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.