8. Wisconsin 48, Nebraska 17 (2011)

It was a night game at Camp Randall. College Gameday was there. It was the first Big Ten football game ever for the University of Nebraska. It was a matchup of two top 10 teams. What more could you want? The setting was perfect and the weather was perfect. It was a fantastic night for football in Madison. Wisconsin was coming in at 4-0, demolishing each team in the process. In Bucky’s four wins to begin the year, he won by an average of 40 points per game. However, the schedule was about to get much tougher. The combined record at the end of the year for Wisconsin’s non-conference opponents was 22-27, but that includes the 6-5 FCS record of South Dakota. Nebraska was also coming in at 4-0. The defense was surrendering a bunch of points, but the offense was as potent as any in the conference. The Cornhuskers were averaging nearly 43 points per game, and with the Badgers averaging nearly 49 per game, most figured this would be a shootout. Wisconsin did its share, but the Badgers defense forced Nebraska quarterback Taylor Martinez into a number of mistakes and Bucky turned what was a close game at the start into a one-sided contest. It did not help that during his head gear pick, Lee Corso picked Nebraska. That will teach him to mess with Buckingham U. Badger.

Wisconsin and Nebraska each would punt on their first possession, but on the Nebraska punt, Jared Abbrederis had a nice return near the Wisconsin 40, but would fumble and Kenny Bell for the Cornhuskers fell on it at the 39. It took Nebraska nine plays to score the first points of the night on a Martinez 1-yard run to give the Huskers a 7-0 lead. Martinez would have 29 combined yards rushing and passing on the drive.

It looked like Nebraska was building up momentum after the kickoff when Wisconsin was called for holding and had to start at its own 9 to begin the drive. No problem for Bucky’s offense. Four straight double digit yardage plays after a short Montee Ball run will help. Wisconsin started out with a Wilson pass to Abbrederis for 18 yards. After a pass interference and a Ball 10-yard run, Wisconsin had a 1st-and-10 at the Nebraska 46. Wilson dropped back to pass and quickly was under pressure. He escaped the first rusher and rolled out to his left and juked out another to run for 21 yards and a first down at the 25. Ball would do the rest of the damage on the drive, getting five carries to gain those 25 yards to put the ball in the end zone. The touchdown would come when Ball crashed in from a yard out with 1:27 to play in the first quarter.

Nebraska would come right back, though, on the strength of the arm of Martinez. On the 74-yard drive, Martinez was 3-of-3 on the drive for 66 yards. His 28-yard pass to tight end Ben Cotton down to the Wisconsin 1 set up the touchdown by Rex Burkhead to give the Huskers the lead right back. The Nebraska quarterback also rushed for 13 yards on the drive.

The rest of the half would be all Bucky Badger. On the first play after the kickoff, Wilson threw a deep ball into double coverage intended for Nick Toon. The wide receiver hauled it in over two defenders, giving the Badgers a first down at the Nebraska 39. Wisconsin would be called for a holding penalty a few plays later to set up a 1st-and-20 at the 32. Wilson would find Jacob Pedersen over the middle for a 28-yard gain to move the Badgers down to the 4. Two plays later, Ball scored his second touchdown of the game. The extra point was blocked, so the score remained 14-13.

After a pair of punts, Nebraska had the ball facing a 3rd-and-16. Martinez rolled out to the right and fired across his body to the middle of the field. Predictably, it was picked off by Wisconsin linebacker Mike Taylor, who returned to the Wisconsin 46. Six plays later, the Badgers took the lead. With Wisconsin facing a 3rd-and-3 at the Nebraska 36, Wilson faked a toss to Ball and went deep to Abbrederis. The sophomore receiver made a diving catch at the goal line off a great throw by Wilson. The tremendous touchdown grab gave the Badgers the 20-14 lead with 2:03 left in the first half.

But the Badgers were still not done. And Martinez was not done giving Bucky gifts. The Nebraska quarterback passed to Jamal Turner for 26 yards to midfield, but would give it away three plays later. Martinez looked to the left and overshot Turner and was picked off by Aaron Henry and he brought it back to the Badgers 37. Two passes from Wilson to James White moved Wisconsin to the Nebraska 46. Two plays after that, Wilson threw a perfect pass deep over the middle to Toon in between defenders for a 46-yard touchdown with 32 seconds left in the half.

Nebraska’s Brett Maher would miss a long field goal attempt at the end of the first half and the Badgers led 27-14 at the half, so Bucky still had all the momentum heading into halftime.

Much like the start of the second half between the two teams in the Big Ten Championship game two years later, Martinez threw a pick to begin the half. This one was intercepted by Antonio Fenelus, who returned it to the Huskers 42.

Ball rushed for 27 yards of the 42 yards on the touchdown drive, including converting a fourth down on a 2-yard run to the 10. On the following play after the fourth down conversion, Wilson faked it to Ball and around the left side, escaping a would-be tackler and going in for the 10-yard touchdown. The Wilson score put the Badgers in front 34-14.

After a punt by the Huskers, Wisconsin would put the game away with a 14-play, 81-yard drive that ended with Ball’s third touchdown of the game. The drive started with a third down conversion on a tight end middle screen to Pedersen for 16 yards. Ball rushed for 24 yards on the drive and the touchdown. The score by Ball was one of the more impressive plays of the game. Wilson handed the ball off to Ball and was initially stopped, but he kept fighting and would break free for the score. That made it 41-14 and the game was over.

The Cornhuskers would kick a field goal early in the fourth to cut it to 41-17. However, Wisconsin would put the final nail in the Nebraska coffin on a 73-yard drive to put the Badgers in front 48-17. This was a 13-play drive with every one of the plays being a run. Ball rushed for 43 yards on the drive, including the 15-yard touchdown. Ball would rush for 151 yards and four touchdowns in the game. Even with the nice drive put together by the Badgers, the most impressive part of the drive was the Wisconsin fans singing “Build Me Up Buttercup” in unison. It was that kind of day for the Badgers, as they rolled the Cornhuskers in their first test of the season.

