BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — Uninformed, but not uninspired, they were caught off guard by the depth of their success.
"I wasn't aware of that," said quarterback Bart Houston with a shrug.
"I wasn't aware of that at all," sighed wide receiver Rob Wheelwright with a blank look.
Even after the won-loss numbers were laid out for them, there was still some disbelief.
"Really? I didn't know about that, but it's awesome," conceded tailback Corey Clement.
"I wasn't aware … Now I am … That's cool," admitted cornerback Sojourn Shelton.
See how this is trending? The information was welcomed and embraced, but out of the blue.
Cueing linebacker Vince Biegel to say, "I honestly had no idea we were in that position."
Few did among Wisconsin's seniors, who may have been unaware, but not unimpressed.
Tight end Eric Steffes called it an accumulation "of the work we've put in for a long time."
Safety Leo Musso described it as continuation "of the tradition that was built here."
Biegel punctuated it all with a simple but declarative, "That's just crazy."
By defeating Western Michigan in the Cotton Bowl, Wisconsin's 2016 senior class, a baker's dozen, will have more victories than any other class over a four-year period in school history.
"That's the way we want to end it," Steffes said "To do it in the Cotton Bowl would be something special. It's a big-time bowl and a big-time opportunity for one last college win."
As a group, they have a record of 40-13 (.775). That matches the win totals of the 2012 class (40-14, .741) and the 2007 class (40-11, .784) at Wisconsin.
Montee Ball, Mike Taylor and Rick Wagner were some of the senior headliners in '12. Tyler Donovan, Nick Hayden, Taylor Mehlhaff and Jamil Walker were part of the record-setters in '07.
Mehlhaff is now a quality control assistant. Walker is a strength and conditioning assistant.
"The guys before us set the platform," said Musso, who teethed on the Badgers as a youngster growing up in Waunakee. "We simply followed what they were doing."
That's how Wheelwright viewed the hand-me-down process from the mentoring standpoint of "looking up to the seniors and being able to learn from them coming in here as freshmen."
He was more than happy to be a name dropper, too.
James White. Jared Abbrederis. Melvin Gordon. Alex Erickson.
"They had been a big part of the program and set the tone," he said. "We're still motivated to be like those guys who have already gone on. They're still pushing us to win and play on the big stage."
Biegel wasn't sure how the journey would end, though. That was his sight line as a true freshman in 2012 under Bret Bielema, who preceded Gary Andersen, who preceded Paul Chryst.
"When you have three head coaches and all those changes," Biegel said, "if you were to tell me back then that potentially we would have the shot to be in the winningest class in Wisconsin history, I would have found that hard to believe with all the ups and downs we've gone through.
"But it speaks to the character and the culture here."
Clement was on board with Biegel's assessment of the Badgers program and offered one of his own on his classmates: "I would say resilient is one of the top things that we've been as a class — we've been able to overcome things. We've made the best use of our opportunities."
That falls in line with Houston's thinking and what he has been saying all along: "I feel like our senior class deals with adversity very well — we deal with it and we come back and strike back hard. I'm proud that I'm a part of this class and it would be special to win one more game with this team."
• • • •
Each of Wisconsin's bowl appearances is listed on the east wall of the McClain Center, UW's indoor practice facility. The Badgers have gone to 15 straight, the longest active streak in the Big Ten and the sixth-longest in the nation behind Florida State (35), Virginia Tech (24), Georgia (20), Oklahoma (18) and LSU (17).
"It has been going on long before I got here," said Biegel, sizing up the list. "It has been a standard, a precedent. And I felt the responsibility to continue that tradition by passing it down to the young guys as we groom the freshmen coming in that we have something special here at Wisconsin.
"We go about our business in a special way and it shows up on that wall."
The bowl streak is the equivalent of the handwriting on the wall. And the players can't ignore it.
"No, we don't take it for granted," Wheelwright said. "Some teams don't go every year."
"A lot goes into that — it's not given to you," Musso said. "You have to earn it."
"But we expect to get to a bowl," Steffes said, "and guys work that way throughout the year."
