1. Wisconsin 38, Minnesota 17 (2019)

The build up to this game was enormous. With three weeks left in the regular season, Wisconsin trailed by two games. Minnesota was undefeated, while Wisconsin had two losses, to Ohio State and an embarrassing loss to Illinois. The Gophers had just had one of their biggest wins in 50 years, knocking off Penn State to reach a perfect 9-0. The same week, Wisconsin held off Iowa 24-22 in Madison. Following the win over Iowa, the Badgers needed help from the Hawkeyes if they wanted to earn a trip to the Big Ten Championship game. They got the help, as Iowa beat Minnesota the next week as Wisconsin defeated Nebraska in Lincoln. Each team won in the second to last week of the season, which set up the big showdown to see who would play Ohio State in Indianapolis, as 9-2 Wisconsin played at 10-1 Minnesota.

It was being built up as the biggest game for Minnesota in more than 50 years. The Gophers had not won the Big Ten since 1967 and defeating Wisconsin would be one step closer to doing just that. The Gophers had dominated the Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium 37-15 the year before and Wisconsin was out for revenge. To make things even better, College Gameday was in town. Up to that point, Minnesota was one of just a handful of teams to have never hosted Gameday. The show chose that site over great games like Auburn/Alabama and Michigan/Ohio State. The game was on ABC at 2:30 CST with the A-team of Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit on the call. And oh yeah, one of the greatest trophies in college football—Paul Bunyan’s Axe—was on the line.

Wisconsin and Minnesota—the biggest meeting since the 1960s. The hype was enormous. All the folks on Gameday picked the Gophers, including Pat McAfee. Despite Minnesota getting most of the love, Wisconsin was put as a slight favorite. I guess maybe Vegas knew something many fans did not?

I mentioned the raucous crowd at TCF Bank Stadium….and it didn’t get any quieter at the beginning of the game when the Gophers defense stuffed Wisconsin on the first possession and a short punt set up the Gophers near midfield. Two plays into the possession, Tanner Morgan found a WIDE open Rashod Bateman running a post down the field, and he jogged into the end zone for a 53-yard touchdown and a quick 7-0 lead.

The whole game changed, though, in the second possession. Wisconsin registered one first down before punting. The Gophers then moved inside the 40, but were stuffed on back-to-back plays, forcing them into a 4^th-and-2. Instead of going for it, Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck chose to punt. Momentum gone. They couldn’t get it back the remainder of the game.

While Wisconsin didn’t score on its ensuing possession, it did get the offense going and gain confidence before Aron Cruickshank fumbled after receiving the snap out of the shotgun.

But the Badgers responded with a takeaway of their own. On third down, Minnesota quarterback Tanner Morgan threw to the left sideline, but was intercepted by Caesar Williams. That pick led to a field goal to cut it to 7-3.

Wisconsin took the lead on its next possession, turning a seven-play 82-yard drive into a touchdown. On a third down from their own 35, they ran a tight end middle screen and he broke a tackle which would have stopped him shy of the line to gain. Jake Ferguson broke numerous tackles for 20 yards, moving into Gophers territory.

Three plays later, Bucky had that lead. The Badgers ran a wheel route and Coan threw it down the right sideline to JT23, who caught it at the 6 and back pedaled into the end zone for the score.

The Gophers reached the Minnesota 49, but a Jack Sanborn sack ended the hopes for a score before the end of the half.

Wisconsin owned the second half right from its first offensive possession. The Badgers held the Gophers off the scoreboard to begin the half, but were backed up to their own 9 after the punt.

It took Bucky just four plays to go the 91 yards to make it a two-score game and it started with the first play of the drive. Backed up, Chryst called a deep ball. Coan found his favorite target, Quintez Cephus, for 31 yards to the 40. Three plays later, Coan went deep to Cephus for a 47-yard touchdown in a blizzard.

After Minnesota booted a field goal, Wisconsin took control of the game. With the score 17-10, the Badgers ran some trickery on the ensuing kickoff. Cruickshank caught the kickoff and handed it off to Isaac Guerendo, who was running from right to left. He found some room and blasted for a long return down to the Gophers 39.