9. Wisconsin 24, Auburn 10 (2006)

After 16 seasons as the coach of the Wisconsin Badgers, this would be Barry Alvarez’s last as the permanent head coach. He was stepping down to focus all of his attention on being the Athletic Director for Wisconsin. After Pat Richter stepped down in 2004, Alvarez took over. He was both the football coach and AD at Wisconsin for two seasons, but he knew he could not do the dual role for a long period of time and announced he would step down as the football coach at the conclusion of the 2005 season and defensive coordinator Bret Bielema would be the new coach. The Badgers were not expected to be a power in the Big Ten in 2005, especially after losing all four of their fearsome defensive line, as well as starting cornerback Scott Starks. The Badgers also lost the second leading rusher (at the time) in school history in Anthony Davis. John Stocco was subpar in his first season as a starter, so they needed a big improvement from him in his second season as the starter. Wisconsin’s defense struggled early on, giving up 42 points in a week one win over Bowling Green. The Badgers would give up at least 34 points four times on the season, and lost two of those. People knew new running back Brian Calhoun was good, but the transfer from Colorado was a Godsend for the Badgers. He not only rushed for more than 1,600 yards, but he was also a very reliable receiver out of the backfield for Stocco. Calhoun and Stocco helped the Badgers send Alvarez out on top, with a dominating performance over heavily favored Auburn in the Capital One Bowl.

The Tigers were a 10.5-point favorite and were on a roll, having won their last four, including back-to-back wins over top 10 teams to close out the regular season. Auburn had nice starting field position to open the game, as Devin Aromashodu returned the kickoff to the Auburn 41. However, on the second play from scrimmage in the game, Brandon Cox had his pass intercepted by Levonne Rowan at the Wisconsin 13. Stocco would find Brandon Williams for a 27-yard gain on the first Badgers offensive play, but could not move any further, so Wisconsin punted.

The Tigers would have their second turnover in as many drives, as Kenny Irons would lose a fumble, which was recovered by Nick Hayden. However, Wisconsin would waste a golden opportunity to score, as Taylor Mehlhaff missed a 53-yard field goal and it remained scoreless with less than 10 minutes to go in the first quarter.

Bucky would force a three-and-out and would finally get something going offensively. Three plays would do all the damage on the first scoring drive of the Capital One Bowl. Starting at his own 25, Stocco would find Williams for 18 yards and that was followed by Calhoun finding the edge and running along the left sideline for 27 yards to move to the Auburn 30. Two plays later, Stocco found Williams on a wide receiver middle screen and he caught it and received great blocking before juking an Auburn defender at the 22 before running the rest of the way and diving into the end zone for the first points of the day.

After forcing another Tigers punt, the Wisconsin offense went back to work. On the first play of the drive, Calhoun would break off another long one. He would find the edge on the right side and stiff arm an Auburn defender and race down the field 60 yards down to the Auburn 13. That would set up a Mehlhaff field goal, which made it 10-0 in favor of the slow, plodding Big Ten school. That would be the score at the end of the first quarter.

Wisconsin would force another punt and the Badgers would get the ball. Auburn would pick up a pair of first downs, but a sack by Joe Monty and a delay of game penalty derailed the Tigers possession. The Badgers would start their drive on their own 13. Wisconsin would use a 12-play drive to take a 17-0 lead in the second quarter. The drive started out well with a Stocco pass to Owen Daniels for 18 yards, but that was one of only three plays that went for at least 10 yards on the drive. Daniels had two of three, with the other one being the 12-yard touchdown reception on 3rd-and-10 to give Wisconsin the surprising 17-point lead. It would stay that way until halftime. The Badgers had shut down Auburn’s offense, which was No. 1 in the SEC. The Tigers also had not been shutout in any first half the entire year before being shutout by Wisconsin.

You knew Auburn would not stay silent for long, and the Tigers made a play early in the second half. On a 3rd-and-7 from the Wisconsin 23 on its first possession of the second half, Stocco was sacked by Stanley McClover and fumbled and T.J. Jackson pounced on the loose football for Auburn. The Tigers would move down to the Wisconsin 2, but would have to settle for a John Vaughn 19-yard field goal to cut it to 17-3. The Badgers still had a 14-point lead, but you could sense Auburn was gaining momentum.

The Tigers would gain even more momentum as Mehlhaff missed his second field goal of the day on the next Wisconsin drive and it remained 17-3. Then, Auburn would make it a one score game early in the fourth. On a 4th-and-Goal from the 9, Cox would find Courtney Taylor in the end zone for the score to cut it to 17-10.

Bucky then went on a drive to seal the game. It started with Auburn’s Matt Clark kicking the ball out of bounds, which gave Wisconsin nice starting field position at the 35. A 19-yard pass started the drive from Stocco to Williams to move into Auburn territory. The Badgers would move down to the 33 after a third down conversion on a run by Calhoun. Then, the Colorado transfer gave Bucky a two score lead once again. On the play, Calhoun received a toss from Stocco and he received great blocking. He cut back to the middle at the 15-yard line to elude a would-be tackler and he dove into the end zone for the 33-yard touchdown to give the Badgers the 24-10 lead, which would end up being the final.

Auburn moved the ball into Wisconsin territory, but two penalties and a Mike Newkirk sack moved the ball back to Tigers territory and had to punt on 4th-and-29. The punt by Kody Bliss was a great one and downed at the 1.

