31. Wisconsin 24, Michigan 10 (2017)

This is first game from the 2017 season to make the list, as Wisconsin was looking to remain perfect on the season. College Gameday was in the house to see No. 5 Wisconsin battle No. 24 Michigan at Camp Randall Stadium. In a game between two of the best defenses in the country, the Badgers earned a hard-fought 24-10 victory to stay in the College Football Playoff picture.

Gus Johnson was on the call on FOX, and it was a defensive struggle in the first half, which was to be expected. Each team punted its first two times with the ball, but on the third punt by Michigan, punter Brad Robbins was pinned deep in his own territory. Robbins booted a short kick that bounced at the Michigan 48 before coming to a stop at midfield. Many Wolverines players thought Wisconsin punt returner Nick Nelson would let them down it, so they let up a bit. But Nelson made the risky play of picking it up and eluded a defender immediately. The Badgers return man then made his way down the sideline before eluding another Wolverine at the 37. After that, Nelson cut to the middle of the field where he had nothing but green grass in front of him. The 50-yard touchdown put Bucky in front 7-0. It also was Wisconsin’s first punt return for a touchdown since Kenzel Doe did it against Utah State in 2012.

It would stay at 7-0 until late in the second quarter, but Michigan had a chance to tie it up midway through the second period. After a poor punt by Anthony Lotti set the Wolverines up with fantastic field position, Brandon Peters would drive his offense down the field on the strength of a 35-yard pass to tight end Zach Gentry. But the Wolverines would face a 3rd-and-Goal at the Badgers 5. Peters took the snap and was flushed to his left. He got away from Conor Sheehy and tried to run it in himself. But unfortunately for Peters, he was hit by Leon Jacobs at the 3, and he fumbled, which was recovered by Wisconsin cornerback Derrick Tindal.

But on Michigan’s following possession, the Badgers would not be able to take the ball away again. Starting on their own 16, it took the Wolverines seven plays to drive the 84 yards to tie the game up at 7. The big play of the drive was a 48-yard pass from Peters to Donovan Peoples-Jones to move to the Wisconsin 36. Five plays later, Ben Mason crashed in from a yard out to tie the game. On 3rd-and-8 from the 34, Peters found running back Chris Evans down to the 15, and the Wolverines would have no trouble moving down the field from there. It remained tied at 7 until halftime.

The first four possessions in the second half yielded a total of one first down and 13 total yards of offense. However, the Wolverines dominated the field position battle early on in the third quarter, and the Badgers would take over at their own 10 midway through the third. Michigan waited for Wisconsin, and specifically Alex Hornibrook, to make a costly mistake. That would happen on the first play of Wisconsin’s third drive of the second half. Hornibrook went back to pass and had a clean pocket, but tried to force it into tight end Troy Fumagalli. The ball was tipped and picked off by Michigan’s Devin Bush and he fell to the ground at the 29.

After a completion from Peters to Peoples-Jones for a first down on the first play of the drive, the Badgers defense stiffened to hold Jim Harbaugh’s club to a field goal, but Michigan had the 10-7 lead with 6:36 left in the third quarter. But, after this, it was all Wisconsin. Michigan would gain just 39 yards on 17 plays in their final four drives of the game. In those drives, the Wolverines would gain just two first downs as well.

With the perfect season in the balance, the Badgers needed to make a play. In their first three drives of the second half, they gained a total of zero yards and had gained just 95 yards in the game. Their fourth drive did not start well, as Jonathan Taylor was dropped for a loss of four. They got bailed out on a pass interference on the 2nd-and-14 play, which gave them a first down. But, once again, Michigan stuffed Wisconsin on its first two plays following the penalty. With the Badgers facing a 3rd-and-13 from their own 31, the tide turned. Hornibrook found A.J. Taylor down the left sideline for 51 yards down to the Wolverines 18.

But once again, Michigan pushed the Badgers back, forcing them into a 3rd-and-16 from the 24. Hornibrook threw perhaps his best pass of the season. The Badgers quarterback had great protection and stepped up to fire a dart over the middle to A.J. Taylor in the end zone in between two defenders and Wisconsin took the lead for the first time in the half.

