Four Wisconsin Rose Bowl appearances among ESPN’s ‘classic matchups between new conference rivals’

What’s your memories of the four Rose Bowls mentioned?

The Wisconsin Badgers had four of its legendary games mentioned in ESPN’s Bill Connelly’s ranking of the ‘best all-time games between 2024’s new conference mates.’

The list looks back at some of college football’s most legendary games that, in the past, were non-conference battles. Those listed contests would now be conference bouts with Texas and Oklahoma in the SEC and Oregon, Washington, USC and UCLA in the Big Ten.

Related: Where every member of Wisconsin’s record-breaking recruiting class of 2021 is now

Among the top 50 games: Wisconsin’s 38-31 win over UCLA in the 1999 Rose Bowl at No. 28 overall, its 21-16 win over UCLA in the 1994 Rose Bowl at No. 27, its 45-38 loss to Oregon in the 2012 Rose Bowl at No. 8 and, finally, its 42-37 loss to USC in the 1963 Rose Bowl at No. 5 overall.

The list is headlined by the all-time classic 2018 Rose Bowl contest between Oklahoma and Georgia — a game won by the Bulldogs 54-48 in double overtime on a 27-yard touchdown run by Sony Michel.

One significant Wisconsin game left off the ranking is its 28-27 loss to Oregon in the 2020 Rose Bowl. The game would have been a classic if Danny Davis wasn’t called for a phantom offensive pass interference on Wisconsin’s final drive. The Badgers were the better team that afternoon, but suffered significant self-inflicted wounds and could not contain Oregon QB Justin Herbert’s legs.

Otherwise, it’s good to see some of Wisconsin’s best all-time games get recognized along with the sports’ best.

Now the real question: how long until the Badgers are back in the Rose Bowl?

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