That would be where the Badgers would start on the longest non-scoring drive in Wisconsin Badgers history. After two plays gained a total of three yards, Bucky was forced with a 3rd-and-7 from his own 4. That would be when Stocco made his best play of the game. The Wisconsin quarterback dropped back to pass and the pressure was heavy. Just as he was about to get drilled in the end zone, Stocco found Williams over the middle, who caught it at the 17 and broke away from the Auburn defensive back and ran up to the Wisconsin 40 for a 37-yard catch and run. The play not only flipped the field in case the Badgers would have to punt, but it also took more valuable time off the clock. In addition to the 37-yard reception, Williams also rushed for 17 yards on the drive. The possession would start on their own 1 and end on the Auburn 1 for a 98-yard drive.

In a season with very little expectations, the 2005 Wisconsin Badgers gave Alvarez a season he’ll never forget, culminating with the huge upset in the Capital One Bowl, a bowl very few people thought the Badgers had a chance in. It was a great send-off for the best coach in Wisconsin history. The game could not have gone any better.

10. Wisconsin 59, Nebraska 24 (2014)

Four. Oh. Eight. Say those three numbers to a Wisconsin football fan and they’ll know exactly what game you're talking about. When people came into Camp Randall Stadium on Nov. 15, 2014, they thought they would just be seeing a heavyweight fight between the two top contenders in the Big Ten West. Little did they know, they would also be witnesses to history. Melvin Gordon rushed for a then-FBS record 408 yards in a 59-24 thumping of the Cornhuskers. Gordon broke LaDainian Tomlinson’s 15-year-old record of 406 yards against UTEP is 1999. There were a number of things that were incredible about Gordon’s performance, but what was truly remarkable is that he did it in just three quarters. If he would played the fourth, he would have easily had 500 yards rushing. He also did it only 25 carries, 18 fewer carries than Tomlinson back in 1999 and nine fewer than Oklahoma’s Samaje Perine needed to break Gordon’s record the following week. In a game that featured two Heisman candidate running backs, this was no contest, as Wisconsin’s defense held Nebraska’s Ameer Abdullah to 69 yards on 18 carries. Considering how big the game was, the performance by Gordon and the weather, this will go down as one of the most memorable days in Camp Randall history.

The game may have ended beautifully, but it started horribly for Wisconsin. After a run by Gordon for a loss of a yard, Tanner McEvoy handed it to wide receiver Kenzel Doe. The receiver was hit after a gain of six and fumbled the ball. Nebraska recovered and would start at the 29. It would be the first of three first half turnovers for the Badgers that would dig them into a hole early on. Fortunately, the stingy Wisconsin defense would hold the Cornhuskers to a field goal after the turnover and Nebraska had an early 3-0 lead.

As if the game could not have started any worse for the Badgers, Bucky’s offense went three-and-out on their second drive and backup quarterback Bart Houston’s punt predictably went only 18 yards and Nebraska started its second possession in Wisconsin territory once again. Five plays later, Tommy Armstrong Jr. threw a touchdown to the left corner of the end zone to Kenny Bell and Nebraska took a 10-0 lead less than six minutes into the game.

Melvin Gordon would rush on the first two plays of next possession and he would gain 47 yards, including a 42-yard run down the left sideline down to the Cornhuskers 28. Gordon would also play a big role on the next play, as McEvoy would run for 19 yards on the play, but would fumble. Gordon was Johnny-on-the-spot for Wisconsin and recovered it for the Badgers, keeping the possession. The Badgers would kick a short field goal on that possession and Wisconsin cut it to 10-3.

Bucky Badger was giving out gifts early on a little more than a month before Christmas. On a 3rd-and-2 from the Wisconsin 31, Gordon was given the ball and was stuffed at the line of scrimmage and he fumbled. Zaire Anderson recovered for Nebraska and the Cornhuskers had the ball at the Badgers 30. Nebraska went on an eight-play drive to put six more on the board. All eight plays were runs by Abdullah and Armstrong. The touchdown was scored by Armstrong on a 5-yard run. On the touchdown, Wisconsin brought a blitz up the middle and it was picked up well, and Armstrong ran to the left and walked in for the score. It was 17-3 and the Camp Randall crowd was in shock.

When it looked like Wisconsin was going to go three-and-out on the next drive, Joel Stave came through. With Nebraska bringing Anderson on the blitz off the corner, Stave threw a perfect pass to Jordan Frederick for a first down. Stave threw it where only Frederick could make a play on it and the Badgers picked up a much-needed first down up to the Wisconsin 38. Gordon did the rest. Stave was shaken up on the last pass after being drilled in the ribs by Anderson, so everyone knew Gordon would get the ball after a timeout. On the carry, Gordon ran around the right sideline. The offensive line blocked it perfectly and blocked everyone to the inside. Gordon found the edge and used his speed to race down the field before hurdling Nebraska’s Corey Cooper at the Cornhuskers 35 and jogging the rest of the way for the 62-yard touchdown. Gordon proved that you can shut him down for an extended period, but eventually, he will break a long one. After that score, he had nine carries for 115 yards. Two caries resulted in 104 yards and the other seven were for a total of 11. This score put the Badgers right back into the game, trailing 17-10.

The defense would pick it up as well. The unit would force a three-and-out by Nebraska. But the turnover bug bit Gordon once again. After a run of 16 yards to pick up a first down and move into Nebraska territory, Gordon fumbled again and Trevor Roach recovered for the Cornhuskers. It was Gordon’s second fumble of the day and the third turnover for the Badgers. At that moment, Wisconsin fans thought that if the Badgers would stop turning the ball over, Nebraska would not be able to stop them. And that is what happened.