Michigan would go three-and-out on its next drive, but the bigger story was Peters being knocked out of the game. On 3rd-and-5 from the Michigan 30, Peters overthrew a deep pass to Evans. On the play, he was rushed by Wisconsin’s Andrew Van Ginkel, which caused the errant pass. Just after he released it, Van Ginkel hit Peters and all of his weight landed right on the left shoulder of the Michigan quarterback. After several minutes, Peters was carted off the field and would not return.

Bucky would waste little time getting back into the end zone. The drive would last five plays, including another big third-down conversion. On 3rd-and-8 from his own 41, Hornibrook threw another dime, this one to freshman wide receiver Danny Davis for 27 yards down to the Wolverines 32. From there, fellow freshman wide receiver Kendric Pryor did the rest. Pryor would receive the handoff on a jet sweep, and he received blocks from center Tyler Biadasz at the line of scrimmage and downfield from Beau Benzschawel. Pryor used those blocks to scamper in untouched from 32 yards out to give the Badgers a two-score lead.

Michigan would get two first downs on the next drive, but would end up punting and Wisconsin would salt the game away. Starting on their own 6, the Badgers would drive into Wolverines territory on the strength of a 52-yard run by Jonathan Taylor. Bucky would be forced to punt, but Badgers were able to flip the field position. After a Michigan punt, Wisconsin would take more than five minutes off the clock on a 40-yard drive that resulted in a field goal to put Bucky in front 24-10.

A turnover on downs would give Wisconsin the win. It was Wisconsin’s 10th consecutive home victory. It also gave the Badgers a record of 11-0 and kept them alive for a College Football Playoff berth. Wisconsin would win its regular season finale against Minnesota to complete its first perfect regular season since 1912.

32. 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.

33. Wisconsin 17, Iowa 13 (2007)

Wisconsin had lost two consecutive games against Iowa at the friendly confines of Camp Randall Stadium. Nothing had come easy for the Badgers in 2007, having been tested in the non-conference portion of the schedule and would be again by the Hawkeyes. Bucky would eventually make enough plays down the stretch to sneak by Iowa and improve to 4-0 on the season and win the conference opener.

The game did not really get going until late in the second quarter. Iowa punted on its first eight possessions of the game, while Wisconsin punted on six of its first seven drives. Wisconsin turned the ball over on its first drive, and then again with less than five minutes to play in the first half. The second turnover, an interception by A.J. Edds, gave Iowa great starting field position in Wisconsin territory. That interception help set up a field goal by Daniel Murray and the Hawkeyes scored the first points of the night.

Wisconsin finally was able to score some points before the end of the half. The 72-yard drive would end on a Tyler Donovan 3-yard pass to All-American tight end Travis Beckum. Luke Swan had a 29-yard reception on the drive and P.J. Hill carried twice for 29 yards. However, on the second one, Hill fumbled into the end zone and Wisconsin recovered. However, the ball was brought back to where he fumbled. Two plays later, Donovan found Beckum over the middle for the score and the Badgers took a 7-3 lead with less than a minute left in the first half. Things were looking good for Bucky to take a lead into the break......until Iowa was given the ball back with a half minute left.

Iowa quarterback Jake Christiensen led his Hawkeyes down the field in a hurry. He completed a pass to James Cleveland for 30 yards and three to Derrell Johnson-Koulianos for a total of 33 yards, including the touchdown, a spectacular one-handed 21-yard score with four seconds left in the half. It was perfect coverage by All-Big Ten cornerback Jack Ikegwuonu, but the throw was perfect and Johnson-Koulianos made a great catch. Iowa took a 10-7 lead into the break.

There was no scoring in the third, but Iowa did drive and set up for a field goal that was blocked by Wisconsin’s Nick Hayden to keep it a 10-7 game. Other than that, it was all punts in the third quarter.

Early in the fourth quarter, Wisconsin received a big pass interference penalty to help give them a big first down. Hill was big on this drive, rushing for 42 yards, including the go-ahead score. Hill rushed in from two yards out on 3rd-and-Goal to give the Badgers the lead for good.

Iowa would drive into the red zone on the following possession, but freshman Aaron Henry sacked Christiensen on third down to force a field goal. Taylor Mehlhaff connected on a field goal on Wisconsin’s next possession to make it a 17-13 game, so Iowa needed a touchdown to win it.

