Dec 30, 2015; San Diego, CA, USA; Wisconsin Badgers wide receiver Robert Wheelwright (15) has his jersey grabbed by USC Trojans cornerback Isaiah Langley (14) as he defends during the third quarter in the 2015 Holiday Bowl at Qualcomm Stadium.
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Wisconsin’s Corey Clement rubs during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Northwestern Saturday, …
SAN DIEGO (AP) – After more than six decades, the Wisconsin Badgers have finally beaten the Southern California Trojans.
USC and Wisconsin have not met since 1966, but USC has won all six meetings between the two programs.
With a win Wednesday night, Joel Stave will go down as the winningest quarterback in Badgers history. This week, some Trojans will play their last game in the scarlet and gold, and just as they do every year, USC will send multiple players to the next level.
A win against a traditional college football powerhouse like USC certainly ends the season on a high note.
WISCONSIN LINEBACKER JACK CICHY on how he was able to get three sacks on the same series – what was USC giving them: “On film we saw that their A gaps were open a lot on pass pro, so Aranda schemed up a lot of blitzes that attacked that deficiency, I guess, and honestly, I mean, once would be great, but three times is kinda’ just luck of the draw”.
He added, “I’m proud of my seniors for all they accomplished this year and I feel bad for them to go out like this”.
Wisconsin’s Sojourn Shelton intercepted Trojan quarterback Cody Kessler with 1:44 left to secure the win.
Jack Cichy had a full month to ready himself for a odd role in Wednesday night’s Holiday Bowl. “On that interception when I was coming forward he hit my arm”, Kessler said.
I think it is still a long shot for Stave to go in the late rounds, but what helps him is that he plays like an NFL QB. By season’s end they narrowly finished a ranked team at all and how play on Wednesday when they would have expected to play on Thursday or Friday instead.
Outside of conference champions, bowls rarely have the same team play in consecutive years, fearing fans will not make a repeat visit to the same city. “So you can look at like, I’m not playing (the first half), and this sucks, or you can kind of look at it as an opportunity to grow”.
For the third time this season, the Badgers could smell the end zone, only to have it swiped away from them when they least expect it. And a similar fate seemed to be upon the cardinal and white. And I think mainly when I came out, I didn’t want to – I wanted to let the game come to me.
Kessler got the Trojans to midfield with seven seconds on the clock and the down being fourth.
The Trojans blew most of an 18-point, third-quarter lead in last year’s Holiday Bowl before beating Nebraska 45-42 behind Kessler, who threw for 321 yards and three touchdowns.
Kessler was flushed from the pocket but scrambled around.
Gaglianone’s 33-yard field goal in the first half’s closing minute gave Wisconsin a 13-7 advantage.
Matched up against the nation’s top-ranked scoring defense (13.1 points per game), the Trojans looked positively lethargic for the majority of the first half. Corey Clement scored on a 6-yard run midway through the second quarter for a 10-0 lead.
He left the game in the third quarter with a left ankle injury.
Davis’ first TD was a 1-yard dive over the top on fourth down in the second quarter. Kessler led the Trojans on a 12 play, 84 yard drive which was capped off by a seven yard pass from Kessler to Darreus Rogers.
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The Trojans immediately answered, Kessler connecting with receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster along the right sideline for a 39-yard gain.
