touchdown from Ron Dayne in the second half to give Wisconsin and Alvarez their third Rose Bowl win.
No. 3 -- 2006 Capital One Bowl: Wisconsin 24, Auburn 10
The No. 18 Badgers entered the 2006 Capital One Bowl as 10.5-point underdogs to No. 9 Auburn, but found a way to send Alvarez out with a win in his (at the time) final game as Wisconsin's head coach. Running back Brian Calhoun was named the game's MVP after rushing 30 times for 213 yards and one touchdown. Quarterback John Stocco also threw for 301 yards and two touchdowns in the game, and Wisconsin's defense held Auburn's high-flying offense without a touchdown until the fourth quarter.
No. 2 -- 1999 Rose Bowl: Wisconsin 38, UCLA 31
There were some who believed the Badgers didn't belong in this game - including then-ESPN analyst Craig James, who declared in the run-up to the game that the Badgers were "the worst team to ever play in the Rose Bowl." But UW running back Ron Dayne and the Badgers got the last laugh - Dayne scored four rushing touchdowns to help the Badgers race past the Bruins, on his way to his first Rose Bowl MVP award.
No. 1 -- 1994 Rose Bowl: Wisconsin 21, UCLA 16
It's safe to say this game put the Badgers on the map and made them relevant again, in Alvarez's fourth year as the team's head coach. The Badgers received the Rose Bowl bid after securing a Big Ten co-championship with a win over Michigan State in Tokyo. The Badgers tied with Ohio State for first place in the Big Ten, but Wisconsin's longer Rose Bowl drought gave them the tiebreaker for the bid, where they squared off against UCLA. Running back Brent Moss was the Rose Bowl MVP after rushing for 158 yards and two touchdowns against the Bruins, but it was quarterback Darrell Bevell's 21-yard run that gave the Badgers a crucial 4th quarter touchdown to seal up Wisconsin's first Rose Bowl win.
--
John Veldhuis covers Wisconsin football, basketball and recruiting for BadgerBlitz.com on the Rivals.com network. Follow him on Twitter at @JohnVeldhuis.