Once the game ended and Gordon had the single-game rushing record, I was thinking of a game this reminded me of. Then it dawned on me. For all of the Packers fans out there, this reminded me of Ryan Grant in Jan. 2008 in the divisional round of the playoffs against the Seattle Seahawks. Two of Grant’s first three touches of the game were fumbles, which helped Seattle take a 14-0 lead. Then, he redeemed himself in a big way, rushing for a Packers playoff-record 201 yards and three touchdowns in a 42-20 comeback win. It was not just the performance, but also the weather. It was a big game, and the snow was falling. It was a tremendous scene in both games.

After the fumble gave Nebraska terrific field position at its own 41, the Cornhuskers picked up one first down before giving it right back. Three consecutive runs gained 14 yards, but on the fourth straight run, Terrell Newby fumbled and Joe Schobert recovered for the Badgers. From that point forward, Bucky dominated the game.

The Badgers would take the lead with two touchdowns in two possessions to end the half. Gordon would take over after his second fumble. He started out the drive with a run of 39 yards down to the 17. On the run, Gordon tried to run inside, but found no room and bounced outside and slipped a tackle at the line of scrimmage before finding green in front of him. On the first down carry from the 17, Corey Clement found a crease and broke a tackle at the 10 before carrying a defender and lunging into the end zone for the score. The extra point was good and the game was tied at 17.

Wisconsin’s defense forced another three-and-out by Nebraska on the next drive. The Badgers would take the lead on their next possession. Gordon had another big run, this one of 44, down to the Nebraska 31. A 9-yard run by Gordon and 13-yard reception by Doe put the Badgers inside the Nebraska 10. Three plays later, Wisconsin faced a 3rd-and-Goal at the 5. That is when Stave found tight end Sam Arneson for the score to give the Badgers their first lead of the day. It would stay 24-17 the remainder of the half. Gordon rushed for 238 yards in the first half, while Armstrong completed just one of 10 passes.

Nebraska had a few chances to begin the second half to tie it up. On a 3rd-and-13 play early in the third quarter, Armstrong threw a screen to Abdullah, who ran for 26 yards up to the 48. But then Armstrong gave it right back to the Badgers. He threw one of the worst passes I have ever seen a quarterback throw. After receiving the snap, he got away from Vince Biegel and launched a pass deep down the field intended for Bell, but he overshot him and it was picked off by Peniel Jean. It was basically a punt to Jean and the Badgers started with the ball at the 17.

Wisconsin would go three-and-out and Drew Meyer had a short punt, so Nebraska started its possession at the Badgers 38. But Wisconsin would close the door on Nebraska, as it was the Cornhuskers’ turn to be turnover prone. On Nebraska’s first play after the punt, Armstrong handed it off to Abdullah and he was met in the back field immediately by Biegel. The Wisconsin linebacker not only tackled Abdullah, but knocked the ball free as well. Jean recovered for the Badgers and they had the ball at the 42 to begin their drive.

Enter Gordon, who would have 170 yards rushing in the third quarter alone. Wisconsin would go 58 yards in just four plays to give Bucky some breathing room. After a Stave pass to Erickson and McEvoy run, Wisconsin was faced with a 2nd-and-9 at the Nebraska 44. That was no problem for Gordon, as he rushed for 43 yards down the left sideline to the 1, where he punched it in on the next play. That would be the first drive of four consecutive possessions that would end with a Wisconsin touchdown.

Wisconsin’s previous record for most rushing yards in a game was 339 yards by Ron Dayne against Hawaii in 1996. Gordon smashed that with a 68-yard run down the right sideline down to the 6. On that run, the offensive line opened up a huge hole and Gordon wasn’t even touched until the Nebraska 15. On the next play, he went in standing for the score. With the score, he had 369 yards on the ground, just 37 behind Tomlinson.

Gordon played the role of decoy on the following drive, and it worked out just as well. On the 58-yard drive, Gordon had just 13 yards rushing, but had a hand in all of them. With Wisconsin facing a second down and short, Stave faked it to Gordon and Clement and handed it Doe on the sweep. He broke the tackle of Gregory in the backfield and was able to run down the right sideline for 31 yards down to the 20. Some of that was Doe, some of that was the fake to the running backs, but a lot of that was due to really poor tackling on the part of Nebraska. He gained 22 more yards after a horrible tackle attempt by Nebraska linebacker David Santos. Four plays later, McEvoy scored on an 11-yard touchdown. It was an easy touchdown by McEvoy, as Gordon came in motion and all the attention went toward Gordon and McEvoy just jogged in for the 11-yard score.

But the Badgers were still not done in the third quarter. After a 6-yard pass on first down, Armstrong and Abdullah fumbled the exchange and Marcus Trotter fell on the loose football to give Wisconsin the ball at the 26. After an incomplete pass on first down, Wisconsin went back to Gordon. With the star running back just 24 yards away from the record, he was on the verge of history. He took it to the right side and broke through the through the first wave of defenders and received a block from Erickson to spring him for the 26-yard score to give him the FBS single-game rushing record. It gave Wisconsin a 52-17 lead at the end of the third quarter and vaulted Gordon into the Heisman discussion.

In the fourth quarter, the teams traded touchdowns. After his record-breaking touchdown run, Gordon sat out the fourth quarter. The third running back, Dare Ogunbowale, rushed for the final touchdown for Wisconsin. After another turnover by the Cornhuskers, Ogunbowale rushed every time on an eight-play drive that went for 49 yards and the touchdown. With the score by Ogunbowale, the Badgers scored 56 unanswered points after spotting the Cornhuskers a 14-point lead. Nebraska would score late, but the game was already decided.

Like I said earlier, the game vaulted him into the Heisman Trophy discussion. He would come in second in New York to Oregon’s Marcus Mariota. The 408 yards would be broken by Perine a week later in a game against Kansas. But still, this remains one of the great moments in the history of Camp Randall Stadium. He would go on to have the second most rushing yards in a single season in NCAA history, only falling 41 yards behind Barry Sanders. He also has the record for highest yards per carry in a career with 7.79. With all of those records broken or nearly broken by No. 25, this game will still go down as the signature game in Melvin Gordon’s career as a Wisconsin Badger.