Two plays later, Wisconsin made it a two-score game once again. With the ball at the 26, Wisconsin ran a jet sweep with Kendric Pryor, who received great blocking and he sprinted untouched for the touchdown to quickly answer the Gophers score to make it 24-10.

Minnesota had a tremendous drive going, aiming to cut it back to one score again. Morgan found Bateman for 18 yards down to the Wisconsin 6, as the Gophers were knocking on the doorstep as the fourth quarter began.

Two plays gained them two yards, which set up third down from the 4. On third down, Morgan looked to the back left corner of the end zone intended for Tyler Johnson that was knocked away by Williams. On fourth down, Morgan went back to that same matchup at the goal line. Once again, Williams was equal to the task, knocking the pass away to keep the lead at 14.

With a 96-yard drive, the Badgers broke it open. Specifically, one play daggered the Gophers. The Badgers faced a 3^rd-and-6 at their own 19. Minnesota had a chance to get the ball back with good field position. However, Coan took the snap and the Gophers brought the blitz. Wisconsin had a screen called, the perfect play call. Coan dumped it to running back Garrett Groshek, who rumbled 70 yards down to the Gophers 11.

One play later, JT23 busted through for an 11-yard touchdown to break the game open. His second score of the game made it 31-10.

If the Badgers didn’t have the game in hand before, it did following Minnesota’s next drive. On the first play of the possession, Morgan was sacked by Garrett Rand and lost the ball and Wisconsin recovered.

Four plays later, JT crashed in from a yard out to cement the Badgers trip to Indianapolis and give Bucky a 38-10 lead.

The Gophers scored a late touchdown, but it was too little, too late, for Minnesota. Wisconsin gained 453 yards of total offense to win by 21.

Wisconsin went to 10-2 with the win and the win helped them make a return trip to the Rose Bowl. What makes this so high is destroying the dreams of Minnesota fans. In the biggest game for the Gophers in more than 50 years, the Badgers obliterated them. Fun times in Madison.

2. Wisconsin 16, LSU 14 (2016)

I was debating if I should put this No. 1 or 2. Nevertheless, this was an enormous win by the Badgers. Yes, I went to this game, so I am biased and feel obligated to put this right near the top. But there were so many storylines to this game. First off, Wisconsin was facing off against former defensive coordinator Dave Aranda, who bolted to LSU in the offseason. Secondly, the No. 5 Tigers came in as one of the preseason favorites to make it to the College Football Playoff, led by Heisman Trophy candidate Leonard Fournette. On the other hand, Wisconsin had to play LSU and Ohio State in Wisconsin, while playing Michigan, Michigan State and Iowa all on the road. Many, such as Colin Cowherd, predicted the Badgers to be a 6-6 team. Arnie Spanier said Wisconsin was not that good any more and that LSU would cover the massive 10.5-point spread with ease. And oh yeah, the game was at Lambeau Field, the crown jewel of all NFL stadiums. As former boxing referee Mills Lane would say, “Let’s get it on!”

College Gameday was in the house for this one. I mean, despite the fact that there were so many other great games that weekend, there was no way the show was not going to be held at Lambeau. Many called it the greatest opening weekend for college football ever. It did not disappoint. It was quite impressive that out of all the outstanding games that weekend, they chose this matchup for College Gameday. The Badgers had to replace their winningest quarterback of all-time, Joel Stave. They replaced him with senior Bart Houston, who waited for his turn despite being a highly ranked recruit coming in from California. Fittingly, Houston was named after former Packers legend Bart Starr, who had played in that stadium 50 years before. You can't make this stuff up.

In addition to Cowherd and Spanier, seemingly nobody gave the Badgers much of a chance to beat the mighty LSU Tigers. But, as Chris Berman would say, "that’s why they play the game."

Wisconsin received the opening kickoff and would get a pair of first downs on Aranda’s defense before having to punt. LSU would go three-and-out on its first possession, which was a theme for the Tigers offense in the first half. LSU would gain just 64 yards on 21 plays in the first half and four of the six drives would last three or fewer plays for the Tigers.