The Hawkeyes turned the ball over on downs, only gaining two yards in four plays and the Badgers took over. Wisconsin could take a knee to run out the clock and Wisconsin went to 4-0 on the season with another hard-fought win.

34. Wisconsin 56, Bowling Green 35 (2005)

Wisconsin was not sure how good the running game would be entering the 2005 season. Gone was one of the leading rushers in program history, Anthony Davis. Trying to replace him would be no easy task, but the Badgers were confident that Brian Calhoun, a transfer from Colorado, would be up to the challenge. All Calhoun did was have the greatest debut in the history of Wisconsin Badgers football, rushing for 258 yards and five touchdowns. The game was also memorable because it was the last opener in the career of legendary coach, Barry Alvarez, who had announced prior to the season that the 2005 season would be his last.

Bowling Green was a really talented team, led by quarterback Omar Jacobs, who was one of the preseason favorites to be in New York for the Heisman Trophy presentation. His skills were on display early on in the 2005 opener. He would lead Bowling Green to three touchdowns on its first three possessions. The first touchdown came on a pass to Corey Partridge from 16 yards out to give the Falcons a 7-0 lead. The Patridge score capped off a drive of 10 plays, covering 80 yards. Jacobs was 5-5 for 43 yards and the touchdown on the drive. On the day, he would throw for an astonishing 458 yards and five touchdowns.

After the Wisconsin offense went three-and-out, Bowling Green’s offense went back to work. This time it was B.J. Lane on the receiving end of a Jacobs touchdown pass. Jacobs only threw one incompletion on the drive and the Falcons took a 13-0 lead. He threw for another 55 yards and it looked like the Falcons were going to run away with the game.

Wisconsin put together a much-needed scoring drive on its next possession. On a 3rd-and-8 from his own 26, quarterback John Stocco went back to pass before tucking it and running. He would get the first down to the 39, but was blasted in the process. Calhoun rushed for 40 yards on the next three plays before Stocco went to the air for the first time on the drive and connected with Jonathan Orr for the 21-yard score to cut it to 13-7.

But Bowling Green had an answer. On the second play from scrimmage on the next drive, Jacobs found Steve Sanders for a 63-yard score and the Falcons took back the 13-point lead.

Wisconsin was able to respond in the shootout, though. On the ensuing kickoff, Brandon Williams returned it 85 yards, down to the Bowling Green 8. The Badgers needed only one play to cash in on the great starting field position, as Matt Bernstein rumbled in from eight yards and it was back to a one score game. That momentum-turning kickoff return would end up being the Pontiac Game-Changing Performance of the week.

After Wisconsin was finally able to get a pair of stops, the Badgers offense was looking to cash in. After forcing a Bowling Green punt the first time, Stocco threw a pick on the first play of the drive to thwart the Badgers threat. On the next drive, Bucky had tremendous starting field position once again, starting at the Falcons 45. Wisconsin would run Calhoun on five of the six plays of the possession. The Badgers were facing a 4th-and-1 from the Bowling Green 20 and Alvarez decided to go for it. With Calhoun running well, he decided to give the ball to him again. He found a hole and blasted through it, running 20 yards for the score. Mehlhaff’s kick was good and Wisconsin took a 21-20 lead, its first of the day.

The Badgers were able to force another Falcons punt, and Bucky’s offense went back to work. Stocco found Calhoun on a pass for 39 yards, which set up another Calhoun rushing touchdown and Wisconsin led 28-20.

Just when you thought Bowling Green was on the verge of being out of it, Jacobs led his troops down the field once again. The Falcons used a pass from Jacobs to Charles Sharon of 32 yards to move to the Wisconsin 5, where B.J. Lane would carry it in. Jacobs found Patridge in the end zone for the two-point conversion and it was 28-28.

The shootout continued throughout the half. The Badgers offense blew down the field once more, getting nice yardage from Calhoun on runs and a pass to Williams to move down the field, where Calhoun scored his third of the day, a 5-yard run to make it 35-28 with less than a minute to play in the first half.

The craziness continued on the next drive, as Bowling Green was able to tie it back up heading into halftime. In a half minute, Jacobs was able to drive his team 83 yards for the tying score. Bowling Green used a 45-yard pass from Jacobs to Partridge to set the Falcons up deep in Badgers territory. The drive ended on a pass from Jacobs to Sanders from 10 yards out with four seconds left in the half and it was 35-35 at the break.

