Wisconsin for the 10th time in program history will be heading to Pasadena to play in the “Granddaddy of them All” in the 106th Rose Bowl Game.
Wisconsin has appeared in a total of 15 bowl games and despite going 31 years between there Rose Bowl appearance from 1963 to 1994 this has been the most played bowl game by Wisconsin as the Badgers have posted a 3-6 record. With Wisconsin’s most recent appearance coming in 2013 when they lost to No. 6 Stanford 20-to-14.
Despite No. 8 Wisconsin losing there last three Rose Bowl games, the Badgers will get a rematch against their 2012 opponent in No. 6 Oregon on Jan. 1, 2020. Wisconsin and Oregon at the time put on one of the most thrilling games in Rose Bowl history as the Ducks won 45-38.
Considering, the two teams combined for 1,129 yards of total offense, which at the time ranked second for most yards gained in Rose Bowl history. Not to mention the 83 combined points were the most at the time but since than has been eclipsed by the 102 points scored between Oklahoma and Georgia in 2018 and the 101 points scored between USC and Penn State in 2017.
From an individual standpoint, former Badger wide receiver Jared Abbrederis had the most all-purpose yards in Rose Bowl history against Oregon with 346 (201 kickoff return yards, 119 receiving yards, 26 punt return yards) before his record was broken by Stanford’s Christian McCaffrey (368 total all-purpose yards) in 2016 against Iowa.
The same fireworks that were displayed in the Rose Bowl game in 2012 might not be on display to the same effect eight years later.
Considering, between Oregon and Wisconsin, the two teams have combined to average 892.5 yards of total offense. Oregon has averaged 35.9 points per game, which ranks 15th nationally while Wisconsin is averaging 34.6 points per game, which ranks 21st nationally.
Oregon has posted a 3-4 record in the Rose Bowl game as the Ducks have won their last two appearances winning in 2012 over Wisconsin and Oregon beat Florida State 59-20 in the 2015 Rose Bowl Game, which also served as a College Football Playoff semifinal game.
With Ohio State beating Washington in last year’s Rose Bowl Game 28-23 it snapped the Big Ten’s two game losing streak to Pac-12 opponents. The last time the Big Ten has won at least two consecutive Rose Bowl games was in 1999 and 2000, which also marked the last two victories by Wisconsin as the Badgers beat UCLA in 1999 and Stanford in 2000.
The win by Wisconsin in 2000 marked their third straight win in the Rose Bowl as the Badgers also beat UCLA in 1994 but the Badgers lost their three previous appearances in Pasadena. Wisconsin went three times in an 11-year span as they lost in 1953 to USC 7-0, lost in 1960 to Washington 44-8, and lost in a thriller in the 1963 Rose Bowl to USC 42-37.
The Badgers and Ducks will kickoff at 4 p.m. on New Year’s Day as the game can be seen on ESPN.