Five Things to Know: Holiday Bowl
December 28, 2015 | Football, Andy Baggot
10, 100 and 1,000 just a couple of key numbers for the Badgers
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BY ANDY BAGGOT
UWBadgers.com Insider
THE 10THÂ DEGREE
A victory over Southern California in the Holiday Bowl would pay many dividends for the Badgers. It would be their first win over USC (0-6) and leave Washington as the lone Pac-12 Conference team still unbeaten vs. Wisconsin (4-0). It would provide an emotional springboard into a new, ultra-challenging season that includes 10 current bowl qualifiers. It would be a fitting conclusion to the careers of 18 seniors, almost all of whom played for three head coaches in Madison. Here's something else to consider and it's pretty remarkable: A win over the Trojans would make Paul Chryst the fourth Wisconsin coach since 2005 to have 10 victories or more in a given season. Barry Alvarez was 10-3 in '05; Bret Bielema was 12-1 in '06, 10-3 in '09, 11-2 in '10 and 11-3 in '11; and Gary Andersen was 11-3 in 2014.
KEEPING THE BAND TOGETHER
One of the biggest questions of the pending off-season is if there'll be any turnover on Chryst's coaching staff. More to the point, will defensive coordinator Dave Aranda be back for a fourth year? He's a highly respected, highly sought-after tactician who's been solicited by multiple Power 5 schools in 2014 and '15. Alvarez, the Wisconsin's Director of Athletics, has given Chryst a pool of money to augment the salaries of the football assistants for 2016 and Aranda figures to be a priority. It would be huge for Chryst if he were able to have 100-percent retention of his staff. That hasn't happened with the Badgers since 2009 when Bielema hung onto his entire staff, one that included Chryst as offensive coordinator, current offensive line coach Joe Rudolph as tight ends coach and current running backs coach John Settle in the same role.
FORCE OF HABIT
Wisconsin has had at least one 100-yard rusher in 16 of its 26 bowl games, including the last eight. Who will push that streak to nine against USC? The Badgers have three backs who topped 100 yards in a game this season – junior Dare Ogunbowale with three and junior Corey Clement and redshirt freshman Taiwan Deal with one each – and all are healthy and ready to go. The Trojans have allowed five individuals to rush for 100 yards or more this season with one, Christian McCaffrey of Stanford, doing it twice. USC is 1-5 in games this season in which it allows a 100-yard rusher.
I'LL TAKE CLUTCH PLAYS FOR 1,000, ALEX
Wisconsin senior wide receiver Alex Erickson is in position to reach a couple significant milestones vs. the Trojans. He needs 76 yards for 1,000 for the season and join three others – Lee Evans (2001, '03), Brandon Williams ('05) and Jared Abbrederis ('13) – in that exclusive club. Erickson also needs seven catches to pass Abbrederis, who set the single-season mark with 78 in 2013. There's tremendous value in those numbers, but a closer look shows just how much the Badgers have relied on Erickson this season. Of his 72 receptions, 49 have produced a first down (68 percent). Eighteen of those have come on third or fourth down.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
Remarkably, the Badgers have not allowed an opponent to score on the opening drive of a game this season. In fact, seven foes went three-and-out on their first possession. That perfect mark figures to get a challenge from USC, which comes in having scored on its first drive of the game six times with five ending with touchdowns.
