32. Wisconsin 20, Ohio State 17 (2001)

Two years earlier, Wisconsin trailed 17-0 in the second quarter in Columbus. On that day, the Badgers turned not only the game around, but their season as well in coming back from that deficit to win 42-17. Flash forward to 2001, the same scenario presented itself. Wisconsin trailed 17-0 in the second quarter in Columbus. Bucky did not not come back to win by 25 like in 1999, but the Badgers did come out on top once again. This comeback win also helped fans try to forget about the embarrassing 63-32 loss at home to Indiana the previous week.

It could not have started much better for the home team. Ohio State drove down the field and took the lead on a Josh Huston 44-yard field goal. After a short punt by Wisconsin’s Kirk Munden, the Buckeyes took advantage. On a 4th-and-Goal at the Badgers 1, Steve Bellisari scored on a quarterback sneak and it was 10-0.

Wisconsin was out of sync early on. Brooks Bollinger had a wide open Lee Evans, who would have scored on an 82-yard touchdown, but was overthrown. Mistake after mistake haunted the Badgers in the opening half. Even on a Munden punt, the coverage team was letting it roll as far as it could before downing it, but let it roll too far and it went into the end zone.

The Ohio State onslaught continued with a Chris Vance acrobatic catch along the sideline that brought the Buckeyes into the red zone. Lydell Ross ended the drive with a 3-yard touchdown and the home team had the 17-0 lead. And then Wisconsin’s next drive was stopped by an interception by Derek Ross.

But the Buckeyes, partied like it’s 1999 and self-destructed once again.

The momentum changed late in the first half. With a minute left and Ohio State poised to go into the break with a 17-0 lead, the Buckeyes were forced to punt. Wisconsin was coming after the punt and the snap was a little off to the right and Buckeyes punter Andy Groom thought he would not be able to get the punt off, so instead of risking a block, he decided to tuck it and run. He was able to run for a yard, but since it was 4th-and-20, the Badgers would get the ball in great position to cut into the deficit.

Wisconsin’s drive lasted one play. Bollinger was barely able hand the ball off to Anthony Davis before being drilled by a defender. But once Davis received the handoff, he rushed to the right and found room and sprinted 23 yards for the score to cut it to 17-7. As Matt Lepay would say, game on in Columbus!

The confidence rose even more for Bucky on the opening drive of the second half. Bollinger hit Lee Evans for a 27-yard gain into Ohio State territory. Three plays later, Bollinger hit Nick Davis on a slant pass and the speedy receiver did the rest, outracing Ohio State defenders before diving into the end zone to cut into the lead even further.

It would stay that way until late in the third. Ohio State had to punt and Davis picked up the punt on a hop and returned it to the Badgers 37. On a 3rd-and-4 at the Ohio State 44, Bollinger threw a jump ball to Evans, who reached up and hauled it in inside the 15 of Ohio State. Early in the fourth quarter, Mark Neuser connected on a short field goal to tie it up at 17.

After an Ohio State missed field goal, Evans made a play like he did so many times in 2001. He caught a 35-yard pass from Bollinger to give the Badgers a first down in Ohio State territory. Neuser would kick a 33-yard field goal on the drive to give the Badgers the lead.

Ohio State would go four and out on the next possession and Wisconsin took over and was able to run out the clock to give Wisconsin another comeback win in Columbus. However, the Badgers would just win one of their final five games to finish a disappointing 5-7. To this date, the 2001 season is the last season Wisconsin has failed to make a bowl.

33. Wisconsin 37, Michigan State 34 (2007)

Although the Badgers had remained unscathed through the first four weeks, the No. 9 team in the country had to work for every win. That includes a 45-31 win against The Citadel, in which Wisconsin could not shake the Bulldogs until the second half. Bucky was coming off a hard-fought 17-13 win over Iowa at Camp Randall, while Michigan State was coming off a 31-14 win over rival Notre Dame. Wisconsin would get a late stop in this one to improve to 5-0. The close loss would start a theme for the Spartans during the 2007 season. Michigan State would go 7-6 on the year, but every loss was by one score, including twice in overtime.

The Badgers blew down the field on their first possession, completing a pair of third downs on an 11-play drive in which Wisconsin was able to score on a run by reigning Big Ten Freshman of the Year P.J. Hill. The longest play of the drive was a pass from Tyler Donovan to Luke Swan for 25 yards down to the Spartans 15. Three plays later, Hill scored from five yards away and Wisconsin had the early 7-0 lead.

Undaunted, Michigan State answered back with a pair of touchdowns of its own. The first one was a 2-yard run by Jehuu Caulcrick to tie it at 7-7. That score was the play after a 53-yard run by Javon Ringer. After a punt by Wisconsin, the Spartans took over in great field position and they wasted little time capitalizing. Michigan State used a six-play drive to take the lead on another Caulcrick 2-yard run to give Sparty his first lead.

To start the second quarter, the Badgers responded. Donovan threw a pass to Travis Beckum, who made a tremendous over-the-shoulder catch down to the Spartans 19. Beckum would also end the drive, as he caught a 2-yard touchdown from Donovan to tie the game at 14.

Michigan State would then drive into Wisconsin territory, but be forced to punt. The Badgers used a big play to take the lead. On a 2nd-and-7 from the Wisconsin 36, Donovan went back to pass and launched a pass to big play wide receiver Kyle Jefferson, who caught it and went into the end zone for the 64-yard score to put Bucky back on top.

However, the Spartans would waste no time coming back. Devin Thomas caught a short route from Brian Hoyer and turned it into an 80-yard touchdown on the first play of the drive to tie the game at 21.

The Badgers would kick two field goals in the final minutes of the first half, including one as time expired to end a wildly entertaining half, to give Bucky a 27-21 lead at the break.

The scoring would die down in the second half, but certainly was still an exciting 30 minutes. Ringer used a 70-yard run to move the Spartans into the red zone, but the Badgers defense would hold and Michigan State would have to settle for a short Brett Swenson field goal to cut it to 27-24.

But Wisconsin wasted little time responding, as David Gilreath returned the ensuing kickoff down to the Spartans 31. Hill ran all six plays on the drive, and he crashed in from a yard out and Wisconsin took the game’s first two possession lead.

It would stay that way until the fourth quarter, but Michigan State was driving at the turn of the quarter. On a 3rd-and-Goal, Hoyer found Mark Dell in the end zone to cut it to 34-31 and Swenson kicked a field goal on the next Spartans drive and all of a sudden, it was a tie ball game.

The Badgers were able to respond with a Taylor Mehlhaff field goal to put the Badgers ahead 37-34, but Michigan State had a few chances in the final minutes to tie the game. First, Michigan State drove to the Wisconsin 36 and were setting up for a field goal to tie it up, but Swenson missed the kick from 53 yards that would have knotted the score once again.

But the Spartans would have another opportunity. Facing a 4th-and-2 at the Wisconsin 38 with just over a minute to go, Michigan State went for it instead of kicking an even longer field goal. Hoyer was pressured and the pass was incomplete intended for Ringer and the Badgers took over. Donovan took a knee twice to end the game and the Badgers would continue the nation’s longest winning streak and win No. 13 in a row.

Unfortunately, that streak came to an end the following week, as Wisconsin fell in Champaign against Illinois before being blown out at Penn State. But Wisconsin rebounded to win nine games on the year and a berth in the Outback Bowl.

34. Wisconsin 49, Minnesota 31 (2002)

The last game in the countdown was a five touchdown performance by Lee Evans in a win over Michigan State. Now we go to the previous five touchdown performance, a game the year before against hated rival Minnesota. Anthony Davis ran for 301 yards and the five touchdowns in helping the Wisconsin Badgers to a 49-31 win and being the biggest reason Bucky re-claimed Paul Bunyan’s Axe on Senior Day.

In a back-and-forth contest through more than three quarters, Wisconsin was able to find a way to pull away in the final five minutes to win the game by 18.