Okay, did you catch all that? Time to take a break after a combined 70 points were scored in the first half.

The second half started much like how the entire first half was. Wisconsin received the kickoff to start the third quarter and rolled down the field, with every yard on the ground. Calhoun rushed six times for 37 yards and Booker Stanley rushed twice for 29 yards on the drive, and Calhoun plowed in from a yard out for his fourth touchdown of the day and, more importantly, gave the Badgers the lead for good.

Wisconsin would score a touchdown on each of its first three possessions in the second half to turn the close game into a one-sided affair. Booker Stanley scored from 15 yards out and Calhoun rushed in from nine yards for his fifth and final one of the day and the Badgers opened up a 56-35 lead.

The Falcons would score once more to cut it to 56-42 and the defense stepped up and stopped Bowling Green on its final two drives. First, Levonne Rowan picked off a Jacobs pass along the sideline. Then, the Falcons drove to the Badgers 1, but Bucky's defense stepped up with a goal line stand to keep it at a 14-point win for the Badgers.

The expectations for the Badgers were not real high in 2005, but Wisconsin was able to finish 10-3, including a major upset in the Capital One Bowl against Auburn. There were many great moments during Alvarez’s final year and this was just the first.

35. 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.

36. 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.

37. Wisconsin 48, Michigan 28 (2010)

It had been 16 years since the Wisconsin Badgers were able to go into Ann Arbor and emerge victorious. The Badgers had a matchup advantage in the fact that their fierce running game went up against Michigan’s poor run defense. Even though John Clay was not able to play in the game, the Badgers still ran all over the Wolverines to the tune of 357 yards on the ground. The rushing offense did a great job keeping electrifying quarterback Denard Robinson off the field for Michigan en route to a convincing 48-28 win.

On Wisconsin’s second drive, the Badgers went 75 yards in 10 plays to get on the board first. Nine of those plays were runs and it was capped off by Ball crashing in from a yard out. The Badgers needed a fast start and that is exactly what they got. Bucky would eventually lead 24-0. The score would be the first of four consecutive scoring drives for Wisconsin.

After a field goal by Philip Welch, the Badgers needed just five plays to travel 75 yards to put Bucky ahead 17-0. The drive started on the right note on a 30-yard pass from Scott Tolzien to Nick Toon. On a 3rd-and-2 from the Michigan 27, Montee Ball broke away from a tackler and ran 27 yards for the touchdown.

Bucky was not done either. Just before halftime, James White wanted in on the fun. After a pair of passes went for a total of 25 yards to bring them out to the 39, Tolzien gave it to White. He received great blocking up front from the offensive linemen as well as a great block by Toon to spring him for a 61 yard score to give the Badgers a commanding 24-0 lead at halftime. With a running game like Wisconsin, it would be hard to come back against the Badgers.

On the opening possession of the second half, the high-powered Michigan offense was able to get going, driving down the field on the Badgers defense. Robinson found Darryl Stonum in the end zone for the score to put the Wolverines on the board. Michigan would gain more confidence on Wisconsin’s next possession, as Tolzien found Isaac Anderson for a first down, but Anderson fumbled and Michigan recovered. Robinson found Stonum for 34 yards down to the Badgers 4. Robinson would carry it in from there and all of a sudden, it was 24-14. However, it would get no closer.

After the fumble, the Badgers would not pass the ball once the rest of the game, rushing 29 consecutive plays. Wisconsin traveled 69 yards in eight plays and was capped off by a White 23-yard run to put Bucky up 31-14.

Stonum again would put Michigan in position to cut into the deficit. On the day, he would four catches for 99 yards. This reception for 32 yards and set up another touchdown run by Robinson, and the score was 31-21.

Knowing that his defense could not stop anyone, Rich Rodriguez called for an onside kick, which Wisconsin recovered. The Badgers traveled the short field and was able to punch it in to give Bucky a 38-21 lead. Ball capped off the drive on a short touchdown run.

J.J. Watt ended the comeback attempt by the Wolverines, as he batted a Robinson pass up in the air and caught it and brought it to the Michigan 40. The Badgers would add a field goal after the turnover to make it 41-21.