Twice the Badgers would drive deep into LSU territory, but would be turned away each time. On its second drive, Bucky would drive to the Tigers 23 on the strength of a Houston 21-yard pass to Rob Wheelwright. However, on the 4th-and-1, Clement would be stopped behind the line of scrimmage and the Badgers had to turn the ball over on downs. On their very next drive, Wisconsin would move into the red zone. However, on 3rd-and-9 from the LSU 10, Houston went to the right corner of the end zone intended for Kyle Penniston, but it was woefully underthrown and easily picked off by Rickey Jefferson.

It would remain scoreless until well into the second quarter. In a defensive struggle, turnovers would be magnified. They took points off the board for Wisconsin in the first quarter, but it would benefit from a big one in the second. Following a P.J. Rosowski punt, the Tigers started at their own 36. On the first play, they ran a jet sweep with running back Derrius Guice, and he was tackled and fumbled near the sideline. After a few seconds with the ball sitting on the ground, Conor Sheehy recovered for the Badgers at the 36.

This time, the scoring chance would not go to waste. Wisconsin would pick up two first downs on the drive to move down the field to the LSU 12, where the drive would stall. On the third down play, Houston threw a pass off the hands of Wheelwright in the end zone, so the Badgers had to settle for three. Rafael Gaglianone’s 30-yard field goal split the uprights and Bucky took the 3-0 lead with a little more than four minutes remaining in the first half.

Wisconsin’s defense was not done making plays in the second quarter, though. After one first down from LSU’s offense, Fournette gained nine yards on two carries to set up a 3rd-and-1. After the Heisman Trophy candidate was stuffed on third down, Les Miles decided to roll the dice on fourth down in his own territory. Fournette got the carry again, and he was stopped short of the first down by Jack Cichy and Arrington Farrar and Bucky took over on downs at the LSU 45.

Wheelwright would make his presence felt in the first half. The senior had four catches for 60 yards, three catches of which came in the first half. On the opening play of the drive, Houston found Wheelwright along the sideline, who broke a tackle and ran to the middle of the field for a 12-yard gain and a first down. That would set up Gaglianone for a 48-yard field goal, which he drilled with less than a minute left in the half. That would remain the score at the end of one half of play.

You can’t understate the job Wisconsin’s defense did in the first half. Now, no one will ever confuse LSU’s offense with the 1999 St. Louis Rams, but to hold a team to 64 yards of offense in the first half is really impressive. What is even more impressive is that they held arguably the nation’s best running back (and future top five draft pick) to just 35 yards on 11 carries. He would break off a few long runs in the second half to inflate his numbers, but for the most part, he was bottled up by a salty Wisconsin front seven. You knew LSU would not stay down for long, though.

However, the Tigers offense would pick up in the second half right where it left off in the first, going three and out and having to punt. Wisconsin would waste little time in the second half putting the first touchdown on the board. Following the LSU punt, the Badgers would travel 58 yards in less than two minutes to put them ahead by two scores. The first three plays of the drive went for first downs, starting with a 27-yard pass from Houston to tight end Troy Fumagalli to move the ball to the LSU 31. This would be the coming out party for Fumagalli. After having 500 yards receiving combined in his first two seasons, the big tight end would catch seven passes for an even 100 yards against the vaunted LSU defense. Clement would do the rest on the drive. The first three carries went for a combined 26 yards to move it to the 5. Then he would get the ball again and make a cut and fight his way into the end zone for the score. Clement was first ruled down at the 1, but after review, it was determined that he broke the plane. Bucky led 13-0.

Fournette finally made his presence felt on the next drive. He would gain 51 yards on the next four carries to move to the Wisconsin 32. But the Badgers defense would stand tall and push the Tigers back and force a punt. But that is the whole game changed.

After a few short runs from Clement set up a 3rd-and-4, Houston made a game-changing mistake. He went back to pass from his own end zone and fired a dangerous pass along the left sideline that was picked off by LSU’s Tre’Davious White, who picked it off and weaved his way 21 yards for the first Tigers score of the season.

