Orlando, Fla.'When the Wisconsin Badgers lost 20-10 in head coach Barry Alvarez's final game at Camp Randall, the mood was melancholy afterwards.
'It was pretty somber in the locker room,' junior strong safety Joe Stellmacher said. 'We all wanted to get coach that last win at home.'
Less than a month later, the Badger locker room could rejoice again after a shocking 24-10 victory over the then- No. 7 Auburn Tigers at the Capital One Bowl in Orlando, Fla.
As 10.5 point underdogs against a Tiger defense that had allowed just 14.7 points per game, and an offense that was scoring a SEC-best 34.2 points per game the Badgers were able to send coach Alvarez out with a much deserved win.
'Far and away, it's a great feeling to overcome adversity when people are saying things that you can't do,' an emotional Brandon Williams said as he walked off the field. 'Especially for coach Alvarez's last game and to get a victory for him. \
Wisconsin put up 548 yards against the Tigers, including star performances by the game's most valuable player, junior running back Brian Calhoun, who ran for 213 yards and one touchdown on 30 carries, and the senior wideout Williams, who caught six passes for 173 yards and the first of three Badger touchdown strikes of the day. Calhoun's total was the second- highest in Capital One bowl history behind Fred Taylor's 234-yard performance in 1998, and Williams' total ranked fourth on the list.
The victory gave Alvarez a bowl- game record of 8-3, and his fourth season reaching the 10-win plateau.
'It's unbelievable,' said junior quarterback John Stocco, who completed 15 of 27 passes for 301 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. 'We just wanted to thank [Alvarez] for everything he's done for us, and this day is just unbelievable.'
After the Badgers were unable to score after two turnovers on the first two possessions'an interception by senior Levonne Rowan and a forced fumble by freshman lineman Jason Chapman recovered by sophomore Nick Hayden'they drove down the field from their own 25. A 27-yard run by Calhoun set up a screen pass to Williams, who simply beat the Auburn linebackers and secondary on his way to diving into the endzone to give the Badgers the 7-0 lead.
After a field goal by sophomore Taylor Mehlhaff, the Badgers held the Auburn offense again to begin the second quarter. Stocco again drove the Badger defense down the field with ease, eventually hooking up with senior tight end Owen Daniels in the front left corner of the endzone for their second score of the game. Daniels, who finished with three catches for 36 yards, gave most of the credit to offensive coordinator Paul Chryst.
'[Chryst] was on point today,' said Daniels, who had his first touchdown since the second week of the season. 'He was calling perfect plays at the perfect time, and we were executing them.'
The Badger defense was stellar, only allowing the usually-potent Tiger offense to rack up 236 yards. Running back Kenny Irons, UW's biggest concern heading into the game, managed only 88 yards on 22 carries. First-year starting quarterback Brandon Cox completed less than half of his passes for 137 yards and managed a touchdown early in the fourth quarter that cut the lead to seven at 17-10.
'We didn't control the ball on the ground,' Auburn head coach Tommy Tuberville said. 'We weren't as physical as we needed to be running the ball. You have to throw the football when they put nine guys on the line of scrimmage, and we didn't get the job done.'
After kicker Matt Clark booted the ball out of bounds on the ensuing kickoff, Stocco and the Badger offense took five plays to score, capped off by a brilliant 33-yard run by Calhoun.
When the buzzer sounded, and the Gatorade-drenched Alvarez walked off the field as head coach for the very last time, everyone knew that they had just witnessed something very special.
'I couldn't be more proud,' Alvarez said, 'of the way a group of guys performed to beat a very good football team.'