Wisconsin received the opening kickoff and drove into Minnesota territory, but Brandon Williams caught a pass for a first down and fumbled and the Gophers recovered. Wisconsin made another mistake a few minutes later when punter R.J. Morse had his punt blocked by Minnesota’s Jermaine Mays and the Gophers started with great field position at the Badgers 30. Bucky’s defense was able to hold strong and keep Minnesota out of the end zone and the Gophers settled for a field goal and a 3-0 lead.

Davis and Brooks Bollinger would combine to rush on seven of the eight plays on the next Badgers drive, which ended with a Davis touchdown from four yards out. It would remain 7-3 at the end of the first quarter, but the Gophers were driving as the first quarter came to a close.

Two plays into the second quarter, Minnesota was able to inch closer on a field goal by Dan Nystrom. Wisconsin was able to drive down the field by running the football, but Bollinger ended the drive by finding a wide open Darrin Charles in the back of the end zone to give the Badgers a 14-6 lead.

Then, the teams traded touchdowns to end the half. Tony Patterson caught a 37-yard pass from Asad Abdul-Khaliq to help the Gophers get down to the Wisconsin 25. That set up a touchdown by Terry Jackson III from a yard out. Ben Utecht caught a two-point conversion to tie up the game at 14.

Davis carried the ball 10 times on a 58-yard drive the next possession, including a touchdown from a yard out on 4th-and-Goal with three seconds left in the first half. The sophomore standout wanted to bring Paul Bunyan’s Axe back home after the Badgers lost the axe in 2001 after six straight wins over their rivals directly to the West. Bucky led 21-14 at the half.

But Minnesota would bounce back in the second half, scoring 10 quick points in the first seven minutes of the third quarter to take the lead 24-21. The score would remain that way until late in the third when the Badgers had terrific starting field position after a Gophers punt. The 38-yard drive was all Davis. The running back carried the ball all three plays of the drive and ending it with a 25-yard touchdown run to give Bucky the lead back. It would stay that way until the fourth quarter.

Another long Patterson reception set the Gophers up at the doorstep. Two plays after that, Thomas Tapeh scored on a 2-yard reception and all of a sudden, Minnesota took the lead back. But in a back-and-forth affair, Bollinger ran it in from a yard out to give Wisconsin the lead right back. The big play of the drive came on a connection from Bollinger to Jonathan Orr for 36 yards to give Wisconsin a 1st-and-10 at the Minnesota 25. It was a perfectly thrown pass and Orr made a nice sliding catch to set Wisconsin up to tie or take the lead. Russ Kuhns caught a 20-yard pass to put the ball even closer to the Minnesota end zone. Two plays later, Bollinger scored to give the Badgers the lead for good.

After a Minnesota punt, Bucky started a march that would put the game away. Wisconsin had an 11-play drive which was exclusively on the ground, with the exception of a pass interference. On 3rd-and-Goal, Davis plowed into the end zone from two yards out and the Badgers took a 42-31 lead.

It looked like the Gophers were going to rally to make this a one possession game again, but sophomore safety Jim Leonhard, who would lead the country in interceptions, had other ideas. After a long pass from Abdul-Khaliq to Aaron Hosack of 37 yards, Abdul-Khaliq threw a pass into the end zone, but Leonhard picked it off and the Badgers had the ball and an 11-point lead.

I mentioned that Davis would have five touchdowns on the day. He would put the final nails in the Minnesota coffin on a record-tying run. His first two runs of the drive went for nine combined yards. His third went for 71 and his fifth touchdown of the game. He ran up the middle and broke free at the second level and then won a footrace to the house.

Leonhard would pick off one more pass on Minnesota’s final drive and after the kneel down, the team made a beeline for the axe the team had lost one year prior. The Badgers also needed to win to become bowl eligible, so they won a trip to Texas, where they pulled the upset, winning 31-28 in overtime over Colorado.

35. Wisconsin 56, Michigan State 21 (2003)

Throughout 2003, Lee Evans had shown that he was fully back from his torn ACL that cost him the entire 2002 season. He had a big game against Akron earlier in the year and made one of the most memorable plays in program history in a win over No. 3 Ohio State. However, this game let everyone know that he was back to normal and was ready for the NFL. Evans destroyed Michigan State defensive backs to the tune of 10 catches for 258 yards and a program record-tying five touchdowns as the Badgers ended a three game losing streak by obliterating the No. 21 team in the country.

Wisconsin received the ball first and went down the field on the Michigan State defense and put the ball in the end zone on a pass from Jim Sorgi to Evans. There was touchdown one. The big play wide receiver would have four catches for 54 yards and the touchdown on the drive. Evans’ first three catches did not result in a touchdown. Five of his last seven catches were grabs that resulted in scores for Bucky. Crazy.

A pair of punts later, Michigan State had the ball near midfield, but junior safety Jim Leonhard intercepted a Jeff Smoker pass at the 21 and he returned it up to the Wisconsin 46. The Badgers would drive 54 yards for the touchdown to give Bucky a 14-0 lead. Dwayne Smith was the touchdown scorer this time. Lost in the huge game by Evans was the performance by Smith. He rushed for 211 yards on 21 carries and scored three touchdowns. He would have been the star of the game if it weren’t for the record performance by Evans.

It would stay 14-0 until the Badgers took over from their own 13 with less than seven minutes remaining in the first half. Bucky picked up one first down before Sorgi called Evans’ number again. Sorgi launched a pass to Evans, who caught it over the outstretched arms of a Michigan State defender and jogged into the end zone. There is touchdown No. 2 and the Badgers had a 21-0 lead.

The Spartans tried to get back in the game after a long kickoff return by Chad Simon, which led to a Smoker touchdown pass to Kyle Brown from 21 yards to cut it to 21-7. However, Evans was not done. Smith started the drive with a 60-yard run to the Michigan State 21 and two plays later, Evans scored his third of the day. It was 28-7 at halftime.

Evans was able to score No. 4 midway through the third quarter. After a Spartans punt, Wisconsin took over on its own 30. On the first play from scrimmage on the drive, Evans ran a route at seven yards and Sorgi delivered a pass to in front of the Spartans cornerback. He then was able to elude the defensive back and receive a block from Darrin Charles before racing 70 yards for the score to make it 35-7. That was his fourth on the day.

Later in the quarter, after a Michigan State touchdown, Evans made history. On a 3rd-and-10, Sorgi found Evans again in the end zone for a 42-14 lead and touchdown No. 5 for Mr. Evans. He was the second player to have five touchdowns in a game for the Badgers in 13 games. Anthony Davis had five touchdowns against Minnesota in the last regular season game in 2002.

Smith, who was filling in for an injured Davis, scored twice more to give the Badgers a 56-14 lead before Michigan State closed out the scoring.

This was Wisconsin’s only win from mid-October through the rest of the season. Wisconsin would go onto lose in the regular season finale against Iowa and then in the Music City Bowl to Auburn.

36. Wisconsin 83, Indiana 20 (2010)

You knew this one would be mentioned, didn’t you? This was the most points the Badgers scored since an 85-0 victory over Marquette in October 1915. Bucky’s 83 points matched the most points scored in a Big Ten game since 1950. With Wisconsin at 4-1 in the Big Ten and Indiana coming into Camp Randall Stadium at 0-5, most people figured it would be a blowout, and that is exactly what happened. Wisconsin was even without two starters, reigning Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year John Clay and center Dan Voltz. Even without them, the Badgers scored on all 12 of their offensive possessions and absolutely annihilated the hapless Hoosiers.

Indiana surprisingly stayed with the superior team well into the second quarter. Early in the second quarter, the Hoosiers connected on a field goal to tie it at 10, but then it was all Bucky the rest of the game.

Wisconsin received the opening kickoff and trucked its way down the field. It was all Montee Ball on the opening drive. He carried the ball all five plays for 50 yards, and with an Indiana facemask penalty included, he plowed in from a yard out to give the Badgers a 7-0 lead.

However, Indiana would come right back. Nick Turner rushed for 67 yards on the opening play of the drive and that set up a Ben Chappell 2-yard touchdown pass to Tandon Doss and all of a sudden, it was 7-7. The teams would trade field goals and it was 10-10 early in the second quarter. The Bucky train then went into demolition mode, scoring four touchdowns in the final nine minutes to move in front at the half 38-10.

