Wisconsin headed back to the Rose Bowl to face Oregon

Jeff Potrykus | Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

MADISON – Wisconsin’s mettle was tested at the close of October.

Oregon’s most trying period came one month later.

The ability of those two football teams to overcome defeats that were both disappointing and stunning has led to an intriguing match-up for the 106th Rose Bowl, set for 4 p.m. (Central) on Jan. 1 in Pasadena.

Oregon (11-2), No. 6 in the final College Football Playoff rankings released Sunday, rebounded with two critical victories after suffering a 31-28 loss on Nov. 23 at unranked Arizona State.

The Ducks closed the regular season with a 24-10 victory over Pacific 12 rival Oregon State and then dominated then-No. 5 Utah, 37-15, in the league title game on Friday. That secured the program’s first Rose Bowl berth since playing in the 2015 national semifinals against Florida State.

“Our seniors have gone through a 4-8 season in their first season here,” Mario Cristobal, in his second season as head coach, said Sunday during a Rose Bowl teleconference. “They felt they had a special group and that they could accomplish a special season.”

Cristobal, 20-7 as head coach, was referring to the 2016 season. The Ducks, under Mark Helfrich, finished 2-7 in the league and 4-8 overall.

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They improved to 4-5 and 7-6 in 2017, to 5-4 and 9-4 last season under Cristobal and to 8-1 and 11-2 this season.

“So all the credit in the world to them for rounding everybody up, staying focused, staying the course,” Cristobal said, “and making it a great season for our football team.”

UW (10-3), No. 8 in the CFP rankings, reached a fork in the road after consecutive losses to Illinois on Oct. 19 and to Ohio State on Oct. 26, the latter expected but the former stunning.

The Badgers were 3-2 in the Big Ten and 6-2 overall after the back-to-back defeats. They responded with four consecutive November victories before falling to then-No. 1 Ohio State, 34-21, Saturday in the Big Ten title game.

“Obviously, you want every season to go perfect and win every game and that seldom happens,” UW coach Paul Chryst said Sunday. “I think what I have appreciated from our group is we’ve got really good upper-class leadership…and they made an important decision to focus on each game.

“You end up looking back at it and I don’t want to say it was a good thing to have happen, but I’m proud of the way they (responded).”

A handful of analysts projected Penn State (10-2), ranked No. 10 at the end of the regular season, to get the Rose Bowl berth.

"I think we all wondered – Wisconsin (or) Penn State?" analyst Kirk Herbstreit said earlier Sunday during ESPN's College Football Playoff selection show. "They were so close last week.

"Great to see the committee doesn’t penalize Wisconsin for getting that bonus game against the Buckeyes.

"The Badgers, in my opinion, should be in the Rose Bowl."

The Badgers’ last Rose Bowl appearance came after the 2012 season, when they suffered a 20-14 loss to Stanford. That was their third loss in three seasons in the game.

UW and Oregon met in the 2012 Rose Bowl, with Chryst in his final game as offensive coordinator, and the Ducks won a shootout, 42-35.

The '19 Ducks were in the running for a berth in the College Football Playoff until the loss to Arizona State.

They average 35.9 points per game and generally ride the arm of quarterback Justin Herbert.

The senior from Eugene has passed for 3,333 yards, with 32 touchdowns and just five interceptions in 408 attempts.

Herbert had a relatively quiet game against Utah and finished 14 of 26 for 193 yards and one touchdown.

Tailback C.J. Verdell rushed 18 times for 208 yards and three scores to lead the Ducks. Verdell is averaging 6.5 yards per carry and has 1,171 yards and eight touchdowns.

Oregon's performance against Utah impressed analyst Joey Galloway.

"That Oregon team that knocked off Utah and really made Utah look like they were a slower football team and not as physical," Galloway said during ESPN's telecast, "that Oregon team we saw that game looked like they can go toe-to-toe with Wisconsin in being physical and handling the line of scrimmage."

That will be determined on Jan. 1. For now, the UW players are savoring giving the program its 10th trip to Pasadena.

"There is a lot of history between the Rose Bowl and Wisconsin," said senior outside linebacker Zack Baun, a graduate of Brown Deer High School. "You see it all over the walls. You see it walking down the hallway.

"You see it up in the locker room, everywhere. You hear about it all the time, all the stories, how much the Rose Bowl means to this program. To be a part of that is just building on a legacy."