11. Wisconsin 31, Colorado 28 (OT) (2002)

The Badgers were heavy underdogs to the No. 14 Colorado Buffaloes in the Alamo Bowl. At 7-6, Wisconsin needed a record performance from Anthony Davis in the regular season finale against Minnesota to even be bowl eligible. Colorado, on the other hand, was coming in at 9-4 and a loss in the Big 12 Championship game to Oklahoma. Even though the Buffaloes came in with four losses, two of those came to the Big 12 champion Oklahoma and another came to co-Pac-10 champion USC, so Colorado was not expected to have much trouble with the Badgers. Wisconsin was looking for its fourth consecutive bowl victory and received it due to unlikely players making big-time plays down the stretch, as Wisconsin walked away with an upset in the Alamo Bowl. I guess you could say the Badgers remember the Alamo.

Colorado was favored by seven, but Bucky was prepared to make a statement. That started with a drive that would begin at the Wisconsin 41 after a 30-yard kickoff return by Jerone Pettus. Bucky was on the move, picking up three first downs on the drive, before disaster struck. Brooks Bollinger threw to the left side, but it was intercepted by Donald Strickland, who took it back 91 yards for the score. So even though Bucky had a great drive going, Wisconsin found itself behind 7-0 after the extra point.

Going into the game, the Badgers knew they had to run the ball and stop the run. The two teams were mirror images of one another in a lot of ways. Wisconsin had to force Colorado to go to the air. Bucky did just that after a short gain by Colorado’s Chris Brown on first down on its opening drive of the game. On his first throw of the game, Robert Hodge threw it to the left side, but it was picked off by Scott Starks at the Buffaloes 19. Three plays later, Anthony Davis crashed in from four yards out to tie the game at 7.

Colorado would score once more before the end of the first quarter. The Buffaloes traveled 83 yards in 11 plays to take a 14-7 lead. Brown rushed for 29 yards on the drive, but it was a Hodge pass to D.J. Hackett on the left side of the end zone that was the play that gave Colorado the lead right back.

The game went back and forth throughout, and after falling behind by seven, the Badgers scored the next two touchdowns to take the lead. Jim Leonhard, the nation’s leader in interceptions was at it again, picking off a Hodge pass that deflected off the intended receiver’s hands and into the arms of Leonhard. Following the turnover, Wisconsin would have a six-play drive to put the ball in the end zone. The first five plays were runs, but when faced with a 3rd-and-8 at the Colorado 10, Brooks Bollinger was able to complete a pass to Brandon Williams for the touchdown to tie the game up at 14.

Colorado was in a giving mood once again on the following drive, as Hodge was intercepted by Darius Jones and he returned it for 10 yards down to the Buffaloes 29. Wisconsin would travel 29 yards in seven plays, with two passes going to Darrin Charles for 25 yards and the touchdown. On the score on a third down from the 7, Bollinger bought time and found a wide open Charles in the end zone. That score gave the Badgers a 21-14 lead with less than a minute left in the half.

The Buffaloes decided to abandon the pass to start the second half. To start the half, Colorado rushed 14 consecutive times. After a muffed punt turnover by Wisconsin’s Leonhard, the Buffaloes took over on the Badgers 25. Colorado handed the ball to Brown every play on the drive and he would score from four yards out to tie the game at 21.

It was Wisconsin’s turn to be in a giving mood, as on the first play from scrimmage, Davis fumbled and Colorado recovered at the Badgers 17. Three plays later, new quarterback Zac Colvin found Hackett in the end zone for an 11-yard touchdown to give the Buffaloes the 28-21 lead.

It would stay that way until the final minute of regulation. However, that would not mean there would not be some excitement before then. Wisconsin would move into Colorado territory, but a Bollinger pass was incomplete on fourth down. The pass looked like it might be able to be caught, but both Williams and Jonathan Orr were in the area and it looked like they may run into each other.

Bucky Badger would have one more opportunity to tie the game up. Wisconsin would have the ball with 2:25 to play, starting at its own 20. The first play went to Williams for 32 yards across midfield. However, the next three plays lost eight yards and the Badgers were faced with a 4th-and-18. That was when Bollinger threw a strike down the middle of the field to Williams again for 27 yards and a first down at the Colorado 29. After back-to-back incompletions, Bollinger went back to pass and found a wide open Orr over the middle. It would have been an easy touchdown for him, but he dropped it. Instead of a tie game, the Badgers were forced with a fourth down. Orr needed his teammates to pick him up. Enter Darrin Charles. Bollinger looked Charles’ way on the fourth down pass and Charles reached up and hauled it in inside the 5 and he reached down to the 1. Bollinger plowed in on the quarterback sneak on the next play and the game was tied with less than a minute to go. Colorado took two knees instead of risking a turnover and the game went to overtime.

Wisconsin won the toss and elected to go on defense first. Colorado would lose two yards on their three plays, setting up a 45-yard field goal, which missed wide to the right and the Badgers had the ball with a chance for the win. Barry Alvarez did not want to risk an interception, so he ran it three times and gained five yards. Sophomore walk-on Mike Allen came onto attempt a 37-yard field goal to win the game. His kick was right between uprights and the Badgers earned an upset victory.

