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Thursday, March 28, 2024
Return to Pasadena

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Return to Pasadena

This matchup may not have the classic Big Ten-Pac 10 feel a la the UW Rose Bowls of the 1990s, but make no mistake: These two teams are explosive.

No. 4 Wisconsin (7-1 Big Ten, 11-1 overall) and No. 3 TCU (8-0 Mountain West Conference, 12-0) stack up very similarly, boasting high scoring offenses, veteran quarterbacks, dynamic running  games and athletic defenses. As if the show down was not compelling enough on paper, a chance to finish the season with a win in Pasadena and No. 2 in the final rankings makes this one of the best games of the bowl schedule.

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""I'm very excited because we get toplay the only other undefeated team in the country,"" said head coach Bret Bielema, who is 2-2 in bowl games as a head coach.

The Horned Frogs put up impressive statistics on both sides of the ball en route to their second consecutive undefeated regular season under head coach Gary Patterson. TCU finished the regular season tied for fourth in the nation (with Wisconsin) in scoring offense at a whopping 43.3 points per game.

Senior Horned Frogs quarterback Andy Dalton is the driving force behind TCU's potent offense. He threw for 26 touchdowns against just six interceptions this season, and added 481 rushing yards and five more scores on the ground. He garnered some fringe Heisman consideration and was a finalist for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, given to the top senior quarterback each year and awarded to Wisconsin signal caller Scott Tolzien this week.

TCU's offense has simply overwhelmed opponents this season, but after 12 games and a full conference schedule, UW senior linebacker Culmer St. Jean said even a balanced, complex offense should not take the Badgers by surprise.

""We played against Michigan, they've got a lot of speed,"" St. Jean said. ""Ohio State has a lot of speed, we've seen it all.""

As talented as Dalton is, Wisconsin will have to keep the Horned Frogs' other rushing threats under control on New Year's Day. TCU finished eighth in the nation in team rushing at 261.2 yards per game—13.9 yards per game more than UW.

Three Horned Frogs running backs finished the regular season with 500 yards or more this season. Impressive as that is, UW currently has three backs over eight hundred yards and all three have at least 12 touchdowns.

If junior running back John Clay—who should be fully healthy by Jan. 1—runs for 48 yards and sophomore Montee Ball manages 119, the Badgers could finish with three 1000-yard rushers. Only last year's Nevada squad has accomplished the feat in NCAA history.

That will not come easy, though, as the Horned Frogs boast the nation's top scoring defense (11.3 points per game allowed) and third-ranked rushing defense (89.2 yards per game).

""We've faced great guys up front,"" UW senior left guard John Moffitt said. ""To us it's nothing new and nothing unfamiliar but it'll definitely be a good challenge. We need a good challenge.""

There is lack of talent in the Badger backfield, but Wisconsin's mammoth offensive line made Big Ten defensive fronts look helpless for much of the conference slate.

It showed in the postseason awards, as senior left tackle Gabe Carimi earned the Big Ten's award for best offensive lineman. Wisconsin had six offensive linemen earn some form of all-conference award despite the fact that there are only five positions.

 ""I would want to argue second team or first team for all of them,"" said Moffitt, who earned consensus first-team honors. ""I just have so much confidence in all of them and the way that they play.""

 Tolzien's performance might get lost amidst the gaudy rushing statistics, but he quietly put together one of the most effective seasons in program history. Tolzien amassed 2,300 yards and 16 touchdowns despite attempting just two second-half passes in Wisconsin's last two games.

The Rolling Meadows, Ill. native has compiled a 21-4 record in his two years of starting and enters his final collegiate game ranked fourth in the nation in passing efficiency (169.8). Bielema does not think it will be the last football his quarterback plays.

 ""The thing that's going to be nice for Scott [is], after this game, he's going to have an opportunity to go on to the NFL, by everything that everybody is telling me,"" Bielema said.

 For a group of seniors that came to Madison as a relatively unheralded class of recruits, a Rose Bowl title would be a capstone befitting of the leadership, work ethic and character put on display this year. Senior strong safety Jay Valai said he has an ending in mind, but would not give it away.

 ""Tune in January first,"" he said.

 

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