One For the Ages
Rick Morgan

Even if it takes another 95 years for Oregon to win another Rose Bowl, it is certain that Monday's 45-38 win over Wisconsin will still be widely remembered as one of the best.

Oregon scored 10 points in the fourth quarter and finally found the defensive strategy to shut down the Badgers high caliber offense to win their first BCS Bowl since the 2001 Fiesta Bowl and the first for head coach Chip Kelly.

"Personally, I'm just proud of our guys and how they represented our school," Kelly said.  "None of us were around 95 years ago, and we never talked about it. We didn't talk about last year's game against Auburn or being here two years ago. We just talked about we're a forward thinking operation.

"We're always looking ahead. We can learn from our past experiences, which I think we did when we played here two years ago and we played against Auburn last year."

On a picture postcard perfect SoCal day, the game got off with a bang. Wisconsin drove 77 yards in seven plays to open the scoring with their first possession, Badger quarterback Russell Wilson finding wide receiver Jared Abbrederis in the end zone for a 38-yard scoring pass.

Oregon answered immediately with a seven play, 80-yard march that featured both prongs of Oregon's attack - a 23-yard bolt by LaMichael James and a 35-yared completion to Lavasier Tuinei. It was James from the one-yard line for the score to tie the game at seven just five minutes in.

The Badgers wasted no time returning the favor, marching 79 yards this time on seven plays to take a 14-7 advantage.

Finally the defenses began to hold, each team forcing a punt with Wisconsin pinning the Ducks on their own five with 32 seconds left in the opening quarter. More than enough time as it turned out. After James hit the line for a gain of 4, De'Anthony Thomas tore through the middle of the Badger defense then angled to the right sideline untouched for 95-yards, knotting the score at 14.

Starting to see a trend here? It was more of the same in the second stanza. Wisconsin took the lead again when Montee Ball bulled in from the three to cap a 64-yard drive only to have De'Anothony Thomas return the kick-off 46 yards to set up Darron Thomas' 54-yard touchdown pass to Kenjon Barner.

The game's first turnover went Wisconsin's way one Oregon possession later. The Badger's Mike Taylor blasted through the right side of the Oregon line, separating Darron Thomas from the ball as he was setting his feet to pass. Louis Nzegwu picked up the fumble and returned it 33 yards for a touchdown to give the Badgers a 28-21 advantage.

Oregon is nothing if not resilient and Darron Thomas engineered a 10-play drive to bring the Ducks back to even at 28, finding Tuinei for three yards and the score just before the half.

The Ducks threw the first haymaker of the second half, De'Anthony Thomas again breaking free of the Wisconsin defense, this time for 64 yards to give Oregon their first lead of the game.

Second half defensive adjustments have been a staple for Oregon this season and again defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti dialed up the right formula. Stacking the box to stop Wisconsin's ground game, the Ducks held the Badgers to a field goal.

When Oregon couldn't build on their lead with their next possession the Badgers jumped at the chance to go back on top, Wilson's 18-yard pass to Nick Toon gave Wisconsin a 38-35 lead with four minutes left in the third quarter.

The tide would turn in Oregon's favor for good before the fourth quarter would arrive. Two minutes later, linebacker Kiko Alonso intercepted a Wilson pass at the Wisconsin 39 and three plays into the final quarter, Darron Thomas again found Tuinei for 11 yards and a 42-38 lead.

Alejandro Maldonado's 30-yard field goal closed out the scoring although Wisconsin completed a pair of long passes against Oregon's prevent defense in the game's final minute. But with only two seconds remaining and the clock stopped as the chains were advanced following a Badger first down, Wilson couldn't get his offense set and the ball spiked before the clock ran out. A review of the play by the replay official confirmed the clock had reached zeroes before Wisconsin snapped the ball.

Statistically the game was fairly evenly played. Wisconsin had 23 first downs, Oregon 22. The Ducks gained 345 yards on the ground to Wisconsin's 212, but the Badgers posted 296 passing compared to Oregon's 276, leaving the Ducks with 621-508 advantage in total yards.

Darron Thomas completed 17 of 23 passes, Wilson 19 of 25. LaMichael James carried the ball 25 times to gain 159 yards and a touchdown while his Wisconsin counterpart Montee Ball gained 169 on 32 carries, scoring once.

Lavasier Tuinei paced the Ducks in receiving, snagging 8 passes for 158 yards and two touchdowns. The Badgers Nick Toon had nine grabs for 104 yards and a score. His teammate Jared Abbrederis added 119 yards and a score on four catches. Oregon's De'Anthony Thomas ended the day with 314 all-purpose yards and was named offensive player of game. Alonso was tabbed as the defensive player.

"I really didn't about the high scoring thing," said Kelly. "Just because, again, learning from the past, there was so much talk going into the National Championship a year ago, us versus Auburn, that it was going to be a high scoring affair, and it was 22 19.

"What we learned from this game, I think, is that it really just kind of validates what we stand for, is that this team is fearless. They're resilient, and they've got faith. But that faith is based on preparation. It's not a fake thing where we just talk about it.

"They really stick together and believe in the guy to the right of them and to the left of them because they see what they do every single day in practice. That's what you need to kind of hold your hat on, and that's what these guys do. These two guys (Alonso and De'Anthony Thomas) get it. They understand it, and that's what we're kind of all about right now."

With that said, it doesn't seem likely it will be another 95 years before Oregon's next Rose Bowl triumph. But if it is or if it isn't - the next one will have a tough, tough act to follow.