It only got worse for the Badgers on the next drive. Even though Wisconsin still had the lead by six, the momentum was swinging to the side of the SEC school. After the kickoff, the Badgers gained one yard in two plays. On the third down, Houston found junior wide receiver George Rushing for a first down, but he would be hit and the ball came free. White recovered it for the Tigers and they were in business again at the Wisconsin 41. That was the third turnover for the Badgers and every one was painful. Thinking the defense would be on its heels after a sudden change of possession, Miles went for a shot. Brandon Harris struggled mightily on the day, only going 12-of-21 for 131 yards, but he would find a wide open Fournette down the left sideline for 31 yards. It would not take long for the Tigers to go from being down 13-0 to in front 14-13, as Harris threw a short pass to wide receiver Travin Dural, who shook free of D’Cota Dixon and waltzed into the end zone from 10 yards away. It was quite a turn of events.

The score would stay that way until late in the game. That isn’t to say there weren’t key plays, though. Starting inside linebacker T.J. Edwards broke his foot during the summer and would miss this game, so ‘Three sack’ Jack Cichy started in place of him. Already without Edwards, the other starting inside linebacker, Chris Orr, tore his ACL on the very first defensive snap of the season. Down both starting inside linebackers, former walk-on sophomore Ryan Connelly made one of the biggest plays of the game, and maybe the season. With LSU facing a 3rd-and-8 from its own 33, Miles called a screen pass. Harris threw it to Fournette and the blocking was set up nicely, but Connelly knifed through to bring down the 228-pound running back in the open field. That forced the Tigers to punt with a little more than eight minutes to play.

Wisconsin started at its own 23, looking for one of its biggest non-conference regular season wins of all-time. Houston, despite making his first start, looked as poise as you can be, completing all three passes he attempted on the drive for 38 yards. He and his big tight end got the drive rolling, as the two connected on 20-yard pass to move into Tigers territory. Backup running back Dare Ogunbowale would run for 14 yards on the the ensuing play and all of a sudden, Wisconsin was at the LSU 33. However, Paul Chryst would play it conservative and settle for the field goal attempt of 47 yards.

Gaglianone, wearing No. 27, had already hit two on the day, including one of 48. The kicker had switched his number to 27 from No. 10 to honor his friend Sam Foltz. In July of 2016, former Michigan State punter Mike Sadler and Foltz, who was entering his senior season at Nebraska, were returning from a kicking camp at Wisconsin when the car Sadler was driving lost control on wet pavement, left the road and struck a tree. Both were killed. LSU kicker Colby Delahoussaye was also in the car, but he survived and needed stitches in addition to suffering burns to his legs. It would only make sense that Gaglianone would be called upon to give Wisconsin a lead against the No. 5 team in the country late in the game.

The snap was good and Gaglianone’s kick was drilled right down the middle to give the Badgers the 16-14 lead with 3:47 remaining. It did not make it by much, but it was plenty much for the Badgers. To celebrate his big-time kick, Gaglianone pointed to his jersey. “That one was for you brother,” he tweeted after the game. “I know you were looking down and helping me make those kicks!!”

LSU had one more chance, and it was up to Wisconsin’s defense to bring home the win. The Badgers wouldn’t have had it any other way. The Tigers offense had not done much of anything to that point, gaining just 217 yards. But the drive started well for LSU, as Harris found tight end DeSean Smith for 19 yards up to the 44. Three plays later, the Tigers looked to be in business, as Harris connected with future Green Bay Packer Malachi Dupri for a first down to move to the Wisconsin 45. That was only their second third down conversion of the game. It looked even more like LSU would come out of Lambeau with a win when Fournette blasted through a hole for 15 yards before being upended by safety Leo Musso and injuring his leg. That injury would force him to miss LSU’s next game against Jacksonville State. With less than a minute and half left in the game, the Tigers were without their best player and were just whistled for a false start. Instead of being able to run the ball with confidence since Fournette was out of the game, Harris had to put the ball in the air.

