PHOENIX – Wisconsin's goal coming into its matchup against Oklahoma State was to send the coaching staff off on a high note and welcome Luke Fickell to UW with a win.

The Badgers did just that in emphatic fashion on Tuesday evening.

Things will look a whole lot different in Madison when the new year kicks off in five days. For now, the Badgers ended 2022 with a win that featured a dominant defense and a running game that churned out yards consistently. Oh yeah, fifth-quarterback Chase Wolf turned in a hell of a performance, too.

Here are a few takeaways from Wisconsin's 24-7 win over Oklahoma State in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl.

There may not have been a more fitting way for Jim Leonhard's final game as a coordinator to be put away than a dynamic interception from a defensive back.

Well, maybe if it came from a walk-on.

With Chase Wolf getting his pass to a wide open Chimere Dike batted down, the ball was punted back over to Oklahoma State with the Badgers holding a one-score lead with 3:33 to play. Leonhard's defense proved to be up for the task.

Running stride for stride with an Oklahoma State receiver, Cedrick Dort Jr. beautifully tracked the ball and snagged an interception with 2:51 left to play. From there, the offense strung together enough first downs to put the game away.

"They tried to do that in the first half and as soon as I saw No. 2's departure, I already knew what I was getting," Dort Jr. said. "It’s a situation with what it was, I knew they were going to try to score quick. I just tried to put myself in the best opportunity to make a play and when the play came, I did what I had to do."

Through 11 drives, Garrett Rangel and the Oklahoma State offense could only muster 121 yards of offense. Of that total, 84 came on one play. An underhanded pass from Rangel with Jordan Turner draped around his legs found a Cowboys receiver to notch a second score for OSU.

As has been the case more often than not since Leonhard took over as defensive coordinator, the unit was tough all night. The Cowboys had three chunk plays go for 41, 41 and 84 yards. Outside of that, Oklahoma State's offense was limited to 115 yards on 54 plays.

"You get Jimmy an extra week or two on a team, that's usually a good sign," John Torchio said after the win. "Bowl games are kind of a want to. I think Wisconsin has a good culture of taking it seriously... I think the effort and want to was there that we wanted to end on a win and it showed tonight."

In the lead up to the bowl game, much, if not all of the conversation, turned to the future and what could be brewing under head coach Luke Fickell. With that in mind, Myles Burkett seemed to be the only "exciting" quarterback to watch, given he was expected to be the lone scholarship signal caller returning next season.

That changed later that evening when Wolf said he planned to return for a sixth season. The lasting image was pretty good for someone starting his first game after three years as the primary backup.

"I thought Chase did a phenomenal job tonight," Fickell said after the game. "He controlled what he could control. He took shots when he took shots. I don't think I ever saw him bat an eye. Even after the interception, his ability to come back, that's a credit to him."

Wolf started the game completing 3-of-4 passes for 11 yards before leaving a pass in the air for too long that was picked off with Wisconsin in the red zone. From there, the fifth-year senior completed the next 11 of 13 throws in a night in which he threw for 116 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

Certainly far from eye popping numbers, but Wolf moved the offense well and consistently gave his receivers a chance to make plays. Prior to the bowl game, Wolf had appeared in 12 games during his career but purely in a relief role.

"It was definitely rewarding," Wolf said. "I've been working for five years for a moment like this, but it doesn't really matter who starts, who plays. With this team, it's all about the team."

For guys who have been with the program along with Wolf, the moment was just as special.

"Chase is my guy," fifth year guard Michael Furtney said. "We came in here together, we were roommates, so being able to be in there and not only see him have that start but also be a part of it and be out there protecting was something we had talked about for years.

"Overall I thought he did a great job bringing that energy and being a leader, for me it was a little more special."

Tuesday night seemed to have all the makings of a changing of the guard at Wisconsin. Multiple players spoke highly of their now former coaches and what they meant to them. The excitement for what's to come could be felt from each player who spoke after the game.

"Incredibly excited," sophomore back Braelon Allen, who tallied 116 rushing yards in the win, said. "Just getting to have conversations and talk with Coach Fickell has got me very excited. The guys that are coming back, obviously a bunch are playmakers, guys who have experience.

"We're going to be very dangerous."

Dort Jr., one of the few veteran players on the team, won't be back next season. But he believes the taxing season is going to pay off in the long run.

"Being so experienced, I told them this season is the type of season you need when you’re young, the type of season when you’re beat down, when you’re on your back because it’s only going to make you stronger," he said.

"I’ve been a part of teams when you’ve had a down season, a season where you failed expectations and you come out that next year and it’s like, 'woah, where that came from?' So that’s what I’m looking for with them and Coach Fickell, and I feel like that’s what they’re going to get done.

"Being so young and inexperienced and going out with a game like that is going to leave motivation going into next season."

Furtney finds himself back in the fold for one more season. The return comes after entering the transfer portal, a move he truly never wanted to make.

"I truly never wanted to leave. I love Madison. No lies, I love these guys, love this team," he said. "These are truly guys are would go to war with, so when I made that decision to go to the portal it was very tough for me. It wasn't a decision I took lightly but at the end of the day you make the decision that you feel is best for you."

The call to rejoin Fickell and the team came after a meeting with new offensive line coach Jack Bicknell Jr. and offensive coordinator Phil Longo.

"If I had a proverbial chalkboard of all the things I wanted in a coach, it was almost freaky how accurate they were," Furtney said. "There were times where I swear they said things word for word how I would have worded it in my head and I'm one of those people that I believe in signs and I was like, 'you know what, I don't think anywhere I can go in the country would be better than where I'm at already.'

"I truly do believe in what they are proposing, the plan they have for this team. I think it's one of those things that I'm eating what they're cooking. They truly believe in the vision they have for this team. It's something special."

Just as Oklahoma State was on its end of the field with a little under a minute to go in the first half, Fickell appeared to look over in Leonhard's direction to decide whether or not to call a timeout.

As Fickell said he would during the lead up the game, he observed for the most part and was a "figurehead" of sorts. He wanted to let the staff have some closure for the season while also trying to get a start on building relationships with players.

Getting to the stadium, Fickell greeted each player as they came off the bus. He observed as players and coaches went through warm ups, hovered around the huddle during timeouts while the staff on board ran the show.

"I kind of knew it was going to be like that. I didn't exactly know how I'd be able to handle it because it's an emotional game and I'm an emotional guy," Fickell said.

"But I think it worked out exactly the way I had planned it and was able to kind of stay a little bit on the backside and make sure those guys knew that they had to run it. And they did a great job."

Was it awkward for the players at all?

"Surprisingly not at all," Darryl Peterson said. "As normal as it could be. We did a great job of being professional about it and I feel like everybody did their job and got to work."

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