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Defense leads Wisconsin to Holiday Bowl win against USC

graham watson

Wisconsin’s defense is absolutely legit.

After being accused of having inflated stats because of a weak schedule, Wisconsin shut down USC’s usually high-powered offense in a 23-21 Holiday Bowl win.

The victory gave the Badgers their fifth 10-win season since 2009 and validated a team that many undervalued most of the year.

Wisconsin was especially good at the line of scrimmage where it constantly got after USC quarterback Cody Kessler and kept the running game at bay. USC managed just 65 yards rushing, the lowest total of the season, and 286 total yards, which was the lowest season total by nearly 50 yards.

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Linebacker Jack Cichy, who only played in the second half because a targeting call in Wisconsin’s previous game forced him to miss the first half, was a ball of energy. During one series, Cichy had three sacks on consecutive downs. He came into the game with just two sacks in his career.

Cichy was a constant presence in the USC backfield, flushing Kessler from the pocket and forcing poor throws. Late in the fourth quarter, Cichy got a piece of Kessler’s arm to force the only interception of the game.

Kessler was not at his best Wednesday.

The senior, playing in his final collegiate game, completed just 18 of 32 passes for 221 yards a touchdown and an interception. The Wisconsin secondary kept a lock on star receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, Kessler’s favorite target, who had just four catches for 65 yards.

With a chance to drive for the game-winning field goal, Kessler faulted on some throws and then made a curious decision on fourth-and-10 to throw a seven-yard pass. The game essentially ended on a turnover on downs.

Wisconsin's offense was good in the first half, but struggled in the second once the USC defense started to get in a rhythm. The Badgers also were the victim of a poor call by the referees when wildcat quarterback Tanner McEvoy was called out of bounds on a touchdown run midway through the fourth quarter. Several replays and screenshots showed McEvoy was inbounds and had the official not blown the play dead, the Badgers would have had another touchdown. Instead, they ended up punting.

However, that play didn't ultimately matter as the Badgers kicked what would be the game-winning field goal on their next possession.

USC finished the season 8-6, its second-worst mark since 2001, and ended what had been a turbulent season. Wisconsin’s 10-win campaign matches Ohio State and Michigan State as the only Big Ten programs to have five 10-win seasons since 2009. The win also means the Big Ten West will finish with a winning bowl record.

For more USC news, visit TrojanSports.com.

For more Ohio State news, visit BuckeyeGrove.com.

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Graham Watson is the editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at dr.saturday@ymail.com or follow her on Twitter!

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