The teams would trade touchdowns in the final minutes and Wisconsin would walk away with the 48-28 victory, its first in Ann Arbor since 1994. The Badgers would come back home and clobber Northwestern to win its first Big Ten title since 1999 and earn a Rose Bowl berth.

38. Wisconsin 24, Ohio State 13 (2004)

Wisconsin’s defense had only allowed two touchdowns all season and were averaging giving up just 5.2 points per game. Now, the No. 15 Wisconsin Badgers would receive their first test of the season, going against Ted Ginn, Jr., Santonio Holmes and the No. 18 Ohio State Buckeyes. The previous year, the Badgers had ended Ohio State’s 19-game winning streak and the Buckeyes were out for revenge. This time, Wisconsin had its eyes on snapping Ohio State’s 18-game home winning streak. The last two times Bucky visited Columbus, Ohio State jumped out to a 17-0 lead before Wisconsin came back and won both times. This time around, Ohio State *only* jumped out to a 10-0 lead, but the Badgers once again were able to come back and defeat the Buckeyes.

Most people thought this would a close, low-scoring game, as both teams had terrific defenses. Lee Corso on Colllege Gameday even jokingly predicted the final score would be 3-2. Ohio State jumped out early on Wisconsin once again. The Badgers had to punt from deep in their own territory and the home team took advantage. The always-dangerous Ginn Jr. received the punt at his 35 and found a seam and took it 65 yards back to the house and Ohio State had a 7-0 lead.

Ohio State dominated the first 18 minutes of the game, and added a field goal early in the second to make it 10-0. The Buckeyes also fumbled deep in Wisconsin territory, which took points away from them on that drive. Down 10-0 for Wisconsin? No problem. Bucky was down 17-0 the last two times in Columbus and came back to win each time. The Badgers had the Buckeyes right where they wanted them.

Brandon Williams gave the team a spark on the kickoff after the Ohio State field goal, returning it to the Wisconsin 46. The Badgers would cruise down the field and would claw their way back into the game on a 31-yard touchdown run around the left side by senior running back Anthony Davis.

On the next possession, Wisconsin would take the lead. Quarterback John Stocco, who was in his first year as the starter, completed two passes to start out a drive that started on his own 22. The first pass was to tight end Jason Pociask for 18 yards and the second was to the other tight end, Owen Daniels, for 32 yards, to put the Badgers in business inside the Ohio State 30. Five plays later, Stocco threw a jump ball to the 6-foot-6 Darrin Charles, who reached up and hauled it in the end zone and Wisconsin led 14-10.

Ohio State would get three back on a 55-yard field goal by Mike Nugent as time expired in the first half, and the Badgers led 14-13 at halftime.

The Buckeyes had not scored a point on the Badgers in the second half in each of the last two games played in Columbus. That trend would continue in this one, as the Badgers outscored Ohio State 10-0 in the second half in this game.

Davis rushed for 27 yards of the 71 on the opening drive of the second half for the Badgers, as Wisconsin would get a Mike Allen field goal to give the Badgers a 17-13 advantage early in the second half.

Then the Badgers defense would put the clamps on the Ohio State offense. In the second half, only one of Ohio State’s possessions lasted longer than four plays, and three ended in a three-and-out. And the Buckeyes did not even have 100 total yards of offense in the second half.

The only touchdown in the second half came following an Ohio State muffed punt. The Ken DeBauche punt went off of Holmes, who was trying to catch it. Scott Starks, who would make a much bigger play the following week, would push Holmes out of the way to recover the muff.

Facing a 3rd-and-3 at the Ohio State 11 on the drive following the turnover, Stocco went back to pass and floated a pass to Jonathan Orr, who dove and caught the ball in the end zone to give Wisconsin a 24-13 lead and essentially end the game, considering how the Buckeyes offense was being shut down in the second half.

This was the fourth game out of six in which the Badgers did not yield an offensive touchdown. The Badgers would eventually start the season 9-0, just the third time in history that the Badgers had ever done that.

39. 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.

40. Wisconsin 31, Minnesota 28 (2009)

Much like the Minnesota Vikings opened U.S. Bank Stadium in the regular season against the Green Bay Packers in 2016, the Minnesota Golden Gophers opened the Big Ten schedule at TCF Bank Stadium against the Wisconsin Badgers. Minnesota had lost five in a row against Wisconsin, but were looking to stop the streak in its brand new on-campus stadium. Minnesota had already played twice at the new stadium, including a game against California, a top 10 team. However, this is Big Ten season, and the Gophers needed a rival to open up the stadium against, and Wisconsin was that team. John Clay would have a big day rushing the football and the Badgers would hold off a late Minnesota push to spoil the first Big Ten home game at the new stadium.