12. Wisconsin 27, Oregon 23 (2000)

In the second game of the non-conference portion of the schedule, many of the Badgers made their 2000 debut after sitting out against Western Michigan due to the Shoe Box scandal. Still sitting out was Chris Chambers, who was injured, so the Badgers were hoping Lee Evans would continue to step up at wide receiver. Jamar Fletcher would make his debut against Oregon and pick off future top five NFL Draft pick Joey Harrington three times. However, even with his three interceptions, the star of the game was Michael Bennett. The junior ran for 290 yards and two long touchdown runs to help the Badgers improve to 2-0 with a win over Oregon, a team that would finish the season in the top 10.

I mentioned that Fletcher made his debut against the Ducks. Well, he wasted little time making his presence known in the year 2000. On the third play of Oregon's opening drive, Harrington fired a pass to the right that was intercepted by the eventual Jim Thorpe Award winner. He returned it to the 22, but there was a holding penalty on the return and the Badgers started at the 32. Wisconsin would travel to the 26, but Vitaly Pisetsky’s 43-yard attempt sailed wide left and it remained scoreless.

It was a defensive game for the entire first half. Oregon’s Josh Frankel would hit two short field goals to put the Ducks in front 6-0 at the end of the first half. The second half would be just a tad more exciting.

Bennett had just 32 yards on 11 carries in the first half. He would explode in the second half. The explosion started on his third carry of the second half. With Wisconsin facing a 2nd-and-3 from its own 41, Brooks Bollinger handed the ball to Bennett, who found a hole and raced through it. The speedster would outrun everybody on the field to give the Badgers the 7-6 lead after the extra point was made.

Nearly five minutes later, Bucky would add to his lead. Oregon’s Kurtis Doerr was punting from his own end zone after the Badgers forced a three-and-out. But Wisconsin’s Ryan Marks would break through and not only block the punt, but recover it as well in the end zone. The blocked punt and recovery in the end zone put Bucky ahead 14-6 midway through the third quarter.

Oregon would drive down for a field goal on the next drive, but the Badgers had an answer. His name is Michael Bennett. Wisconsin started at its own 20 to begin the drive. Bennett gained five on first down. His next carry went to the house. Bollinger handed it off to Bennett, who eluded a defender in the backfield. He then raced up the field, bursting through a sliver of an opening. He broke a tackle at his own 40 and then there was nothing but turf in front of him. He outraced the Oregon defenders for a 75-yard score to put the Badgers in front 20-9. The two-point conversion attempt failed and the Badgers remained ahead by 11. It would stay that way the remainder of the quarter.

Despite starting the following drive inside its own 10, Oregon was able to respond quickly. It only took three plays for the Ducks to cut it to 20-16. Harrington found Marshaun Tucker for 71 yards down to the Wisconsin 17. On the following play, Harrington would throw a touchdown pass to LaCorey Collins. Oregon was whistled for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the play, which is the reason the Ducks did not attempt the two-point conversion.

Early in the final quarter, Oregon was on the move. The Ducks were facing a 2nd-and-5 at the Wisconsin 21, but Fletcher came through again. He picked off his second pass of the game, keeping his team in the lead.

Wisconsin had a chance to take command of the game, but Bollinger made a poor throw on third down with six minutes to go in the game. The Wisconsin quarterback did not see Oregon linebacker Matt Smith on the play and threw it and was picked off by Smith, who returned it 47 yards for the score and the Ducks had taken a 23-20 lead.

Bennett only needed a matter of seconds to change a game. If you gave him even a sliver of an opening, the speedy running back would make you pay. That is just what happened on the first play following the kickoff. Wisconsin started with the ball at the 16 after a short kickoff return by Bennett. However, he redeemed himself in a big way. On the first play of the drive, Bollinger handed the ball to Bennett, who eluded a defender at the 18 and found nothing but turf in front of him. Oregon stacked the line of scrimmage, and if Bennett was able to get past the initial wave of defenders, the play would go for huge yardage, considering his speed. Bennett raced down the field all the way to the 1, where an Oregon defender had an angle on him and brought him down. Bollinger ran it in on the quarterback sneak on the following play and the Badgers were back out in front.

Harrington would complete a 38-yard pass to Tucker to move into Badgers territory on the next possession, but Wisconsin would then force three consecutive incompletions and the punt. But the Ducks would get one more shot at the win. On a 4th-and-13, Harrington found Keenan Howry for 30 yards to the 47. However, that would be as far as the Ducks would get. Wendell Bryant would sack Harrington on second down, forcing a 3rd-and-17. After an incompletion, Harrington threw a pass over the middle that was overthrown. Guess who caught it? Yep, there was that man again. Fletcher had his third pick of the day in a triumphant beginning to his 2000 season.

The good times would not last, though, as Fletcher had to sit out the next two games, including a double overtime loss to Northwestern in the Big Ten opener. That started a slide for Wisconsin, which lost four of its first five Big Ten games before rebounding to win its last three Big Ten games and five overall to finish with a solid 9-4 record.

13. Wisconsin 34, Minnesota 24 (2014)

Much like three years before, the Wisconsin Badgers were once again in a battle for the division in the last game of the regular season at Camp Randall Stadium. But that game was against Penn State. This game was against Minnesota, Wisconsin’s biggest rival. It was also the annual battle for Paul Bunyan’s Axe and Wisconsin brought a 10-game win streak into the contest. The Badgers were coming off a 26-24 victory in Iowa City against the Hawkeyes, while the Gophers won in Lincoln 28-24 to set up the showdown in Madison to decide which team would take on Ohio State in Indianapolis. For awhile, it looked like the Gophers would snap the 10-game losing streak against the Badgers and earn a berth in the Big Ten Championship game. But Wisconsin scored 24 consecutive points after spotting its rivals a 14-point lead, to beat Minnesota 34-24 to punch its ticket to the conference title game for the third time in four years.

The game could not have started much better for the Gophers. Despite going three-and-out, Minnesota punter Peter Mortell punted it 55 yards to Kenzel Doe, who fumbled it and the Gophers recovered at the Badgers 13. Two plays later, quarterback Mitch Leidner ran it in from 10 yards out to give the Gophers the early 7-0 lead.

