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SportsPulse: While we all expected Alabama to blow out Notre Dame it shouldn’t lessen the embarrassment for the Fighting Irish, says Mackenzie Salmon.
SportsPulse: While we all expected Alabama to blow out Notre Dame it shouldn’t lessen the embarrassment for the Fighting Irish, says Mackenzie Salmon.
We look back on the Rose Bowl Game between Wisconsin and Oregon and see how it impacted both the 2019 and 2020 seasons.
After a short hiatus (mostly because I had an absurdly busy week), we’re back to finish looking back on how the Big Ten did in bowl games.
1. How did the bowl performance end the 2019 season? Was it a fitting end or a poor performance, etc.
2. What impact, if any, will it have on the 2020 season.
Coming in, fans expected a great game, which is exactly what they got. Oregon had an elite quarterback in Justin Herbert, while Wisconsin came in with its usual power setup. Talented defense, fast receivers, and most importantly an elite running back behind an elite offensive line has defined Wisconsin football this decade, and the 2019 team was no different. The Badgers and the Ducks were two highly talented teams, and winning the Rose Bowl would have been a boost for each program.
Wisconsin dominated this game. The Badgers had more first downs, rushing yards, passing yards (and total yards, obviously), dominated the time of possession, return yards, sacks, and tackles for loss. Wisconsin returned a kickoff for a touchdown. The Badgers even went a whopping 4-5 on fourth downs. This was as solid a Wisconsin team as ever, playing as solid a game as it ever has. If you looked at just the box score, you would expect an easy Wisconsin victory… aside from one thing.
The loss gets more blame than just the fumbles, but they were a big deal. Wisconsin lost three fumbles over the course of the game, two in the second half. Both also turned into instant touchdowns for Oregon. One–on the opening drive of the second half–was returned for a touchdown. Another second-half fumble was immediately followed by a Ducks touchdown, on the very next play. It’s very hard to overcome something like that, especially when you play the game control type of football that Wisconsin does. We also won’t go too into the badd offensive pass interference call at the end, because Wisconsin should have had the game in hand long before that.
SportsPulse: Paul Myerberg puts his opinion hat on and gives his three favorite college football stadiums. Watch to see if your team made the list!
SportsPulse: Paul Myerberg puts his opinion hat on and gives his three favorite college football stadiums. Watch to see if your team made the list!