Wisconsin regained the lead a few minutes later on a Ball run. The biggest play came on a third down pass of 18 yards to David Gilreath to move down to the Hoosiers 12. Ball would crash in from a yard out to put the Badgers back in front.

Mitch Ewald missed a 52-yard field goal on Indiana’s next drive and the flood gates opened. The Badgers wasted very little time in making this a 24-10 game. First, Ball rushed for 36 and then eventual Big Ten Freshman of the Year James White strolled down the left sideline for a 30-yard touchdown.

The Hoosiers then came apart. Chappell was injured on the previous drive and was unable to return. New Indiana quarterback Edward Wright-Baker fumbled on his first snap under center and Wisconsin recovered. Bucky wasted little time cashing in, as Ball rushed all five times on the five play drive that ended with a Ball 8-yard touchdown and the Badgers were in control 31-10.

Right before the half, the Bucky train was rolling along again and put one more score on the board before the end of the half. The Badgers traveled 46 yards in five plays after a 22-yard Gilreath punt return set Wisconsin up with great starting field position.

After a loss of two on first down, Scott Tolzien went 4-4 passing the ball on the drive for 48 yards and ended it with a 4-yard pass to Nick Toon in the end zone for the 38-10 lead. Amazingly, that would be the low scoring half.

It did not get any better for the Hoosiers in the second half. Freshman walk-on Jared Abbrederis returned the opening kickoff of the second half to the Indiana 24. Three plays later, Tolzien found tight end Jake Byrne in the end zone for the score.

That score did not last long, either, as Louis Nzegwu sacked Wright-Baker, forcing a fumble and the Badgers recovered. Four plays later, White blasted into the end zone for another score for Bucky. White would score on the next drive too and the Badgers went ahead 59-13.

The storm kept coming against Indiana and it did not quit. Aaron Henry added a pick six after a Wisconsin field goal and it was 69-13. And if people thought it could not get any worse, it did. Backup quarterback Jon Budmayr launched a 74-yard pass to Abbrederis and third-string quarterback Nate Tice scored on a run with less than two minutes to play to close out the scoring in an 83-20 obliteration.

It was the second game of three that the Badgers would score at least 70 points. Bucky Badger ended up doing 573 push-ups during the game, so it is safe to say that he is arms were tired at game’s end.

Wisconsin would win out the remainder of the regular season and win a share of the Big Ten championship and head to Pasadena as the Big Ten’s representative at the Rose Bowl.

37. Wisconsin 30, Michigan State 6 (2016)

It was one of the top games of the week. The surprising Wisconsin Badgers were coming in at No. 11 and were going up against the defending Big Ten champions, the No. 8 Michigan State Spartans. Wisconsin was 3-0, but coming off a come-from-behind home victory over Georgia State, a team that would finish 3-9 in 2016. Michigan State, on the other hand, was 2-0 after holding on to win at Notre Dame 36-28. This game was also intriguing because it was the beginning of the Alex Hornibrook era at Wisconsin. At halftime of the win over Georgia State, Paul Chryst decided to make a change at quarterback from senior Bart Houston to the freshman Hornibrook. The freshman showed he was ready for the spotlight, completing 16-of-26 passes for 195 yards and a touchdown and the Badgers used a stifling defense to dominate the Spartans 30-6 in East Lansing.

Wisconsin came into the game having allowed just three offensive touchdowns all year, while Michigan State’s Tyler O’Connor had completed 73 percent of his passes and had thrown five touchdowns. In the Spartans’ first two games, a different running back gained 100 yards in each game. Wisconsin scored 54 in a win over Akron, but in the other two games, the Badgers scored an average of just 19.5 points per game. It was a matchup of offense against defense and the salty defensive unit for the Badgers didn’t let Michigan State do anything offensively.

The game actually started out well for the Spartans, gaining one first down on their first possession before having to punt and then forcing a Wisconsin turnover on its first drive. After a pair of first downs on Bucky’s first drive, Michigan State’s Raequan Williams sacked Hornibrook, forcing a fumble, which was recovered by the Spartans. Michigan State’s Michael Geiger would make a 48-yard field goal to put the Spartans up for the only time in the game, 3-0.

That lead would not last long, as the Badgers embarked on a long drive to put Wisconsin on top. Bucky converted two third down conversions and two fourth downs to put the Badgers ahead for good. It was a 16-play drive in which Hornibrook completed 6-of-9 passes for 45 yards and the touchdown pass to Eric Steffes.

It would stay that way until midway through the second quarter. On a 3rd-and-5 from his own 30, O’Connor would throw his first pick of the day, a pass right to Sojourn Shelton. The Badgers cornerback would return it to the 28, where the Wisconsin would punch it in for the 13-3 lead. The Badgers would convert two more third downs on the drive, including a 3rd-and-12 in which Hornibrook found Jazz Peavy on a crossing pattern for 23 yards. From there, three Corey Clement runs totaled seven yards and a touchdown. The extra point was missed by Andrew Endicott, who was filling in for Rafael Gaglianone, who was out for the year with a back injury. Michigan State would add a field goal just before the end of the half and the score was 13-6 at the half.

The second half started out just like Michigan State wanted. A holding penalty on the kickoff return put Wisconsin at its own 11 to start. The Badgers gained one yard in three plays and a short punt by Anthony Lotti set Michigan State up with great field position at midfield as the Spartans aimed to tie the game up. That was when a former high school running back made the biggest play of the game.

Leo Musso was a converted running back who rushed for 5,531 yards and 87 touchdowns in high school. As a senior at Waunakee, he was the recipient of the Elroy Hirsch Running Back of the Year Award after rushing for 2,398 yards and 39 touchdowns as a senior. Musso transitioned to safety after arriving in Madison. After three seasons, Musso received his chance to start in 2016, and made the most of the chance. He would intercept five passes as a senior and was named Jimmy Demetral Team MVP. He would make multiple game-changing plays throughout the season. The first was in East Lansing.

On the first play of the drive, L.J. Scott gained seven yards. On the second play, Scott received the ball again. He blasted up the middle for a few yards, but the ball was knocked out of his hands and Musso was there to scoop it up. He ran to his left and found open grass in front of him. All that stood in his way was O’Connor. Musso flashed back to his high school days and turned into a running back, putting the Michigan State quarterback in the spin cycle near the Spartans 40 and followed a convoy into the end zone to give the Badgers the momentum and a two touchdown lead. From that point on, it was all Wisconsin.

Michigan State would line up to punt on its next two drives and the Badgers would score 10 points following those. The second one was a snap that slipped through the punter’s hands and Bucky would start the possession at the Spartans 5. On the next play, Clement found room on the left side and scampered into the end zone uncontested and Wisconsin delivered the final nail in the coffin of a 30-6 dominating win.

Going into the season, many pundits predicted Wisconsin to struggle through the season, and this win gave the Badgers a 4-0 record. Unfortunately, Bucky would lose two straight after this game by a combined 14 to fall to 4-2, but the Badgers won their final six regular season games to earn another West Division crown.

38. Wisconsin 24, Iowa 21 (2006)

The Badgers were in the midst one of their best seasons in program history, coming in with a record of 9-1. However, the Badgers would be without starting quarterback John Stocco, so backup Tyler Donovan would make his first career start in Iowa City. Donovan would have a fantastic day, completing 17 of 24 passes for 228 yards and a pair of touchdowns as Wisconsin would defeat Iowa for the first time since 2001.

A series of punts opened the game before the Badgers drew first blood. Wisconsin started with terrific field position at the Iowa 48 and were able to drive down the field for the field goal. Donovan and P.J. Hill each had 15 yards rushing on the drive before the drive stalled at the Iowa 14. Taylor Mehlhaff’s 31-yard field goal was good and Bucky led 3-0 late in the first quarter.

