29. Wisconsin 19, Western Michigan 7 (2000)

This one was ranked this high because of how odd the day was. The Badgers were set to kick off under the lights against Western Michigan in hopes of winning the Big Ten once again and returning to a third consecutive Rose Bowl. Gone was Heisman Trophy winner Ron Dayne, but the Badgers were replacing him with speedster Michael Bennett. However, the NCAA suspended 26 Wisconsin football players from one to three games for receiving unadvertised discounts at a shoe store in Black Earth, Wis. The school was notified of the suspensions the afternoon of the game, so the coaching staff had to figure out which players would sit out which games. The players who would sit out against the Broncos included wide receivers Chris Chambers (although he was hurt, so he would not have played anyway) and Nick Davis, cornerback Jamar Fletcher, offensive lineman Ben Johnson and linebacker Bryson Thompson. Although being suspended for one game, Bennett did play in the opener and had a nice day, rushing for 128 yards and had the only Badgers offensive touchdown of the night in a hard-fought 19-7 win against Western Michigan.

The Badgers would receive to begin the game and would drive down to the Western Michigan 29, but would turn the ball over on downs. Bennett would carry five times for 23 yards on his first drive as the starting running back. Quarterback Brooks Bollinger would also add 19 yards on the ground, but would lose three yards on 4th-and-2 that would give the ball over on downs to the Broncos.

Western Michigan’s opening possession would not last long, as the Broncos would only possess the ball two plays and Jeff Welsh would be sacked by Wendell Bryant, forcing a fumble. Ben Herbert pounced on the loose football for the Badgers and Wisconsin had a 1st-and-10 in Western Michigan territory. Bucky would take advantage of the sudden change of possession. On the first play, Bollinger went deep to sophomore wide receiver Lee Evans for a 38-yard gain down to the Broncos 8. That would set up a short Vitaly Pisetsky field goal and the Badgers were on top 3-0.

The defensive struggle would continue well into the second quarter. That is when a certain player would make an unlikely impact. Robert Sanford was onto punt for Western Michigan and he launched a 57-yard punt down to return man Josh Hunt, who was filling in for the suspended Davis. Hunt, who did not even have his name on the back of his jersey, backed up to field the punt at his own 11. He ran up the field and broke a tackle and was off to the races. He went 89 yards for the touchdown to give the Badgers a 10-0 lead.

Western Michigan would get that touchdown back right before the half. Tight end Mobolaji Afariogun had two catches on the scoring drive, including the touchdown. He also had a 29-yard reception to move the Broncos into Wisconsin territory. The score would be 10-7 Wisconsin at the half.

It would remain a defensive slugfest throughout the remainder of the game. Each team had opportunities in the third quarter to score, but neither could break through. Both teams missed a long field goal attempt and Wisconsin’s Erik Mahlik intercepted a Welsh pass inside the Badgers 15 to turn away the Broncos.

Early in the fourth quarter, Wisconsin’s offense finally put a touchdown on the board. Bennett did a lot of the work on the drive, rushing for 29 yards on six carries, including scoring the touchdown. The Bennett score came on a 3rd-and-3, in which Bennett bounced to the outside and ran into the end zone standing to give Bucky a 17-7 lead. With the way the defense was playing, that would be enough to secure the ‘W.’

The exclamation point would happen moments later when Ross Kolodziej sacked Welsh in the end zone for the safety and the 19-7 lead. The kickoff was only returned by Rashad McDade to the 8, but there was a holding penalty on the return, which forced the Broncos to begin at the 4. On the first play, Kolodziej brought down Welsh in the end zone.

The defenses pitched shutouts for the remainder of the game and Wisconsin walked away an emotional, hard-fought, 19-7 win. The Badgers would win their three non-conference games, but it was clear that the losses of the suspended players hurt and it would show even more as the season wore on, despite the return of them. The chemistry and timing was not there and I think the Badgers win a third consecutive Rose Bowl if the players weren’t suspended. As it is, Wisconsin would go 9-4 and end the season with a win in the Sun Bowl over UCLA.