Wisconsin 24, Oklahoma State 17: 2-minute drill

December 28, 2022
|In Badgers
|By Zach Heilprin

PHOENIX — Wisconsin jumped out to a big lead and then held on for a 24-17 win over Oklahoma State at Chase Field in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl on Tuesday night.

Game Balls

Offense:

RBs Braelon Allen and Chez Mellusi

The Wisconsin duo served as a focal point for the offense combining to run for 193 yards and two touchdowns. That included 116 yards and a score from Allen, who was named the Offensive Player of the Game. It’s the second straight year he’s earned the accolade after getting the honor last December at the Las Vegas Bowl. Overall, the offense ran for 258 yards, its third-highest total this season.

The OL

It wasn’t perfect but the line did plenty of good things, especially on the big plays in the ground game. On Mellusi’s 51-yard run in the first quarter, the tailback followed a great lead block from left guard Trey Wedig. On Skyler Bell’s 41-yard run late in the fourth quarter, center Tanor Bortolini was running 40 yards down the field trying to get one final block to get the wide receiver into the end zone.

The line didn’t always play to its potential this year but it showed flashes of what it could be capable of as a new coaching staff enters the building.

QB Chase Wolf

Making the first start of his career, Wolf made some mistakes, including an ugly looking interception in the end zone on Wisconsin’s second drive. But he earns his spot here with the touchdown drives he led in the second quarter. The first went 13 plays for 68 yards and was finished off with a Mellusi touchdown. The second went eight plays and 65 yards with Wolf finding Hayden Rucci for a 15-yard score. On those two drives, Wolf went 7-for-7 for 83 yards with five of those completions going for first downs.

Defense:

CB Cedrick Dort

Wisconsin appeared to be in the process of blowing a 17-point lead when Dort made what proved to be the game-clinching play. It came on second down with less than three minutes left in the game as Oklahoma State quarterback Garret Rangel took a shot down the right sideline. But Dort played it perfectly and then made an impressive over-the-shoulder interception and returned it 20 yards. It was the first interception of his career and it came in his final college game.

LBs Jordan Turner, Maema Njongmeta

The talented inside linebacking duo combined for 15 tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss as the Badgers held Oklahoma State to just 52 yards on the ground and 2.0 yards per carry. Turner was named the Defensive Player of the Game.

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What They Said

During the postgame awards ceremony, coach Luke Fickell called for defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard, who served as interim coach for the final two months of the season, to join him on the podium and accept the trophy. He was asked afterwards why it was important to do that.

“I think he should have been up there from the get-go, to be honest with you. Three and a half weeks, I don’t know that that’s enough time to stand up there. I tried not to grab the trophy. I told these guys, ‘You guys grab it. This isn’t me.’ But I thought it was really important. I thought it was important for him to be recognized. And I wanted to make sure I said more than anything that I appreciate what he’s done for me and how he’s handled these last few weeks. I’ve got the utmost respect, not just for him, but what this place really means. It showed me a lot.”

Jim Leonhard speaks

For the first time since the Minnesota game, which came a day before Wisconsin shocked the college football world and hired Fickell instead of promoting Leonhard, the former Badgers All-American spoke with a few reporters on the field after the game. It was limited to just a handful of questions but here is everything he had to say.

Q: Are you emotional right now?

Leonhard: “I mean, no, not really at this point. I came back to finish this off for the guys and to see them really from day one of the prep and how serious they were taking it, they wanted to finish it off the right way and I didn’t know if that was gonna be the case, so I was excited for that.”

Q: How strongly did you consider coming back here to work with Coach Fickell for the future and was it a difficult decision in the end?

Leonhard: “We had some conversations, but I just felt there was other things that happened that forced me to make the decision to move on. I’m excited for the future, whatever that is. I’m not in a rush to make that decision right now. I was just really focused on finishing it off and being able to move on with a clear conscience.”

Q: Have you had some conversations with people about potential future jobs?

Leonhard: “I’ve had a lot of conversations with people and there’s been nothing at this point where I felt like I needed to take it. That’s kind of where I’m at right now.”

Q: What was the delicate balance like the last two weeks in trying to prepare this team and also think about the future?

Leonhard: “It’s really been that conversation all year, like you can do both. You can think for the future and plan for the future and also pour your heart and soul in for these guys, so it hasn’t been much different than the last seven weeks of the regular season.”

Q: Fickell brought you up on stage. I don’t know if you wanted that but did you appreciate that gesture in any way?

Leonhard: “It ain’t about me right now. It’s his program moving forward. I appreciate the respect I got from him and the players and the coaches, but they can have it. I’m excited for the future of the program.”

Q: Do you leave the program with a bitter taste after the last month or do you leave feeling like you did everything you could in your seven years?

Leonhard: “I have a lot of thoughts on that but tonight is not the night to worry about that.”

In Case You Missed It

— With Wisconsin’s three captains this season – QB Graham Mertz, OLB Nick Herbig and NT Keeanu Benton – no longer with the team, the Badgers sent out Wolf, wide receiver Chimere Dike, safety John Torchio and punter Andy Vujnovich for the coin toss.

— New coach Luke Fickell led the team out of the tunnel before the game but mainly had a supervisory role throughout the contest. The win officially goes down as the first of his tenure.

— Tuesday served as the first action for several players in Wisconsin’s freshman class, including tight end JT Seagreaves and wide receiver Chris Brooks Jr.

— Wisconsin broke out a fake punt for the first time in several years and it worked. Senior Andy Vujnovich took the snap and took off to his left for 13 yards and a first down.

— The surface inside Chase Field was extremely slippery and led to quite a few guys looking like they were wearing ice skates at times. The bowl game is the only football game played in the stadium each year so the turf was brought in special for the contest and laid over the top of the regular baseball grass.

— Most of Wisconsin’s staff was coaching their final game with the Badgers. In addition to Leonhard, who will not return, outside linebackers coach Bobby April is headed to Stanford to be its defensive coordinator. Reports broke during the game that defensive line coach Ross Kolodziej and inside linebackers coach Mark D’Onofrio would be joining him there.

— A number of players confirmed after the game that they would take advantage of their COVID year and return for another season. That included quarterback Chase Wolf, running back Chez Mellusi, offensive lineman Michael Furtney and cornerback Alexander Smith. There are a host of others that have not officially announced their decisions.

Inside the Numbers

7-6 — That was Wisconsin’s record to finish the season. The Badgers have finished the season above .500 every year since 2002.

3 — That’s how many bowl wins Wisconsin has in a row. The Badgers have also won eight of their last nine bowl games overall.

0-10 — That was Oklahoma State on third down through early in the fourth quarter. The Cowboys ended up 3-for-14.

What’s Next

Spring practice