Going into the season, people wondered who would replace the starting safeties from 2015, Michael Caputo and Tanner McEvoy. Those two complemented each other well. Caputo was the safety who played in the box and McEvoy was the center fielder, leading the team with six interceptions as a senior. Most of all, Caputo added leadership to a young cornerback duo. Musso had to take on more of a leadership role, and helped lead a secondary that was second in the country in interceptions. The safeties combined for nine and would make numerous big plays throughout the season. Not one was bigger than D’Cota Dixon’s in the season opener.

Harris went back to pass on the game-deciding play, and quickly was under pressure from Vince Biegel, who came in unblocked. The LSU quarterback was able to spin away from Biegel and find some space to throw. Unfortunately, for the Tigers, he rushed his throw intended for wide receiver D.J. Chark that was picked off by Dixon to seal the deal. In celebration, the safety was leveled by LSU offensive lineman Josh Boutte, which deservedly got him ejected and suspended for the following week's game. Houston took a knee three times and the Badgers emerged with a monumental win over LSU at Lambeau Field. The win was the first victory for Wisconsin over an AP top five team while unranked since 1985. It also snapped LSU’s FBS-record 52-game non-conference winning streak. The Badgers also snapped a seven game losing streak to top 10 teams.

There are no words that can describe how big this victory was. For a team that came into the season with really low expectations by Wisconsin standards, this gave them confidence that they could compete with the big boys. This win jump-started the Badgers to what would turn out to be an incredible season that would end with a victory in the Cotton Bowl in Texas.

3. Wisconsin 34, Miami 24 (2017)

Wisconsin came into the 2017 Orange Bowl looking for a program-record 13th win. The Badgers torpedoed through the regular season, going 12-0 with only one game being won by one score. It was their first perfect regular season since 1912. However, they were stopped one win short of the College Football Playoff, as the Badgers fell 27-21 to the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Big Ten Championship. Their consolation was a berth in the Orange Bowl......against the Miami Hurricanes and their turnover chain. Just like the previous season when it was Wisconsin’s first trip to the Cotton Bowl, this would be the first trip to the Orange Bowl. It was their second meeting in a bowl game, with the Badgers winning the previous matchup 20-14 in the 2009 Champs Sports Bowl. In a battle of two good defenses, I expected a low-scoring game. What we got was the Alex Hornibrook Show, as the Badgers quarterback threw four touchdown passes helping the Badgers win their 13th game of the season, 34-24.

Wisconsin received the ball to start, and would pick up a first down, moving into Miami territory. However, on Jonathan Taylor’s first carry of the game, he would carry the ball to the Hurricanes 30-yard-line, but would fumble. Well, he was down before he fumbled, but the officials ruled it a fumble anyway and it would be Miami football.

Enter the turnover chain.

Miami would blow into Wisconsin territory in two plays, which both picked up first downs. Wisconsin would hold the Canes after that, and Miami’s Michael Badgley would not even come close to making the field goal attempt. It was way wide right and way short. Wisconsin would take over in solid field position, and Jonathan Taylor would make up for his fumble on the previous drive by rushing four times for 38 yards, setting up a Rafael Gaglianone field goal to put Bucky on the board first.

But after that, the rest of the quarter was all Hurricanes. Just like their first drive, the Canes started out with two first downs on their first two plays and they moved inside the Badgers 40. Miami then went to the ground to score. Three players carried the ball on the final five plays of the drive, and it ended when Travis Homer blasted his way into the end zone from five yards away and Miami took a 7-3 lead.

It did not get better for Wisconsin, as it was called for a holding on the ensuing kickof return, and the Badgers had to start at their own 9. Three plays lost three yards, and the Badgers were forced to punt, and Anthony Lotti’s punt went out of bounds at the Wisconsin 45. Miami’s DeeJay Dallas made quick work of the Wisconsin defense, as he carried the ball twice on the drive, including a 39-yard touchdown run down the right sideline. In the span of three minutes, it went from a Wisconsin 3-0 lead to a 14-3 deficit.