On the first play of Iowa’s next possession, Drew Tate was intercepted by Roderick Rogers and the Badgers took over on the Iowa 26. Two plays and two Travis Beckum catches, including the 3-yard score with less than a minute to go in the first quarter, gave the Badgers a 10-0 lead.

Iowa was able to get it back to a one possession game midway through the second quarter when Tate found Tony Moeaki for a 4-yard score to cut it to 10-7. The big play came on a 3rd-and-8 from Iowa’s 26 when Tate hooked up with tight end Scott Chandler on a 64-yard gain down to the Wisconsin 10. Two plays later, Moeaki hauled in the pass for six.

On the next Hawkeyes drive, they took the lead for the first time. A 30-yard run by Damian Sims got the drive started right for Iowa. Six plays later, Tate found fullback Tom Busch for the score from three yards out and all of a sudden, Wisconsin was down 14-10.

That lead would not last long for the Hawkeyes, as Donovan drove his team down and hooked up with Luke Swan for a 42-yard touchdown with less than a minute left in the first half. The play was on a 3rd-and-8 and Donovan found Swan deep down field for the score. It would stay that way until the final quarter. In the first half, Donovan went 8-9 for 102 yards and a pair of scores.

There was no scoring in the third quarter, but when the quarter ended, Wisconsin was on the move. P.J. Hill would eventually cap off the long drive with a 1-yard score to put the Badgers ahead 24-14. On the drive, Wisconsin would start off on its own 3, but then drove 97 yards in 15 plays to go ahead by two scores. The big play came again via Donovan to Swan. Facing a 3rd-and-11 from the Wisconsin 39, Donovan hooked up with Swan for 48 yards down to the Iowa 13. Hill carried the ball nine times on the drive for 35 yards, including the score.

Hill would lose his first career fumble on Wisconsin’s next possession, which gave Iowa good field position. The Hawkeyes would cash in. Starting at its own 41, Tate threw a 35-yard pass to Sims and two plays after that, he found wide receiver Trey Stross for 24 yards for the score and Iowa cut the deficit back down to three.

But drops would come back to kill Iowa. Chandler and Dominique Douglas both dropped passes late in the game that would have been first downs. The pass to Douglas was a bit behind him, but he was open and had the ball in his hands, but he dropped it on fourth down late in the game. Wisconsin would run out the clock and the Badgers went to 10-1 on the year and put an end to a four game losing streak to Iowa.

Bucky would go onto win the following week 35-3 over Buffalo to finish off its first 11-win regular season in program history.

39. Wisconsin 20, UNLV 13 (2007)

UNLV generally gets big crowds when Wisconsin comes to town and this was not any different. Wisconsin was a top five team and had won its opener by three touchdowns against Washington State. Wisconsin had a new starting quarterback, Tyler Donovan, in 2007 after the departure of three-year starter John Stocco. The Rebels had the lead for much of the game, but with less than two minutes remaining, Donovan ran a bootleg around the left sideline and scampered 29 yards for what would be the game-winning score.

The Rebels struck first on a Travis Dixon pass 5-yard pass to Casey Flair late in the first quarter. It was a long 14-play drive that took up half the quarter. The biggest play of the drive was another pass to Flair on a 3rd-and-14 for 21 yards. Other than that Flair reception, there was only one play that was at least 10 yards on the long touchdown drive.

Wisconsin would come right back down the field on the strength of the ground game. Of the 67 yards on the drive, only the touchdown, a 3-yard pass from Donovan to Garrett Graham, was a pass. Hill rushed three times for 40 yards on the drive. There was a problem with the snap on the extra point and the score stayed 7-6 in favor of the Rebels.

The score stayed that way until the last seconds of the second quarter. Wisconsin used a 13-play drive to go down the field and get a Taylor Mehlhaff field goal to end the half to put the Badgers ahead 9-7 at the break.

Three field goals were all that were scored in the final nearly 28 minutes, two by UNLV and one by Wisconsin. The Badgers received the ball after a UNLV kickoff after the Rebels took a 13-12 lead. David Gilreath had a nice return out to the 39 of Wisconsin. Bucky took over with a half a quarter to play and then went on a nearly six minute drive to take the lead.

The 10-play drive went 61 yards and with the Badgers in field goal range (albeit not comfortably), Bucky faced a 1st-and-15 after a false start. That is when the new starting quarterback made his mark. He ran a bootleg to the left and got past a defender and there was nothing but green grass in front of him. Donovan received a block from wide receiver Luke Swan and dove to stretch the ball across the pylon to score the touchdown to give the Badgers the lead.

Donovan rewarded the receiver by throwing Swan the two-point conversion to give Wisconsin a 20-13 lead.

After a first down completion to Flair on first down, UNLV went backward from there, throwing an incompletion on 4th-and-15 to seal the game and let Badgers fans breathe a sigh of relief.

40. Wisconsin 17, Michigan State 10 (2000)

Wisconsin was in need of a win in the worst way. After a 3-0 start, winning all of them by one score, the Badgers had dropped their first three in conference play, including two at home. Of those three conference losses, two were by one possession. The Badgers came back from an early deficit to win a big road game in East Lansing 17-10 on the strength of a last-minute touchdown. It looked like it would be much of the same early on for Wisconsin, as the Spartans quickly jumped out to a 10-0 lead at the end of the first quarter. Michigan State’s touchdown came on a Ryan Van Dyke 43-yard pass to Herb Haygood on the final offensive play of the first quarter. With less than 10 minutes to play in the first half, Brooks Bollinger made a play that turned around Bucky’s season. Facing a 2nd-and-11 from the Badgers 19, the Wisconsin quarterback went back to pass and eluded defenders in the backfield before tucking it and running it for 45 yards. He also would later score the touchdown on a quarterback sneak and the Badgers were back in business, trailing just 10-7. Wisconsin gained more confidence on the next series as Van Dyke’s pass ricocheted off the Michigan State wide receiver and into the hands of Badgers cornerback Mike Echols, who returned it to the Spartans 27. That would lead to a field goal as time expired in the first half and the Badgers had come back to tie Michigan State at 10. The score would remain that way until the final minute of the game. However, there were many opportunities for each team to grab the lead. Michigan State missed a field goal and new quarterback Jeff Smoker threw a pick on a flea flicker to Echols at the goal line. Wisconsin had a chance after Michigan State’s Shawn Foster muffed a Kevin Stemke punt and the Badgers recovered inside the Spartans 40. But three plays lost Wisconsin a yard, so the Badgers punted. Prior to Bollinger’s long run in the first half, he sustained a concussion. He played the rest of the first half, but at halftime, it was determined that he would sit out the second half (and eventually the following week against Purdue) and freshman Jim Sorgi would make his debut.

Bucky had one last chance at the win after Michigan State punter Craig Jarett had a short punt and Wisconsin started on its own 45 with less than two minutes remaining. Three plays gained nine yards for the Badgers, so Bucky faced a 4th-and-1 at the 46. Coach Barry Alvarez elected to go for it, and Michael Bennett lunged forward for one yard and the first down. Wisconsin wasted little time going for it all after the fourth down pickup. Sorgi dropped back to pass and heaved a pass to Lee Evans. Evans reached up and hauled it in over Cedric Henry at the 5 and went into the end zone to give the Badgers their first lead of the game. Nick Greisen ended any hope of a comeback for the Spartans by intercepting a Van Dyke pass and sealing the game for Wisconsin’s first conference win of the season. Wisconsin would end up falling to Purdue the following week before ending the season with five consecutive wins to finish a solid 9-4 season.

41. Wisconsin 24, West Virginia 17 (2003)

This was a much-anticipated season opener for Wisconsin, as this was the first game since 2001 for star wide receiver Lee Evans. He missed the entire 2002 season with a torn ACL that occurred during the spring game. Evans had a record-breaking season in 2001, but decided to pass on the NFL Draft to return to Wisconsin. He would catch the game-tying rouchdown pass to help the Badgers start out the season with a win in Morgantown.

The game could not have started out any better for the Badgers, as Kareem Timbers recovered a blocked punt on West Virginia’s first possession in the end zone and the Badgers jumped out to an early 7-0 lead. That was the good news. The bad news is that Bucky would only score three more points until the fourth quarter.