Like every game, the Badgers game plan was to give the ball to star running back Melvin Gordon. The Heisman finalist ran for 51 yards in the 69-yard drive to respond for the Badgers. However, on a 23-yard run to get down to the Gophers 6, Gordon was barely tripped up or he would have scored. His next two runs gained a total of one yard and Joel Stave threw an incompletion on third down, so Rafael Gaglianone came on and kicked a short field goal to cut it to 7-3.

The teams exchanged punts, but after a short punt by Wisconsin’s Drew Meyer, the Gophers started with terrific field position at the Badgers 40. Minnesota wasted little time in making this a 14-3 game. On the first play after the punt, David Cobb broke free for a 40-yard touchdown run to put Goldy ahead by two scores.

Wisconsin went three-and-out on its next possession and the Gophers benefited from a face mask penalty at the end of the return to give Minnesota great starting field position at its own 49. Cobb ran for 17 yards on the first three plays to move the Gophers on the verge of field goal range. A pass from Leidner to KJ Maye on third down moved Goldy into the red zone. However, Minnesota had a controversial personal foul penalty, which moved the ball back outside the 20. Ryan Santoso would drill a 37-yard field goal on the drive to put the visitors in front 17-3 with less than 11 minutes left in the half.

Despite being 14 points down, Wisconsin was going to stick to the game plan. Gordon was going to need the ball if the Badgers were going to come back and win. Just two weeks before, Bucky was also down 17-3 and Gordon went onto have 408 yards rushing and the Badgers would come back to blast Nebraska 59-24. However, it was a pass play that would get the offense going and help Wisconsin start to claw back into the game. Facing a 3rd-and-8 from their own 22, Stave went back to pass and found an open Alex Erickson down the left sideline for a 70-yard gain down to the Minnesota 8. Stave would then throw a 4-yard touchdown to Gordon on another third down play to cut it back down to a one score game.

The momentum stayed with Wisconsin through the rest of the first half. On a third down and short at the Wisconsin 30, the Gophers handed the ball to Cobb, who fumbled and Michael Caputo pounced on the loose football for the Badgers at the 31. With less than 20 seconds to play in the first half, Wisconsin decided to go for more points instead of taking a knee to end the half and not risking a turnover. It would be a wise decision by the Badgers. Stave threw two passes to Erickson for a total of 49 yards to move to the Gophers 20. Gaglianone’s 38-yard field goal split the uprights to end the first half. After falling behind 17-3 early, Bucky had all the momentum heading into the half.

After a pair of punts to open the second half, Wisconsin was able to take the lead for good. The Badgers went on an 80-yard drive in seven plays. After a loss of six yards on a run by Doe on first down pushing them back to the Wisconsin 35, Stave hit Sam Arneson for 14 and Gordon ran for eight to pick up the first down. A pass interference penalty on Minnesota’s Briean Boddy-Calhoun put the ball at the Gophers 28. From there, Corey Clement did the rest. Clement, who had not been given the ball up to that point, ran threw a hole and juked twice to elude Minnesota defenders to run in for the 28-yard score. He would make a huge impact on the game, rushing seven times for 89 yards and this touchdown.

Bucky would add to the lead early in the fourth quarter. It would be a 69-yard drive in six plays, with every play being a run. Facing a 3rd-and-2 from his own 39, Gordon was given the ball. He bounced to the outside and stiff armed Boddy-Calhoun to break free for 24 yards down to the Gophers 37. Gordon would come out for a breather and in came Clement once again. After a run of five on first down, he blasted through a huge hole for 31 yards before being tripped up at the Minnesota 1. Gordon would score on the following play and the Badgers had scored 24 unanswered points to take a 27-17 lead.

Minnesota would not go away quietly, though. The Gophers needed two scores in the final 10 minutes from an offense that had not scored since early in the second quarter. Goldy’s big play tight end Maxx Williams had been silent all day. But on a third down play from the Minnesota 44, Leidner found Williams wide open and he ran all the way to the Wisconsin 3. Two plays later, Leidner ran in for his second touchdown of the day and it was back to a one score game.

The dagger would be inserted on the following possession, though, as Wisconsin went on a drive that punched its ticket to Indianapolis. After three Gordon runs went for a total of 18 yards, the Badgers went to the air on 2nd-and-4. With the Minnesota cornerbacks playing off the Wisconsin wide receivers, Stave threw a wide receiver screen to Erickson, who received a block from Jordan Frederick to spring him for 31 yards down to the 26. On the day, Erickson caught five passes for 160 yards. After a run of nine by Clement set up the Badgers with a second down and short, Wisconsin delivered the knockout punch. Rob Wheelwright, who would only catch one pass the entire season, made the biggest play of his career. Stave threw it over the middle into the end zone and Wheelwright reached up and caught it for the touchdown. Wheelwright’s brother, Ernie, is a former wide receiver for Minnesota, so it is fitting that Rob would make his only catch of the year against the Gophers. Rob’s big-time catch gave the Badgers the 34-24 advantage with 4:41 remaining.

Minnesota would not do anything on its last two possessions, gaining just five yards in seven total plays and the Badgers would take over on downs after the Gophers final drive. Stave would take a knee twice to end the game and Wisconsin earned a berth in the Big Ten Championship game in Indianapolis against Ohio State. Even though the game against the Buckeyes......well, did not go so well, this win ranks right up there in great moments since 2000. Not only did Wisconsin win the axe for the 11th consecutive year, it won against its biggest rivals to head to Indianapolis.

