Wisconsin there’s a new coach on the sidelines, with the interim coach still directing the spearheads. The Badgers have a number of new players in key positions, including midfield.
A long, sometimes difficult season ended with more adversity – and ultimately a victory.
The 17-point lead is almost erased, Wisconsin tries to make a final defense to beat Oklahoma State 24-17 in the Guaranteed Ratio Bowl on Tuesday night.
“It ended the way we wanted – we won,” he said braelon allenwho ran 116 yards and scored on a 20 yard touchdown.
Luke Fickell, hired from Cincinnati after attending the College Football Qualifiers last season, joined the sideline team for the bowl game. However, he’s not there to run the show; All decisions are made by interim coach Jim Leonhard.
The Badgers made everything productive in the first half. The attack is balanced, the defense is deadlocked while they lead by 17 points.
In the second half, Wisconsin (7-6) got bogged down on the slippery Chase Field and the defense began to give up tit-for-tat play when the Cowboys returned.
Cedrick Dort at last ended the momentum of the State of Oklahoma, intercept Garret Rangel’s passed with three minutes left, preserving the Badgers’ eighth win in their past nine bleak games.
“This is what I envisioned from afar,” Fickell said. “And that’s what they’ve shown me over the last three and a half weeks: they want to be here, they want to do it together, and they want to do it the right way.”
The Cowboys lost 4/5 games to end the regular season and struggled to drop 24-7 in the middle of the third inning. Rangel had the only offensive hit in the first half with a massive assist from Stephen Johnson Jr.who broke a few tackles to turn a swing pass into a touchdown at 84 yards.
“We had a big game, but other than that, we couldn’t sustain anything,” said Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy.
Rangel took the lead again with Oklahoma State, throwing 229 yards and making two touches in place of Spencer Sanderswho entered the transfer portal.
The freshman improvised on the fourth and goal by tossing a pass to Ollie Gordon while grabbing the defender to open the 4th half and score Tanner Brown’s Aim on the 24-yard field to pull the Cowboys to 24-17.
With momentum back on the Oklahoma State side, Rangel attempted a big play in the bottom area after another defensive save in the second half of Oklahoma State. Dort pulls it back to Badgers by cutting inside John Paul Richardson for what ended up being a fierce interception in the match.
“We came here with a slightly reduced roster and new entrants, and we had to find our way,” Gundy said. “The boys have been training hard for three weeks. Had a great week of training here, so I’m very proud of them.”
CARRIED AWAY
Oklahoma State: The Cowboys stepped up attack a bit late to mark a comeback, trailing coach Mike Gundy with nine wins by a margin, coming in at seventh on the career list.
Wisconsin: The Badgers have a new coach on the sidelines and several new players taking up key positions, including quarterback. Wisconsin won after its offensive stalled, leaving Leonhard victorious.
THE WORD’S TURN
Among the many changes Wisconsin faces is in the back quarterback Graham Mertza three-year beginner, entered the transfer portal.
Badgers move to start year five Chasing Wolfwho tried to cross six times before reaching the desert.
Wolf had some success in early short passes and found Hayden Rucci on a 15-yard TD pass in the second half. He also made a late zone intercept in Wisconsin’s second driveway and finished 16th out of 26 in 116 yards.
“Chase played well. He controlled what he could control, he took shots and I never saw him blink,” Fickell said.
NEXT
Wisconsin: Fickell will continue to add to its staff and roster after the loss of a number of players who have announced either the NFL draft or the transfer portal. Wolf will be back and more motivated after winning a bowl game.
Oklahoma State: His poor playing experience will help Rangel head into next season, when he will be the leader for the starting midfield. Most Cowboys skill players should also return.
Read more:
Top stories from FOX Sports:
Get more from College Football Follow your favorites to get game info, news and more