With Wisconsin’s offense struggling, West Virginia took advantage. The Mountaineers would kick a field goal on the next drive to cut it to 7-3 and then would take the lead on the following drive on a run by Quincy Wilson. That 10-7 score would remain until the third quarter.

That score would change when Wilson scored his second of the day to put West Virginia in front 17-7 before Wisconsin would get three back on a short Scott Campbell field goal to cut it to 17-10.

Evans was held in check through the first three quarters. The big play receiver for the Badgers only had 35 yards receiving on five catches. He made a big difference in the final quarter.

Early in the final quarter, the Badgers forced a Mountaineers punt from deep in their own territory and Jim Leonhard returned the short punt 17 yards down to the West Virginia 33. Two Anthony Davis runs picked up a first down to the 18, but the next two plays would lose a total of two yards, so the Badgers faced a 3rd-and-12 from the West Virginia 20.

Enter No. 3. You knew Evans would not stay silent for an entire game. It was just a matter of time before he would make a big play to put the Badgers in position to win the game. That play happened early in the fourth quarter.

On the 3rd-and-12 play, Jim Sorgi threw toward the right sideline and Evans plucked the ball out of the air and went into the end zone to tie the game up at 17.

Evans came up big again two Wisconsin drives later, as he hauled in a 15-yard reception on the opening play of the possession, getting the Badgers started on a drive that would lead them to victory.

The Evans catch set the ball near midfield for the Badgers and Davis carried the ball the following three plays and rushed for 38 yards to put the ball down at the West Virginia 14. Three plays later, Davis would finish the drive with a touchdown from a yard out to put Bucky in front, 24-17.

The Mountaineers had one more drive in an attempt to tie the game up, but West Virginia was unable to pick up a first down and when Rasheed Marshall was sacked on fourth down by Alex Lewis, the game was over. Wisconsin was able to pick up a first down on a Davis run and then run out the clock, sealing the 24-17 win and a second win over West Virginia in as many years.

The win helped the Badgers start out with six wins in seven games before losing a number of close games to end the year.

42. Wisconsin 37, Michigan 21 (2007)

It was Senior Day and the Badgers were 7-3 after losing three of their last five. Michigan had won eight in a row and climbed back up to No. 12 in the country after two losses to start the season, including the embarrassing defeat to Appalachian State.

With Mike Hart sidelined with an injury, Michigan struggled to run the football and the Wolverines were forced to throw the ball 41 times. Henne was hurt after just five passes and he was replaced by Ryan Mallett.

On Henne’s last pass of the game a little past midway through the first quarter, Henne was intercepted by Shane Carter.

It took the Badgers five plays to travel 55 yards and it ended with a Tyler Donovan touchdown pass to Travis Beckum to give the Badgers the lead. It would be the first of four consecutive possessions in which Wisconsin would score on.

A Donovan touchdown rush midway through the second quarter gave the home team a 17-0 lead, but Michigan would cut it to 17-7 on a touchdown pass from Mallett to Mario Manningham. The future Super Bowl hero would go onto have two scores in the game.

Bucky would drive down the field and put up three points right before halftime to make the score 20-7 at the break.

With the score 23-7 early in the fourth quarter, Michigan faced a 3rd-and-9 from its own 3-yard line. Mallett went back to pass from his own end zone and found Manningham down the right sideline and he went 97 yards to cut it to 23-14.

The score would get even closer as Mallett found Adrian Arrington in the zone from 26 yards out at the halfway point of the final quarter to cut what was once a 17-point Badgers lead down to just two.

After a Wisconsin punt, Michigan was facing a 3rd-and-29 from its own 11 after a sack by Matt Shaughnessy. There would be no big play for the Wolverines this time as Jack Ikegwuonu intercepted the Mallett pass to set the Badgers up with great field position at the Wolverines 33.

It would be a drive of four plays with Zach Brown getting the ball each time and running it in from six yards out to give Bucky some breathing room.

The Badgers would deliver the dagger a minute later when they turned Michigan over on downs and took over on the visitor’s 2. Brown needed just one play to seal the deal and deliver the knockout punch to a 37-21 Wisconsin win.

The Badgers would once again retain Paul Bunyan’s axe the following week in Minneapolis to close out a 9-3 regular season.

43. Wisconsin 13, Fresno State 10 (2008)

It was one of the biggest games in Fresno State history. It was a night game and the Bulldogs hosted a top 10 team in Wisconsin. The Badgers were coming in off two wins against MAC schools and it was the first road test of the season. The Bulldogs came in with a great ground attack led by future first round pick Ryan Mathews. In a mistake-filled game, Wisconsin was able to eek out a win in California.

Wisconsin struck first on a pass from Alan Evridge to Garrett Graham from two yards out to put the Badgers ahead 7-0. The touchdown came after an interception by DeAndre Levy set Bucky up with great field position at the Fresno State 26. The drive just took three plays, and Graham had two catches on the drive, including the touchdown.

Fresno State would drive on its next possession into field goal range, but Kevin Goessling missed a 47-yard field goal. That miss would be the beginning of a rough night for the kicker.

The Badgers would take a 10-0 lead on the following drive on a Philip Welch field goal. It would stay that way until halftime after Welch had a field goal to end the half blocked.

Devon Wylie scored from 47 yards out on a pass from Tom Brandstater over the middle and the Bulldogs were right back in the game.Wylie also had a 25-yard run to start the drive.

After an awful 9-yard punt from Brad Nortman on Wisconsin’s next drive, the Bulldogs were back in business. But Wisconsin’s defense stood tall and forced a three-and-out, where Goessling missed his second field goal of the night and the Badgers held onto the 10-7 lead.

Wisconsin forced another Fresno State mistake late in the third quarter when Michael Harris muffed a punt that was recovered by Wisconsin’s Dex Jones at the Fresno State 23. But this time, the Bulldogs defense held strong and the Badgers had to settle for a field goal and a 13-7 lead.

This game also was not without controversy. On the first play of the next drive for the Bulldogs, Brandstater threw a pass over the middle to Wylie, who caught it and took two steps before having the ball knocked out of his hands, where Levy fell on the fumble. Then the officials went to replay and somehow ruled it incomplete. Fresno State would go onto get a big pass play from Brandstater to Mathews to give the Bulldogs a first and goal, but would have to settle for a Goessling field goal to cut it to 13-10.

Wisconsin punted and Fresno State had a long run by Lonyae Miller to set the Bulldogs up at the Badgers 25. Three plays gained seven yards for Fresno State and on came Goessling to try to tie the game. His 35-yard attempt missed and the Badgers took over.

The teams traded punts and Fresno State’s punt pinned the Badgers deep in their own territory. Bucky needed to pick up one first down to seal the game. That is exactly what Wisconsin did. After Dustin Sherer did a quarterback sneak for two yards, the next play was a handoff to fullback Bill Rentmeester, who ran eight yards to pick up the game-clinching first down. The Badgers were able to kneel on the ball three times to end the game and Wisconsin had a big victory.

Unfortunately, Wisconsin hit a rough spot and would lose four in a row before Bucky rebounded to win four of five to end the regular season.

44. Wisconsin 26, Iowa 24 (2014)

After a big win over Nebraska the week before, the Badgers were in a position to win the Western Division. All Wisconsin needed to do was win out or win against Iowa and have Nebraska beat Minnesota. But with Minnesota winning in Lincoln, Wisconsin needed to win its remaining two games to punch its ticket to Indianapolis. However, Iowa also had a chance to win the division. With two games remaining, Wisconsin was on top at 5-1 in the Big Ten and Nebraska, Iowa and Minnesota all were 4-2. Every team in that mix of four had to play two of the other teams for its final two games.

The game started about as well as possible for Bucky, as Mark Weisman fumbled on the second play from scrimmage and Michael Caputo, who forced the fumble, also recovered the ball for the Badgers. Wisconsin picked up one first down, but had to settle for a Rafael Gaglianone 50-yard field goal and the Badgers led 3-0.