14. Wisconsin 31, Iowa 30 (2010)

Fresh off its 31-18 win over No. 1 Ohio State, Wisconsin would have to travel to Iowa City to take on No. 15 Iowa. It was a back-and-forth game, with two unlikely players making big plays down the stretch for the Badgers to help secure the win. The two wins over Ohio State and Iowa heading into the bye week made it clear that if the Badgers win out, they would head to Pasadena.

The Badgers would take the ball first and drive it 70 yards for the game’s first points, a 33-yard field goal by Philip Welch, and Wisconsin took the early 3-0 lead. John Clay would rush for 34 yards on the drive and Lance Kendricks would have two receptions for 26 yards on the drive to help Wisconsin move it in position to draw first blood.

But Iowa wasted little time responding, driving 78 yards to take the lead. Adam Robinson had the biggest play of the drive, rushing 30 yards down to the Wisconsin 1. Two plays later, Robinson scored to give Iowa the lead. However, the extra point was blocked by J.J. Watt, and the score remained 6-3. That blocked extra point would come back to haunt the Hawkeyes.

David Gilreath returned the ensuing kickoff 33 yards to the 41 to give Wisconsin nice starting field position. Scott Tolzien would throw for 57 yards on the drive to help move Bucky back out on top. He would throw a 14-yard pass to Montee Ball on 3rd-and-12, which would set up the Tolzien touchdown toss to Bradie Ewing from seven yards to move Wisconsin out in front once again, 10-6.

Iowa would score right before the half to regain the lead in this back-and-forth affair. On its next possession, the Hawkeyes had a bad snap on a short field goal attempt, so they could not even attempt the kick, which kept three points off the board. Once again, that would come back to cost Iowa dearly. The Hawkeyes were able to take the lead just before halftime, though, on a pass from Ricky Stanzi to Allen Reisner. Wisconsin helped them out with a face mask penalty, which put the ball at the Badgers 35. Passes to Colin Sanderman and Marvin McNutt moved the ball down to the 4, which set up the Reisner touchdown with less than 20 seconds to play in the first half.

After an Iowa punt, Wisconsin was able to come down and reclaim the lead. Tolzien was 6-for-6 on the drive for 54 yards, but Clay would plow in from two yards out on 4th-and-1 to give the Badgers the 17-13 lead.

But back-and-forth we go, as Iowa would claim the lead right back. Iowa’s punt to begin the half would be the only punt in the second half. Iowa would convert two third downs on the drive, which was followed by a Stanzi pass to an open Derrell Johnson-Koulianos for a 45-yard touchdown to give Iowa a 20-17 lead.

Iowa’s special teams were not special once again, as Gilreath had another terrific return on the kickoff. This one was returned by Gilreath for 37 yards out to the Badgers 49. After two Clay runs moved Wisconsin to the Iowa 32, Tolzien found Isaac Anderson open underneath, but then veered to the left for 30 yards down to the Iowa 2, which would set up a Clay touchdown from two yards and the Badgers went back in front 24-20.

In this heavyweight fight, if you could not take a punch and deliver one back, you would not be able to survive. The Hawkeyes took another punch, but would come back with a response immediately. This time, Iowa went on an 80-yard drive to put Iowa back into the lead. Stanzi would complete five passes on the drive for 58 yards and would throw the touchdown on a third down to McNutt and Iowa had the lead right back at 27-24.

On the first play following the kickoff, Wisconsin made a mistake. Tolzien rolled out to the right and threw a pick to a rolling Brent Greenwood. There was blanket coverage on Anderson and it was just a bad pass by the Wisconsin quarterback. With the way Iowa’s offense had driven the ball the last two drives, people thought this was danger time for the Badgers. However, Wisconsin’s defense held Iowa to a 40-yard field goal by Michael Meyer, and Iowa took a 30-24 lead with 8:35 remaining.

Wisconsin would only gain six yards in its first three plays after the kickoff, forcing a 4th-and-4. Enter unlikely hero No. 1. With Brad Nortman back to punt, Iowa was not expecting a fake from deep in their own territory. But when the snap was made, all of the Iowa coverage players ran down the field to set up a return. That left a huge hole for Nortman to run, and the Wisconsin punter would run for the first down and more before sliding down at the 43 for the 17-yard gain and a fresh set of downs. Three plays later, Wisconsin faced another third down, but Tolzien completed a 13-yard pass to Jacob Pedersen for the first down. Then, Tolzien completed a 7-yard pass to Ball, another unlikely hero on a 4th-and-5 to keep the drive moving. After two Clay runs picked up 11, the Badgers had a first down at the 16. The first play was Ball for eight. Then, he ran it for eight more and the touchdown. At first, the refs ruled him down, but after review, it was clear Ball reached the ball across the goal line before he hit the ground. With the extra point, Wisconsin completed a 15-play, 80-yard drive that took more than seven minutes off the clock and the Badgers had the 31-30 lead with 1:06 to play.

The Hawkeyes would pick up two first downs, up to the 49 with 35 seconds left. However, Watt would make an impact again. After blocking the extra point early in the game, he sacked Stanzi for an 11-yard loss. It was Wisconsin’s only sack of the game. After an incompletion, Stanzi breathed life back into the Hawkeyes with a 20-yard connection to McNutt to set up a very manageable 4th-and-1. Stanzi ran a quarterback sneak for the first down. Even though the clock was stopped, Iowa used its last timeout instead of hurrying up to the line and spiking it. That would be enormous because on the next play, Stanzi dumped it off to Robinson, who tried to race out of bounds and stop the clock, but was tackled by Mike Taylor to keep the clock running. Iowa was unable to run another play and Wisconsin escaped with the victory by the slimmest of margins.

Wisconsin would roll through the rest of their schedule and end up in Pasadena. Iowa would destroy Michigan State in Iowa City the following week before fading down the stretch and finishing 8-4.