ORLANDO, Fla. -- Last year, UW running back Montee Ball left the team after scoring more touchdowns than any other running back in NCAA history. He ultimately moved on, but left the Wisconsin running back brigade in the capable hands of senior James White.
With so much tradition and excellence in Badger running back lore, like Ball, White found a way to etch his name in the history books.
The second team All-Big Ten duo of White and redshirt sophomore Melvin Gordon gave a performance Wednesday at the Capital One Bowl emblematic of their season. White and Gordon finished the season rushing for more yards than any running back tandem ever (3,053).
After losing to South Carolina 34-24 in his final collegiate game, White once again followed the well worn steps traveled by his predecessors by handing the reigns to Gordon.
"I have had a great four years, now my time is up and I know [Gordon and freshman Corey Clement] will step in and those guys will be ready to take on a new leadership role," White said. "We wanted to be better than last year and that's always the goal. That's going to be their goal. Corey and Melvin are going to try and be better than me and Melvin were."
Whereas a dominant rushing performance was enough for No. 19 Wisconsin (6-2 Big Ten, 9-4 overall) to win games earlier this season, the No. 9 Gamecocks (6-2 SEC, 11-2) found ways to win despite giving up 143 yards to Gordon and 108 to White.
It's hard to come closer to a perfect game than South Carolina senior quarterback and the game's Most Valuable Player Connor Shaw did against the Badger defense. The Flowery Beach, Ga., native was an astounding 22-for-25 passing with 312 yards and three touchdowns. He rushed for 47 yards and a touchdown, while also adding a touchdown catch on his first and only collegiate reception.
"[Shaw] is kind of their engine and he does a great job of extending plays, he doesn't necessarily look to scramble, but to make a throw and he hurt us on that a couple times later in the game," redshirt senior linebacker Chris Borland said. "Our plan was to be aggressive. And at times, we didn't get the pressure we should have and at times he was able to extend plays. That's very frustrating. We didn't play well enough to win today."
Where South Carolina shone, the Badgers were lackluster. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Joel Stave finished 9-for-13 with two touchdowns and one interception, but it was his crucial mistakes and poor decisions that empowered the Gamecock offensive machine.
In the first quarter, after South Carolina's offense stalled out in their first two possessions, Stave threw an interception at the Wisconsin 43-yard line after attempting to throw the ball at the feet of a receiver on a failed screen pass.
On the very next play Shaw completed a perfect post-route pass to junior wide receiver Bruce Ellington for a 39-yard touchdown.
In the third quarter South Carolina was losing 17-13 and it looked like precious momentum was swinging Wisconsin's way. The Gamecocks responded by marching 75 yards on 11 plays, capping off the drive with one of senior wide receiver Bruce Ellington's many clutch catches on fourth-and-7 for a touchdown.
After the Badger kick return, Stave scrambled for five yards, but instead of sliding he took a whopping hit from redshirt junior cornerback Victor Hampton.
The Badgers' signal caller stayed in the game for four more plays, but left for the locker room prior to the end of the quarter.
For the second straight season, UW put its bowl game hopes in the hands of redshirt senior quarterback Curt Phillips.
Gordon failed to convert on both third-and-1 and fourth-and-1 on Phillips' first drive, leaving South Carolina to take over at the their own 26-yard line.
The Gamecocks then drove commandingly down the field and scored a touchdown with most of the yardage coming from a 49-yard pass into double coverage from Shaw to sophomore wide receiver Shaq Roland.
The Badgers found themselves down 27-17 with just minutes left to play. Down two scores with its backup quarterback playing, Wisconsin was in need of a big play.
Answering the bell was junior kick returner Kenzel Doe, taking the kickoff 91 yards for a touchdown to put UW back into the game.
"I had a couple of close ones all season and I felt like this was the time I really needed to step up," Doe said. "We always say that before we go out there, 'we have to make a play,' and 'this is the game where we have to leave it all on the line.'"
However, another South Carolina touchdown drive and stout defensive performance, including two interceptions and two tipped passes by junior superstar defensive lineman Jadeveon Clowney, closed the game and the season for Wisconsin.
Head coach Gary Andersen was quick to defend Phillips.
"We expected the backup quarterback to come back and Curt [Phillips] has been in that atmosphere before in big time games," Andersen said. "We got into scoring position a couple of times and obviously didn't convert. So Curt handled it reasonably well, in my opinion, and I am proud of that kid."
Redshirt senior safety Dezmen Southward is one of the seniors, who, having played his final collegiate game, can reflect on what his last season has meant to him.
"These are guys that I will remember for the rest of my life," Southward said. "At the end of the day, this loss, it hurts, but it won't change my thought on this season because of all the great feelings and all the great memories and everything that went into this season. I was able to play with some of my best friends that will be there for the rest of my life."
Andersen attributes the team's success to the positive example demonstrated from the top-down, as younger players continue to fill the shoes of the leaders before them.
"I'm very proud of this group of seniors, which I have been proud about them since the third day I got to know them," Andersen said. "There's no quit. You can't faze them. It's shown its head again and again. They just kept on fighting."