Iowa came right down the field on a 14-play drive and Marshall Koehn connected on a 26-yard field goal to tie things up.

A pair of punts followed before the Badgers retook the lead. Tanner McEvoy came into the game to run the ‘Wildcat’ and faked a handoff before blasting through a hole and racing 45 yards for the score. The extra point was missed and the Badgers led 9-3. Melvin Gordon, who was bottled up in the first half, added another score just before halftime to put the Badgers ahead 16-3 going into the break.

I mentioned Gordon was bottled up in the first half. Well, with Wisconsin backed up to its own 8, Gordon erased that with one play, as he raced down the sideline for 88 yards, but was tracked down at the Iowa 4. Wisconsin was held out of the end zone and Gaglianone put the Badgers in front 19-3.

Iowa gained momentum from that stop. After the stop, Iowa quarterback Jake Rudock became red hot. Iowa blew down the field and scored on a Rudock 20-yard pass to Kevonte Martin-Manley. The two-point conversion was good as well and the Hawkeyes cut the deficit to 19-11.

Wisconsin punted on its next possession and Rudock went back to work, completing his opening two passes of the drive for a total of 61 yards. A pass interference call on Wisconsin’s Darius Hillary moved the ball to the Wisconsin 2 and Rudock ran it in for the score. This two-point conversion failed and the Badgers held onto a 19-17 advantage.

Wisconsin was facing a third down and long on the following drive. With Rudock being on fire, the Badgers needed a conversion. Bucky did just that and then some. Stave was being blitzed and found a wide open Gordon, whose catch and ran of 35 yards set the ball at the Iowa 33. Two plays later, Gordon found space along the left sideline and glided into the end zone from 23 yards away to put the Badgers in front 26-17.

But Rudock was not done. He was 3-4 on the drive for 59 yards and a touchdown, a 9-yard pass to Jake Duzey to cut the deficit back down to two. He also had two runs for 32 yards on the drive, including a 21-yard run on 3rd-and-15 to pick up a big first down.

With the season hanging in the balance, Wisconsin had the ball at its own 25 with five minutes remaining. Two Gordon runs on the first two plays picked up 11 yards and a first down. The next two runs just gained a total of two yards. With the Badgers facing a 3rd-and-8 with less than two minutes remaining, the most unlikely Badger made the biggest of plays. Joel Stave, who just threw for 139 yards on the day, went back to pass. He was flushed to the left and found some daylight. Stave ran and spun to try to elude an Iowa defender at the first down marker to gain a few extra yards. The 12-yard run by Stave sealed the game as Iowa only had one timeout remaining.

The win would set up the matchup with Minnesota to determine which team would go to the Big Ten Championship game in Indianapolis.

45. Wisconsin 16, Utah State 14

Wisconsin was hoping to catch lightning in a bottle once again with a transfer quarterback. In 2011, Russell Wilson took the world by storm and led the Badgers to the Rose Bowl. In 2012, Wisconsin looked to another senior transfer quarterback, Danny O’Brien, to try to help the Badgers win another Big Ten title.

After two games, Montee Ball was averaging less than four yards per carry in a close win against Northern Iowa and a loss to Oregon State. With the struggles rushing the ball, Wisconsin fired its new offensive line coach Mike Markuson and handed the reigns over to graduate assistant Bart Miller.

Utah State was not your typical “mid-major” school. The Aggies were good. Real good. Utah State would finish the season with a record of 11-2 with the two losses coming by a combined five points. The Badgers would have their hands full with Utah State, which was led by future Wisconsin head coach Gary Andersen.

The struggles continued for Bucky on offense in the first half. Wisconsin only scored three points in the game’s first 30 minutes. O’Brien fumbled late in the first half, which gave Utah State great field position, where the Aggies drove the short field to give Andersen’s bunch a 14-3 lead at halftime in Camp Randall. The last touchdown came on a Chuckie Keeton 11-yard pass to Matt Austin with 29 seconds left before halftime.

Wisconsin needed a change, and that is what happened. O’Brien, who completed five of 10 passes for 63 yards in the first half, was replaced by redshirt freshman Joel Stave. The freshman would only pass for 15 yards on two completions, but he was more of a threat on his downfield passes than O’Brien.

Midway through the third quarter, with the offense still sputtering, an unlikely source gave the Badgers a much-needed lift. After a third down and short stop, Tyler Bennett came onto punt for Utah State. His punt carried Kenzel Doe to the left sideline, where he ran up and fielded the short punt. He ran along the sidelines, getting a few blocks and weaving his way through traffic. Finally, at midfield, Doe cut back to the middle of the field where there were no Utah State coverage people. It looked like Doe might get caught from behind, but he found an extra gear and was able to separate from the pack and score on the punt return to put the Badgers back in the game.

After a three and out forced by the Badgers defense, Bennett had an embarrassing 19-yard punt, giving Wisconsin a short field in an effort to take its first lead of the night.

It was a six play drive with Ball carrying the ball on every play. On a 2nd-and-8 from the Utah State 17, Ball received great blocking up front and blasted through on his way to the end zone for the 17-yard score to give the Badgers their first lead. Kyle French’s extra point was blocked, so the score remained 16-14.

The last threat of the game happened on the last drive. The Aggies looked like they were going to come into Madison and come out with a win when Keeton found Cameron Webb along the sideline for a gain of 36 down to the Badgers 15 with 59 seconds left. A controversial pass interference call on Utah State tight end Kellen Bartlett pushed the Aggies back to their 30. Three plays gained them 11 yards to put them at the 19 for Josh Thompson to come in and try to win it. But the Utah State kicker pushed it off to the right and Wisconsin was able to survive against Utah State.

This would not be the last time the Badgers would be in a dog fight. It would be a theme for the Badgers in 2012, going to overtime three times, as well as losing close contests to Nebraska in the conference opener and in the Rose Bowl to Stanford. However, this win was the turning point of their season. Wisconsin played much better following this win and nearly pulled off a huge upset in the Rose Bowl.

46. Wisconsin 28, Cincinnati 25 (OT) (2000)

Wisconsin came in at 2-0 and off an emotionally draining 27-23 win over Joey Harrington and Oregon. Prior to the season, Wisconsin had many key players suspended from one to three games due to the Shoe Box scandal, and the Badgers had four games to implement the suspensions. Many of the players played in the Oregon game the previous week, so they would have to miss the Cincinnati game. The Badgers were also looking for payback as they were upset the previous year by the Bearcats 17-12 in Cincinnati.

After a three and out for Cincinnati to start the game and a short punt, the Bucky train started in great field position at the Bearcats 32. Eddie Faulkner, starting in place of the suspended Michael Bennett, rushed for 24 yards on the first two plays to get Wisconsin inside the 10. Brooks Bollinger ran in from eight yards out to give the Badgers the lead.

The Cats responded with two field goals to cut the deficit to a single point at the end of the first quarter, and then took the lead 13-10 in the second quarter on a pass from Deontey Kenner to LaDaris Vann. It stayed that way until the fourth quarter.

Wisconsin tied it up on a Vitaly Pisetsky field goal from 40 yards out early in the fourth. But the Badgers may have been getting a bad case of deja vu after Cincinnati retook the lead four plays later on a Kenner 51-yard pass to Ray Jackson. The extra point failed, so the lead was only 19-13.

It was the same score with less than four minutes remaining in the game and Wisconsin punter Kevin Stemke had a 55-yard punt downed at the Bearcats 2. Cincinnati went three and out and instead of punting out of its own end zone, giving Wisconsin great field position, it decided to take an intentional safety. The Bearcats took the safety to give them more room to punt and since the Badgers would need a touchdown regardless, they forced Bucky into a longer field to try to score.

Wisconsin would take the ball at its own 40 and march down for a touchdown to give the Badgers the lead. Lee Evans had two big catches on the drive, resulting in 28 yards and drew a pass interference to give the Badgers first and goal at the Bearcats 2. Three plays later, Bollinger took it on a quarterback sneak. That was the second touchdown on the day for him. The extra point was good and the Badgers seemingly had the game in hand, leading 22-19 with 18 seconds left.