The notion that a bowl game would be somehow meaningless does not compute, either.
"Heck no," Musso protested. "This is kind of like the cherry on top. This is the last game with my brothers that I get to play, the last game with this team. This is the last week we all get to be together as a team, which is sad. It's kind of hard to put into words."
Musso is certainly not the only senior that feels that way, not after four and five years.
"That's just because you truly understand the hard work that you've put in and your team has put into a season," Shelton said. "Winning in college football is not easy at all. Whether you win 10 games or six games to get into a bowl, that's never taken for granted, especially by the players."
Nobody was comfortable with the word — meaningless — in context with playing another game.
"This is my last college football game," Steffes said. "This means a lot to me."
Houston even found himself watching the Boca Raton Bowl between Western Kentucky and Memphis.
"There's no such thing as a meaningless game," he said. "Every game matters."
Particularly for the seniors, Houston stressed, because it's their last time together.
"You get another opportunity to compete," Wheelwright agreed, "regardless of the bowl."
A year ago, Wheelwright broke his leg in late October at Illinois. But he was driven throughout his rehab to get back for Wisconsin's bowl game, which he did against Southern Cal. He still remembers the exhilaration of racing on to the field in San Diego to celebrate the Holiday Bowl victory.
"You want to share that moment," he said, "with the guys that you've worked so hard with."
Clement was reminded of something that UW coach Paul Chryst addressed in August.
"Coach says nothing is going to be handed to you — the wins or the bowl," he recalled.
That's why he feels so strongly about playing Western Michigan in the Cotton Bowl.
"Because," Clement said, "you can lay it all out there one more time for your team."
It's part of a commitment that the players have made to each other.
"This brotherhood," said Clement, "will stay with us forever."
But it comes with a caveat.
"Let's enjoy the last few weeks we have each other," he said, "and go out victorious."
The Badgers are seeking a third-straight bowl victory.
"I want to end this right," Steffes said. "Everyone else on this team does, too."
Steffes hasn't forgotten the losses to Stanford in the 2013 Rose Bowl and South Carolina in the 2014 Capital One Bowl. But they were followed by the wins in the 2015 Outback Bowl and last season's Holiday Bowl.
"Even the guys before me," Steffes said, "always talked about how awful it was having a good season and ending on a loss. We kind of set the precedent the last two years. We enjoy winning."
• • • •
Last week, Biegel was reminiscing with a couple of his senior teammates: tailback Dare Ogunbowale and center Dan Voltz, who was unable to compete his final year because of injuries. All three made the trip to the Rose Bowl as freshmen redshirts. As did Steffes, Houston and Musso.
During their flashback, Biegel, Ogunbowale and Voltz were respectful "of the prestige and the tradition that comes with the Rose Bowl." But Biegel also pointed out, "We were talking about Lawry's."
That would be Lawry's restaurant in Beverly Hills. Although short of the 2012 mark of 723 pounds against Oregon, the Badgers ate 619 pounds of prime rib prior to the 2013 Rose Bowl. It was still good enough to beat out Stanford in an annual eating competition, the Beef Bowl, dating back to 1957.
"I think Dallas Lewallen ate 13 pounds of meat," said Biegel, chuckling. "Those are the fun memories that you have from a bowl. Now, obviously, we didn't come out with a win (the Cardinal won 20-14). But it's the relationships you build with your teammates that you take out of a bowl." Biegel still has most of his bowl mementoes, the meaningful ones, at least.
"The watches and the rings," he said, "will stay with me forever."
Houston still wears his Rose Bowl watch.
"I gave the watches to my high school coach," Musso said, "and my Rose Bowl ring to my grandfather. I have stuff hanging up in my room — jackets with bowl logos. It means a lot to me. But I got to live it and experience it, so I kind of like to give them the memorabilia."
Shelton has given away his watches to family members.
"I'm not a watch guy," he said. "But I'll keep this one (from the Cotton Bowl)."
All the seniors are on the clock. One win shy of a school record.
"It's going to mean a lot," Musso said, "to share my final moments as a Badger with these guys."
