Top 10: Best of the Badgers in bowl games
January 08, 2016 | Football, Andy Baggot
From Ron Dayne to Jack Cichy, a look at UW’s most remarkable postseason performances
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BY ANDY BAGGOT
UWBadgers.com Insider
MADISON, Wis. — The outlandish performance by inside linebacker Jack Cichy vs. Southern California in the Holiday Bowl triggered a debate about the Wisconsin football team and its postseason history.
What are the top 10 individual performances in those bowl games?
The Badgers have played in 27 bowls since 1953 and are 13-14 (.481) overall after starting out 0-4.
The latest, a 23-21 victory over USC in San Diego, California, featured an unusual, dominant defensive show by Cichy. He's definitely in the top 10, but where? Here's one man's list:
10. Brian Calhoun - 2006 Capital One Bowl
The 2006 Capital One Bowl was supposed to be the swan song for Barry Alvarez as the Hall of Fame Wisconsin coach. It wasn't — he returned as interim coach in the 2013 Rose Bowl and the 2015 Outback Bowl — but that doesn't diminish what tailback Brian Calhoun did in his final game with the Badgers. He carried 30 times for 213 yards and a TD to ignite a 24-10 victory over Auburn. In the process, Calhoun became the second player in FBS history to amass 1,500 yards rushing and 500 yards receiving in the same season.
9. Terrell Fletcher - 1995 Hall of Fame Bowl
Terrell Fletcher turned in a clutch performance in the 1995 Hall of Fame Bowl in Tampa, Florida. Fletcher helped salvage a wayward season by rushing for 241 yards on a career-high 39 carries and two TDs as the Badgers eased past Duke 34-20. A host of off-the-field controversies ushered in the game, but Fletcher, a tailback that went on to a long career in the NFL, provided a diversion and was named MVP. He gained 190 yards and converted both touchdowns in the second half as Wisconsin pulled away from a 13-all tie.
8. Ron Dayne - 2000 Rose Bowl
Ron Dayne closed out his distinguished Wisconsin career in style during a 17-9 victory over Stanford in the 2000 Rose Bowl. Fresh off winning the Heisman Trophy, he carried 34 times for 200 yards — his school-record 14th 200-yard effort — and scored the go-ahead TD in the third period. As was his wont, Dayne wore down the opposition, rushing 22 times for 154 yards in the second half on the way to becoming the third player in Rose Bowl history to repeat as MVP. In the process, the Badgers became the first Big Ten team in the modern era (since 1947) to win consecutive Rose Bowls.
7. Jamar Fletcher - 1999 Rose Bowl
Dayne was the headline performer for the Badgers in the 1999 Rose Bowl victory over UCLA, but cornerback Jamar Fletcher also showed up on the marquee. A two-time All-America pick who would win the Jim Thorpe Award as the best defensive back in the nation in 2000, Fletcher was credited with four pass breakups against the Bruins and provided the decisive points in the fourth quarter. He intercepted a Cade McNown pass and returned it 46 yards for a TD. He led the nation with seven picks that season and finished with a school-record 21 in three years.
6. Jack Cichy - 2015 Holiday Bowl
Cichy spent the first half of the 2015 Holiday Bowl vs. USC in maddening isolation before being named its Most Valuable Defensive Player. He'd been cited for targeting in the regular-season finale against Minnesota, which meant he had to sit out the first half of the bowl game. That translated to 30 long minutes in the locker room before he could play. Cichy made up for lost time in spectacular fashion. He sacked USC quarterback Cody Kessler on three consecutive third-quarter plays — a rare feat — and later tipped a Kessler pass that was intercepted by cornerback Sojourn Shelton and all but sealed Wisconsin's first victory over the Trojans in seven meetings.
5. Brent Moss - 1994 Rose Bowl
The MVP in the 1994 Rose Bowl was tailback Brent Moss and deservedly so. He churned out 158 rushing yards on 36 carries and scored two touchdowns as the Badgers toppled UCLA 21-16. But the moment most everyone remembers is the 21-yard TD run by quarterback Darrell Bevell that provided the winning margin. He completed only 50 percent of his passes (10-for-20) and for fewer than 100 yards (96), but Bevell's unlikely scramble finished off a milestone triumph.
4. Melvin Gordon - 2015 Outback Bowl
Tailback Melvin Gordon finished off his record-setting career in brilliant fashion, rushing 34 times for 251 yards and three touchdowns as the Badgers outlasted Auburn 34-31 in overtime in the 2015 Outback Bowl in Tampa, Florida. Closing out a junior season in which he ran for 2,587 yards — the second-most in FBS history — and finished as the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy, Gordon scored on runs of 25, 53 and 6 yards and had two other scoots of 29 and 20 yards vs. a top-50 defense.
3. Pat Richter - 1963 Rose Bowl
Wide receiver Pat Richter was a two-time All-American when he became entrenched in Rose Bowl lore in 1963. He caught a then-school-record 11 passes for 163 yards and a touchdown, but the second-ranked Badgers fell to USC 42-37. Richter's 19-yard TD reception capped a 23-point outburst in the fourth quarter as Wisconsin nearly came all the way back from a 42-14 deficit vs. the top-rated Trojans.
2. Ron Dayne - 1999 Rose Bowl
A year before he won the Heisman Trophy and became the all-time career rushing leader in Football Bowl Subdivision history — a record that still stands — Dayne claimed the first of his two Rose Bowl MVP awards in 1999. He rushed 27 times for 246 yards and four touchdowns — bolts of 54, 7, 10 and 22 yards — as the Badgers topped UCLA 38-31 and finished the season with their highest Associated Press Top 25 ranking in history (fourth).
1. Ron Vander Kelen - 1963 Rose Bowl
Quarterback Ron Vander Kelen is a Rose Bowl legend for his performance against Southern California in 1963, one that earned him co-Most Valuable Player honors despite a 42-37 loss. He completed 33 of 48 passes for 401 yards and two touchdowns and also ran for a TD vs. the top-ranked Trojans in Pasadena, California. The second-ranked Badgers trailed 42-14 early in the fourth quarter, but Vander Kelen engineered a 23-point comeback, completing 22 of 29 throws in the second half, and an instant classic was born.
Honorable Mention: Wisconsin had just taken a 34-31 overtime lead vs. Auburn in the 2015 Outback Bowl when outside linebacker Joe Schobert put on a dazzling show. He stopped a running play for a 2-yard loss on first down, limited a pass receiver to no gain on second down and tackled a receiver for a 1-yard loss on third down. The Tigers missed the ensuing field goal try.
Honorable Mention: The 1982 Independence Bowl was not only the first bowl televised live by ESPN, it marked the first postseason triumph in Wisconsin football history. The 14-3 victory over Kansas State in Shreveport, Louisiana, ended a four-game bowl losing streak for the Badgers. Quarterback Randy Wright (two TD passes) and nose guard tackle Tim Krumrie (13 tackles) were the MVPs, but the defining play was turned in by wide receiver Tim Stracka, who grew up in Madison. His only reception was an 87-yard scoring strike that gave Wisconsin the breathing room in needed in the fourth quarter as the Wildcats twice reached the red zone, but couldn't score.