As Lee Corso would say, “Not so fast, my friend.”

After the kickoff gave Cincinnati the ball at its own 33, Kenner threw three straight completions to future Green Bay Packer Antonio Chatman for 38 yards, setting the ball at the Badgers 29 with four seconds left. Jason Mammarelli’s game-tying field goal attempt split the uprights, which sent the game into overtime.

In the overtime, Cincinnati went on a 10-play drive, but it only resulted in three points. Wisconsin did not take long to end the game. Faulkner took the first handoff nine yards. Then, he took the second carry to the house, spinning off one tackler in the second level and galloping 16 yards for the winning score. It was the first overtime win at Camp Randall in program history.

The theme of close games would continue throughout 2000, as the Badgers lost two in overtime and one in the final minutes in the first half of Big Ten play. But Wisconsin bounced back to win its share of close games, including a 21-20 victory in the Sun Bowl over UCLA to finish up a 9-4 season.

47. Wisconsin 20, Arizona State 19 (2010)

The Badgers were predicted by some to be a candidate to represent the Big Ten in the Rose Bowl. Wisconsin looked good in its opener before struggling in the second game against San Jose State, only winning 27-14. Wisconsin played Arizona State in its first real test of the season. With Wisconsin leading 20-13 late in the game, Arizona State’s Cameron Marshall ran in from two yards out to cut the Badgers lead to one. But the extra point was blocked by Wisconsin safety Jay Valai and Bucky held on for the one point victory.

After a pair of missed field goals on each team’s opening drive of the game, Wisconsin was able to connect the next try as Philip Welch connected on a 49-yard field goal to put the Badgers on the board first. But that lead did not last as Omar Bolden returned the ensuing kickoff 97 yards for the score to put the Sun Devils on top.

The teams traded field goals on the following possessions, so Arizona State had a 10-6 lead late in the half before the Badgers scored a touchdown right before the end of the half to give the Badgers a 13-10 lead.

However, Arizona State had already returned one kick for a touchdown on the day, and the Sun Devils nearly had another. ASU’s Kyle Middlebrooks fielded the kick from Welch at the 4 and found an opening and raced down the sideline heading toward the end zone. But Wisconsin reserve defensive back Shelton Johnson never gave up on the play and raced down the field to bring down Middlebrooks at the 1-yard line with the clock at all zeros and Wisconsin escaped with a 13-10 halftime lead.

The Sun Devils tied it up with a field goal early in the third quarter. Wisconsin recaptured the lead late in the third on a John Clay 19-yard rush. The Badgers blew right down the field on the drive, going 88 yards in eight plays to give the Badgers the 20-13 lead.

It stayed that way until Arizona State took over after a Wisconsin punt a little past halfway through the final quarter. The Sun Devils had a drive of nine plays, going 77 yards, ending with a Marshall run of two yards to cut it to 20-19. Then, Valai broke through the line on the extra point try and blocked Thomas Weber’s attempt, keeping the Badgers in front.

Wisconsin was able to run out the clock, converting a third down conversion along the way and the Badgers escaped to go to 3-0, setting the tone for a memorable season that ended with a Big Ten championship and Rose Bowl berth.

48. Wisconsin 20, Minnesota 7 (2013)

Minnesota was extremely confident that it would end the eight game losing streak to its neighbors directly to the East. The Gophers were 8-2 and had snuck into the top 25. Wisconsin was also coming in at 8-2, with the only losses coming by seven at Ohio State and a controversial loss at Arizona State. The Bucky defense came to play and did not let Minnesota score an offensive touchdown in the 20-7 win.

After a Minnesota punt, James White carried the ball on Wisconsin’s first play from scrimmage and raced 49 yards down to the Gophers 12 for a first down, which would set up a field goal to put the Badgers on the board first. The score remained that way until the second quarter.

That is when Minnesota scored its points. Joel Stave tried to go over the middle on a third down pass, but it was picked off by Aaron Hill and returned for the score to give the Gophers the 7-3 lead.

The tide turned on Minnesota’s next offensive possession. The Gophers were facing a third down inside the Wisconsin 40, threatening to make it a two score game. Enter Chris Borland. Minnesota’s Philip Nelson was looking for a receiver and stepping up into the pocket, but Brendan Kelly caught him from behind and knocked the ball out. Borland pounced on the ball and returned it into Minnesota territory to the 49.

In two plays, the Badgers waltzed their way down to the Minnesota 10. A pass interference on second and goal put the ball at the 2 and White did the rest, putting the ball in the end zone from a yard out and Bucky took a 10-7 lead.

After Wisconsin forced a three and out and a Minnesota punt from deep in its own territory, the Badgers had the ball to start at the Gophers 43 with less than a minute and a half left before halftime.

The Badgers would travel down to the 2, but would have to settle for a field goal and take a 13-7 lead into the half.

Wisconsin started out the second half with inserting a knife into Minnesota’s heart, marching 83 yards in 12 plays, using up nearly half the quarter. This time, the score was a Stave pass to Jared Abbrederis from two yards out to give the Badgers some breathing room.

Borland would make a tackle and both force and recover a Gophers fumble on the next drive, but Jack Russell would miss a field goal, so the score remained 20-7 and it would remain that way the rest of the game. Minnesota would twice march into Wisconsin territory, but both times were stopped on downs and the Badgers would come out of Minneapolis with a 13-point win.

Minnesota players were upset after the loss and would not let Wisconsin do the tradition of “chopping” down the goal posts after winning Paul Bunyan’s axe. That would force the axe to be kept in the locker room until the end of the game the following season in Madison.

Unfortunately, this would be Bucky’s last taste of victory on the year as the Badgers would go on to lose 31-24 the following week against Penn State and then 34-24 in the Capital One Bowl against South Carolina.

49. Wisconsin 23, Nebraska 21 (2015)

Wisconsin was limping in to the second Big Ten game of the season at 3-2, but lost the Big Ten opener the week before at home against Iowa. Nebraska also lost its Big Ten opener in heartbreaking fashion at Illinois. Nebraska was coming in at 2-3 with all three losses coming in the closing seconds, including a loss on a Hail Mary in the opener against BYU. Wisconsin would only add to Nebraska’s misery, as Rafael Gaglianone nailed a 46-yard field goal with four seconds left to knock off the Cornhuskers and stay in contention for a Big Ten Western Division championship.

After a series of punts by both teams, Wisconsin took over late in the first quarter and drove 77 yards in 13 plays to take the lead on a Joel Stave pass to Troy Fumagali from seven yards out. But the rest of the half was all Nebraska. The Cornhuskers scored a touchdown in each of their final two possessions of the first half. The first was on a 14-play drive that was capped off by a Tommy Armstrong 7-yard touchdown run to tie it a 7.

That was followed by perfect throw from Armstrong to Alonzo Moore for 41 yards and Nebraska took the 14-7 lead into the break.

The only scoring in the third quarter would be a Gaglianone 45-yard field goal to cut the Wisconsin deficit to 14-10.

Then the fun began in quarter number four.

Two third down conversions, including a pass interference aided an 11-play drive that was capped by an Alec Ingold 1-yard touchdown run to put the Badgers ahead. After a Nebraska punt, Dare Ogunbowale ran for 32 yards to set up a Wisconsin field goal to put Bucky in front 20-14.

Considering the Cornhuskers offense had been bottled up by the stingy Wisconsin defense, most thought Wisconsin would hold on. Think again.

On the following drive, Armstrong converted a 3rd-and-15 with a run of 16 yards. Soon after that, Nebraska fullback Andy Janovich broke tackles and ran 55 yards to give the Cornhuskers the lead back at 21-20.

Wisconsin started deep in its own territory on the next possession, but quickly moved the ball out of the shadow of its own goal post on a 31-yard connection from Stave to Alex Erickson. The Badgers would drive down to the Nebraska 21 and lined up for a 39-yard field goal with less than a minute and a half left.

Gaglianone hit the upright and the Huskers kept the one point lead. Fortunately for him, he would get a chance at redemption.