Many people thought the Badgers were a program on the decline after going just 7-6 the previous season. Enter Scott Tolzien, who stabilized the quarterback position, and helped the Badgers get back on track. On just Minnesota’s third play from scrimmage, Duane Bennett received the handoff and blasted through for a nice gain, but he fumbled and the Badgers defense fell on the ball near midfield. The Badgers were able to drive down the field and punch it in the end zone for the score. The first score was by eventual Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year John Clay, who carried it in from two yards and Bucky was first on the board.

Minnesota was able to respond quickly, though, scoring the next 10 points. The Gophers kicked a field goal on the next drive, and picked off Tolzien on the next Badgers drive. That led to an 11-yard Gophers touchdown pass from Adam Weber to Eric Decker and the Gophers had the lead. After the touchdown, Decker celebrated by “chopping” with an imaginary axe. Fortunately for Wisconsin, the only axe he would be chopping with would be imaginary.

The teams traded field goals after that and the Gophers would take a 13-10 lead into halftime.

Wisconsin fans were probably getting a bit restless on the first drive of the second half, as Tolzien fumbled in his own territory and the Gophers recovered. Minnesota would march into the red zone, but after a Gophers penalty, Weber was intercepted on a 3rd-and-12 by defensive lineman Patrick Butrym and the Badgers took over at their own 30.

The Badgers took full advantage of the opportunity, giving the ball to the big running back and letting him and the big boys up front put the Badgers back on top. Clay rushed six times on the drive for 53 yards and the touchdown, which would Bucky ahead for good. Tolzien also picked up a huge first down on 3rd-and-11 by completing an 18-yard pass to tight end Garrett Graham. Clay would cap off the drive by scoring from a yard out to give Wisconsin a 17-13 lead.

Then Bucky used a long drive to take a two score lead. Wisconsin started on its own 15 and used a 13-play drive to travel the 85 yards. Clay had a 26-yard rumble on that drive, but every other play was short. The touchdown came on a pass from Tolzien to Lance Kendricks, who made a great grab in the back of the end zone to give the Badgers the 24-13 lead.

Minnesota punted on its next possession and Wisconsin was on the drive once again and it looked like the Badgers would deliver the knockout punch. But on a 3rd-and-10, Zach Brown received the handoff. The thought was that he would get a few yards before being tackled and Philip Welch could come on to make it a 14-point game. But instead, Brown fumbled and Minnesota’s Marcus Sherels picked it up and returned it 88 yards for the touchdown and all of a sudden, the Gophers had life. The two-point conversion was successful and Minnesota was now only trailing 24-21.

The Badgers were not rattled by the sudden change. On a 2nd-and-9 near midfield, offensive coordinator Paul Chryst ran a bootleg with Tolzien and he raced down the sidelines for 47 yards, giving the Badgers a first down at the Gophers 5. Two plays later, Clay was in and Bucky had a 31-21 lead.

However, the Gophers would not go away quietly. Two huge plays gained Minnesota 78 yards and then Bennett scored from a yard out to cut it to 31-28. Then, Minnesota forced Wisconsin to punt after three plays after Wisconsin recovered an onside kick. Goldy would get the ball at the 5 to start the drive.

Weber would find Decker up to the Gophers 39 for a first down. Minnesota used all of its timeouts on defense, so the Gophers hurried to the line of scrimmage and the Gophers quarterback would drop back and get sacked by Blake Sorensen, who forced Weber to fumble. Eventual Big Ten Freshman of the Year Chris Borland would fall on the loose football to close out another win over their rivals and the Badgers would retain Paul Bunyan’s Axe for another season.

Wisconsin would lose its next two games, at Ohio State and at home against Iowa, before rebounding to win 10 games and end the season with an upset of Miami in the Champs Sports Bowl.

41. 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 they 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.

42. 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.

43. 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.

44. 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.

45. 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.

46. 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.

47. 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.

48. 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.

49. Wisconsin 16, Utah State 14 (2012)

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.

50. 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.