15. Wisconsin 34, Auburn 31 (OT) (2015)

Most people were picking against the Badgers in the Outback Bowl, especially since the last time people saw Wisconsin play, Bucky lost 59-0 to Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship game. Despite having a worse record, the Tigers were favored by seven. Wisconsin would also be playing under Athletics Director Barry Alvarez, who was the coach for the bowl game after Gary Andersen left for Oregon State soon after the loss to Ohio State. Alvarez’s last game as the permanent coach for Wisconsin was also against Auburn in the 2006 Capital One Bowl, and his Badgers upset the heavily favored Tigers 24-10. Auburn fired its defensive coordinator after the regular season, so the Tigers would have to face Melvin Gordon without a defensive coordinator. Gordon would end up slicing up the Auburn defense to the tune of an Outback Bowl-record 251 yards and three touchdowns and Wisconsin would beat Auburn 34-31 in the second overtime bowl game in school history.

The game could not have started out any better for the Badgers. Wisconsin forced a three-and-out by the Auburn offense and Bucky drove down the field for the touchdown to take a 7-0 lead. The Badgers started the drive on their own 11, but Joel Stave completed a pass to tight end Sam Arneson for 26 yards on the first play of the drive. Later in the drive, Corey Clement ran a jet sweep and gained 43 yards down the left sideline down to the Tigers 7. That set up a Stave touchdown pass to Clement and Wisconsin struck first.

Late in the first quarter, Auburn answered back. After a terrible punt by Drew Meyer, Auburn started with the ball near midfield. Cameron Artis-Payne, who made headlines for saying he wishes he could face defenses in the Big Ten and that he would be able to rush for 2,000 yards in that conference, rushed for 22 yards on the scoring drive, as well as getting in the end zone from two yards out to tie the game.

Stave would throw two terrible interceptions in Auburn territory on back-to-back possessions. In the middle of those two picks, the Tigers took the lead. On the second play after Stave’s first interception, Auburn quarterback Nick Marshall found an open Ricardo Louis for a 66-yard score to put the Tigers on top for the first time in the game. The score would stay that way the remainder of the half.

It did not take Bucky long to tie the game up in the second half. On Wisconsin’s first possession, it blew down the field. Gordon was the biggest star, rushing for 56 yards of the 75 yards on the drive. The Heisman finalist would also score the touchdown, on a 25-yard run, to tie the game at 14.

After Auburn regained the lead with a field goal, Stave threw another horrible pass for an interception deep in Auburn territory. The Tigers would drive down the field after the Stave pick, but Daniel Carlson would miss a field goal, and the score remained 17-14.

Bucky would not let Stave turn the ball over on the following drive, as the Badgers scored on a 73-yard drive in six plays. On a 3rd-and-5 from the Wisconsin 43, Stave threw his only pass of the drive. It was a short pass to Clement, who was grabbed behind the line of scrimmage, but managed to escape and gain four yards. On a 4th-and-1 from his own 47, Alvarez decided to go for it. He handed the ball to his star, and Gordon did the rest. He blasted up the middle before veering off to his left and stiff arming his way into the end zone from 53 yards out the give Wisconsin its first lead since the first quarter.

That would set the stage for a wild fourth quarter, which would have no punts. Auburn drove right back down the field and would take the lead right back. Auburn would run for 56 yards on the drive, but the touchdown came on a third down pass from Marshall to C.J. Uzomah from 20 yards out and the Tigers took the lead right back 24-21.

But back-and-forth we go, and the Badgers would drive 70 yards in seven plays to re-capture the lead. Every single one of those plays was a run, with Gordon gaining 22 yards, including the 6-yard touchdown. Clement would rush for 23 and wide receiver Kenzel Doe would also add a 25-yard run. With the Gordon touchdown, Bucky took a 28-24 lead with just under eight minutes to play.

Artis-Payne tried to match Gordon on the following drive. He would rush for 38 yards of Auburn’s 71 yards on the drive. On a 4th-and-11 from the Wisconsin 15 with three minutes remaining, the Tigers went for it and Marshall’s pass was incomplete intended for Sammie Coates. However, Wisconsin’s Sojourn Shelton was whistled for pass interference in the end zone, placing the ball at the 2. Artis-Payne would score on the next play and the Tigers took the lead right back.

With less than three minutes to play, the Badgers needed to move fast. Unfortunately, there was not much faith in Stave since he had already thrown three really bad interceptions earlier in the game. On a 2nd-and-8 from the Badgers 27, Stave handed the ball to Gordon, who went around the left end for 20 yards and a first down. Auburn was also whistled for an unsportsmanlike conduct, which tacked on 15 additional yards, so the Badgers were at the 38 of Auburn. Wisconsin traveled five yards in three plays and decided to go for it instead of attempting the long field goal. Stave found Arneson for the first down. The Badgers would get another first down on a pass to Doe down to the 11. But Wisconsin would get no closer and Rafael Gaglianone would knock through the short field goal to tie the game up at 31 at the end of regulation.

Wisconsin would get one first down on its overtime drive before Gaglianone drilled the short field goal to give Bucky a 34-31 lead. On its drive, Auburn was shut down by Badgers linebacker Joe Schobert. He was in the middle of all three Tigers plays in overtime, as Auburn lost a total of three yards on the drive. That would set up a 45-yard attempt by Carlson. The kick hit the right upright and the Badgers held on for the win. It was Wisconsin’s first bowl win since bowl win since 2009.