After Wisconsin’s defense forced a three and out and using all of its timeouts, Bucky was able to get the ball back with less than 50 seconds left and no timeouts. Three plays netted the Badgers 42 yards. The longest was on a 23-yard pass to Fumagalli, down to the Nebraska 28. The drive would stall and Gaglianone had his chance to redeem himself from 46 yards out.

After making only two of his four field goals to that point in the game, Gaglianone calmly snuck this one inside the right upright to give the Badgers the lead and eventually the win with four seconds remaining.

The win kept the Badgers over .500 at 4-2 and evened their Big Ten record at 1-1. The victory over Nebraska started a run that helped the Badgers only lose one game the rest of the season, and even that loss was due to horrible officiating.

50. Wisconsin 16, Penn State 3 (2004)

It was the conference opener for the Badgers and College Gameday was in the building. But Wisconsin’s offense was struggling to do much of anything and all three of its running backs were hurt. Enter the Badgers’ newest folk hero, Matt Bernstein. The fullback had not eaten in 24 hours due to Yom Kippur, so he had oranges and turkey on the sidelines prior to kickoff. Then, he proceeded to feast in the Penn State defense. Bernstein rushed for a career-high 123 yards on 27 carries to help Wisconsin improve to 4-0 on the season.

The game itself was not the most exciting ever. There are only two parts people remember. First, Bernstein coming in and having a career day, including a hurdle of a defender on a 17-yard run in the third quarter. Secondly, people remember Erasmus James, who single handedly knocked two Penn State quarterbacks out of the game in the first quarter. On the second one, Penn State backup quarterback Michael Robinson had to be taken off the field in an ambulance.

After a Penn State fumble was recovered by James inside Nittany Lions territory late in the first quarter, the Badgers traveled 42 yards in eight plays to give the Badgers the 7-0 lead. The short drive was capped off by a John Stocco touchdown run of five yards.

Wisconsin was able to tack on a field goal just past the midway point of the second quarter to put Bucky in front 10-0. Then, Jim Leonhard picked off a pass and returned it deep into Penn State territory to set up another field goal for the 13-0 lead.

At halftime, it was decided that both healthy (at the start of the game) running backs Booker Stanley and Jamil Walker would be unable to give it a go in the second half. Already without starting running back Anthony Davis, the Badgers turned to Bernstein to carry the load.

On the first possession of the second half, Bernstein rushed 11 times on a 17-play drive that resulted in a field goal to put the Badgers in front 16-0. The signature moment of the drive came on a 2nd-and-10 from the Penn State 32. Bernstein took the handoff from Stocco and raced through the hole and hurdled a Nittany Lions defender at the 20 and then being brought down at the 15 for a run of 17 yards.

Penn State was able to drive and get a field goal on their ensuing drive to get on the scoreboard, but the defenses dominated the final quarter and the Badgers ended up with the 16-3 win.

This was the third time out of four games that the stingy defense had not given up a touchdown. With the three points allowed, the Bucky defense had only allowed 19 points through the first four games of the season. The defense continued to dominate, only allowing one offensive touchdown combined in wins against Illinois and at Ohio State in the next two weeks.

Rubio gone; Teague and Gibson Feeling Minnesota

After trading for Jimmy Butler, the Timberwolves certainly “Outshined” every other team on draft night. My apologies for the lame jokes, but not really. I was away from my laptop this weekend, so I was not able to write up about these moves one at a time. As a Wolves fan, it was certainly an interesting weekend. It all started with the trade of Ricky Rubio on Friday and I got very little sleep Friday night due to constantly refreshing Twitter on my phone. It has already been the most interesting offseason in years for the Timberwolves and it will continue in the coming weeks.

First off, I will start out with the trade of Rubio for a lottery protected first from Utah (via Oklahoma City). I was not surprised when he was traded to Utah. Minnesota did not want to take cap back, so they just shipped him off for a protected first in order to gain much-needed cap space. The Jazz were interested in Rubio since George Hill likely will head elsewhere this offseason. Many Wolves fans were so upset about this trade. I was not one of them. I had a feeling it was coming, especially following the trade for Butler. Since the Wolves traded their top 3-point threat to Chicago (Zach LaVine), so Minnesota needs to upgrade shooting in the worst way and Rubio does not help in that area. Looking back on it, the writing was on the wall. Rubio is a career 37 percent shooter from the floor and is coming off a career year......of just 40 percent shooting. He is also a career 32 percent 3-point shooter. Rubio is solid defensively, but I do think he is over-rated in that area. I know some dopey statistics are in his favor, but when I watch him play, he is beaten quite a bit. He also has trouble making layups and passes up open ones quite a bit. Minnesota needed to improve its shooting at point guard to fit with Butler and Andrew Wiggins.

Hours after trading Rubio to Utah, Minnesota picked up its replacement after agreeing to a deal with former Atlanta Hawks and Indiana Pacers point guard Jeff Teague on a three-year deal. The Timberwolves downgraded defensively and passing, but they improve at shooting and scoring. While not great at shooting, he made 36 percent from deep last season and had an eFG percentage of 49 percent, much higher than Rubio’s of 45. He also gets to the free throw line more and is a much better shooter off the dribble. Overall, I am fine with it. The floor spacing will be much better with Teague than it was with Rubio. He may not be a great shooter, but I still would feel more comfortable with him taking an open jump shot than Ricky, especially with Teague playing off the ball more and Butler having the ball quite a bit. That is something the Spaniard could not do.

Minnesota still needed a backup big and I called it (granted, many predicted it) as the Wolves signed Taj Gibson. The 32-year-old signed a two-year deal yesterday, reuniting himself with Tom Thibodeau, who he played five years under in Chicago. Gibson will bring some interior defense to a team that severely lacked in that area last year. He also will bring some much-needed toughness to the team. Last season, Gibson averaged 10.8 and 6.2 rebounds per game, while shooting 52 percent from the floor. Whether him or Gorgui Dieng starts, the bench gets a big boost with this signing. The backup big men struggled last year. They still have Nemanja Bjelica who played really well the weeks before he got hurt. That quartet of big men is not too bad.

Following the trade of Rubio on Friday, I was thinking the Wolves would go all-in for Kyle Lowry. Well, he received a 3-year, $100 million deal. Minnesota did not have that kind of money. After Minnesota agreed to a deal with Teague, the Wolves looked at both J.J. Redick and Paul Millsap. Darren Wolfson said that Minnesota had the cap space to land Redick and there was a report that the Timberwolves were one of the favorites to land Millsap. I went to bed thinking that they would end up with one of them. It was perfect. Redick was interested in Minnesota and they had the money for a multi-year deal. The Wolves desperately need shooting and he shot 43 percent from deep last season. I was dreaming of ways they were going to somehow, someway get both of them. As it turns out, they didn’t land either. Surprisingly, Minnesota did not even offer a contract to Redick and he signed a one-year deal worth $23 million with the Philadelphia 76ers. Then, Millsap signed a three-year, $90 million contract with the Denver Nuggets. There was no way the Wolves were going to go that far with Millsap, so they went to Gibson. That teaches me to not get my hopes up. I am very happy with Gibson, but a Teague/Wiggins/Butler/Millsap/Towns starting five would have been an incredible lineup. Then I woke up...

Moving forward, the Wolves still are in desperate need of shooting. Unfortunately, they don’t have much cap space. However, they still do have Cole Aldrich, who has a cap friendly contract as his contract is not guaranteed after next season, so he may not be retained by a team in need of cap space for the 2018 offseason. Minnesota would have to include the draft pick received from Utah in order to move Aldrich for cap space. There are a few options still out there, such as C.J. Miles, Mike Dunleavy, Jr., Anthony Morrow and Vince Carter. In order to sign Miles, who is both a terrific 3-point shooter and a good defender, the Wolves would have to trade Aldrich and the first from the Rubio trade to clear some cap space in order to sign Miles. The others should come fairly cheap. There is still plenty of time this offseason to get some shooting help, but they need to find some snipers sooner rather than later before they’re all gone.