The Badgers would be forced to punt from their own 22 on the next possession, so it looked like the Hurricanes would be in position to blow the game open. But the game turned in the other direction. After Homer was tackled for a loss of five to end the first quarter, Miami quarterback Malik Rosier tried to throw a wide receiver screen to Braxton Berrios, but was picked off by linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel. The interception set up the Badgers with great field position at the Canes 23. Three plays later, Wisconsin faced a 3rd-and-7 from the Miami 20. Hornibrook, who had a tremendous game, threw a back shoulder pass to freshman wide receiver Danny Davis. The freshman caught it inside the 5, despite blanket coverage from Miami’s Dee Delaney, and fell into the end zone for the score. As Matt Lepay would say, “....and the Badgers are back in the fight!”

That started a terrific evening for Hornibrook. For the game, he was 23-of-34 for 258 yards and four touchdowns. After the Van Ginkel interception, the sophomore quarterback ended the half completing 11 of 12 passes for 116 yards and three scores. He had a subpar first quarter, completing only three passes in nine attempts for 23 yards. But in his final three quarters, he was flawless, completing 20 of 25 passes for 235 yards and all four of his touchdowns.

Wisconsin’s defense stopped Miami’s offense in three plays on its next possession, so Hornibrook and company took advantage and re-captured the lead. He led the Badgers on a 12-play, 71-yard march that was capped off by another Hornibrook touchdown pass, this one to sophomore wide receiver A.J. Taylor. Star freshman running back Jonathan Taylor was bottled up on this particular drive, rushing for 15 yards on five carries, but Hornibrook more than made up for it. The Pennsylvania native was 4-for-4 on the drive for 46 yards, including the touchdown to A.J. Taylor. On the touchdown, once again, it was terrific coverage by the Miami defender. This time it was Sheldrick Redwine on the coverage, and Hornibrook threw it to a perfect spot. The Wisconsin quarterback made a great throw, but A.J. Taylor made an even better catch. He caught with his left hand while being covered tightly by Redwine, and secured the Badgers first lead of the quarter.

Miami’s offense went three plays and out once again, and Hornibrook went back to work. The Hurricanes defense stuffed Jonathan Taylor on this drive once again, but the Badgers quarterback looked like Aaron Rodgers once again. Hornibrook went 4-for-5 for 48 yards and a touchdown on the drive that gave them a 24-14 lead with 28 seconds left in the half. Two of his completions were on 3rd-and-long. Hornibrook’s touchdown pass was a pass over the middle to Danny Davis, his second of the game, who beat Redwine to give Bucky the 10-point lead going into halftime.

Playing in its home stadium, you knew Miami would not go away quietly. The Hurricanes cut the deficit to three on their second possession of the second half. After a short punt from Anthony Lotti, the Canes traveled 46 yards in just two plays. Rosier scrambled and found a wide open Lawrence Cager, who beat top cover man Nick Nelson, for a 38-yard score.

Miami had everything going its way, as it forced a Wisconsin three-and-out and then would travel 37 yards on two plays to move to the Badgers 24. But on 2nd-and-10, Rosier took a shot into the end zone and was picked off by the Florida native Derrick Tindal.

The teams would trade field goals following the interception, and the Badgers would need a touchdown to try to seal the game. In a big-time drive to give the Badgers the 34-24 lead, Jonathan Taylor ran the ball once for no yards. Hornibrook, on the other hand, threw the ball six times on the 8-play drive, going 6-for-6 for 74 yards and the touchdown. On the drive, the Badgers never once faced third down, and the drive was capped off with Davis’ third touchdown reception of the game. The true freshman had only caught two touchdowns in the first 13 games of the season.

Miami had one more opportunity in the game, as Jeff Thomas beat Tindal on a 48-yard reception down to the Wisconsin 10. But the ensuing three plays gained only four yards, and Badgley’s 24-yard field goal attempt bounced off the right upright. So with 4:34 to go and the Badgers up 10, it was all but over.

Wisconsin had a nice bounce back win over Miami after the crushing loss to Ohio State. It was a great ending to what was one of the best seasons in school history.