Holiday Bowl Final: Wisconsin 23, USC 21 

Key play: Jack Cichy gets hurry, Sojourn Shelton gets interception

Fitting it was that Cichy had the hurry that led to the pivotal play of the night. The guy that was all over Cody Kessler in the second half did it one more time when the Badgers were desperate for a big play. Shelton made a nice play to adjust and hang on to the ball, but it was Cichy’s pursuit that Badger fans will remember. What a way it was for Wisconsin to end a season in which the defense did so much of the heavy lifting.

Telling stat: Joel Stave sets Wisconsin wins record

Say what you want about his legacy, but nobody can deny the fact that Stave is now the program’s all-time wins leader. His final game as a Badger didn’t produce any turnovers, either. That, above all else, helped Wisconsin somehow pull out a victory when the offense struggled to establish any rhythm. But Stave made the throws to get Wisconsin in position for the game-winning field goal. And that was after he took a cleat to the face and came back in. You can doubt his talents as a quarterback, but you can’t doubt Stave’s toughness and his status as the program’s new wins leader.

Worth noting:

–Corey Clement gets touchdown, injury scare

Of course the Wisconsin tailback had a roller coaster night. He got back into the end zone on a nice stretch to get the Badgers on the board. In the third quarter, he appeared well on his way to having a feel-good comeback game. But when he was looking for his second touchdown of the night, he got his knee twisted up. It didn’t look good at all. With the way his injury-plagued season went, it was natural to fear the worst. But perhaps it just spooked Clement because he ran off the field and appeared to be OK running around on the sideline. He did go to the locker room to get a second look and he didn’t return in the game. But, assuming he wasn’t in more pain than he let on, Clement appeared to have avoided what would’ve been a disastrous setback.

-Cichy was ON FIRE

What if I told you the Wisconsin linebacker had two career sacks before Wednesday? Would you believe that guy had not one, not two, but THREE sacks in a row? Never mind the fact that Cichy didn’t play in the first half because he was serving a targeting suspension. He made up for lost time in a hurry. Credit Wisconsin defensive coordinator Dave Aranda for recognizing a weakness in USC’s protection and for sensing that Cichy was picking up steam. Guys rarely make three sacks in a game, much less on three straight plays. On a night in which Joel Schobert didn’t get to the quarterback the way he usually does, Cichy provided a huge spark even before he made that final play.

Tanner McEvoy’s non-touchdown touchdown run

It looked like a touchdown live. The replay showed it was a touchdown, too. But for whatever reason, an official ruled that he had a good enough view to say McEvoy was out of bounds on what would’ve been a go-ahead long touchdown run in the fourth quarter. But instead, the drive stalled, and Wisconsin was held without a point. Badger fans are all too familiar with getting the short end of the officiating stick. It’s just a good thing that it didn’t end up costing Wisconsin the game.

What it means: Wisconsin gets to 10 wins AGAIN

Few teams in the country can claim double digit wins in five of the last seven seasons. Wisconsin is one of them. It actually took until late December for the Badgers to get their best win of the season. Amazingly, Wisconsin reached that mark despite the fact that it started four redshirt freshmen on the offensive line in the final two games. The running game wasn’t at the level we’re used to seeing, but the Badger defense truly was one of the nation’s best. That group deserves a ton of credit for dealing with some frustrating scoring outputs. They made sure the program didn’t suffer a major step back after its slew of offensive injuries. That’s how the 2015 group will be remembered.