Written by Danny Morales
TAMPA — Melvin Gordon rushed for a Outback Bowl record 251 yards and had three touchdowns as the Wisconsin Badgers defeated the Auburn Tigers 34-31 in overtime in front of an announced attendance of 44,023 at Raymond James Stadium on Thursday.
“Melvin is truly special,” said Wisconsin head coach Barry Alvarez following the game. “We’ve had a lot of good backs come through here.”
Wisconsin used a field goal from Rafael Gaglianone to take a three-point lead in overtime and then clinched the win when Daniel Carlson’s game-tying 45-yard field goal went bouncing off the upright for Auburn.
The Badgers sent the game to overtime after they converted a 4th and 10 and kicked a game-tying field goal with 0:07 remaining in the game.
Gordon got the Badgers offense started in the second half as he ran for 51 yards on Wisconsin’s opening drive of the half including a 25-yard touchdown which tied the game at 14-14 early in the second half.
Auburn took a 17-14 lead when Carlson hit a career-best 51-yard field goal with 9:32 remaining in the third quarter. But then Gordon put Wisconsin ahead when he broke a 53-yard touchdown run on 4th down to give the Badgers a 20-17 lead going into the fourth quarter.
Gordon ran for 116 yards during the third quarter and his two touchdowns made him just the third player in FBS history with 2,000 yards rushing and 30 touchdowns in a season. The other two players to achieve the task were Barry Sanders and UCF’s Kevin Smith.
“We wanted to open the game throwing the ball, open it up, make them run around maybe try to tire them,” said Alvarez about choice to run it more in the second half. “Loosen them up a little bit because we knew they’d hug the line of scrimmage and the we told the offensive line they had to take the game over in the second half.”
The Heisman runner-up continued his dominance in the fourth quarter when he scored his third touchdown of the game, giving the Badgers a 28-24 lead with 7:58 remaining in the game.
Gordon finished the season with 2,587 yards for the season, which was good enough for the second-best single season rushing performance in FBS history behind Barry Sanders 2,628 yards.
Wisconsin’s 400 net yards rushing against Auburn set a new Outback Bowl record, which was previously 278, as Gordon and backup running back Corey Clement rushed for a combined 369 as a tandem.
Cameron Artis-Payne put the Tigers back on top when he rushed two-yards into the end zone to give Auburn a 31-28 lead with under three minutes to play in regulation. Wisconsin drove the ball down to the 11-yard line on the following drive and Gaglianone sent the game to overtime with his 29-yard field goal after the Badgers had to convert on 4th and 10 to keep the drive alive.
Gaglianone opened overtime with a 25-yard field goal to put Wisconsin ahead and then the Badgers sealed the victory when Carlson’s kick went off the right goal post, giving Wisconsin their 11th win of the season.
“I had a perfect hold, perfect snap,” said Gaglianone about his two big kicks. “So it’s all up to me and it was a short field goal so it’s all about trusting yourself.”
The win was very emotional for the Badgers as it sent off interim head coach Barry Alvarez, who went from being the University’s athletic director to their head coach after Gary Andersen left to coach at Oregon State. The win was the 119th for Alvarez’s coaching career and allowed the long-time Wisconsin coach to go back into retirement with a win in his final game.
“I wanted to send coach Alvarez out in the right direction,” said Badgers linebacker Vince Biegel. “But more importantly I wanted to get it done for the seniors, this is their first bowl win and a fun one at that.”
Now the Badgers will go into the offseason and begin to get acclimated with new head coach Paul Chryst. Wisconsin will open up the 2015 season with a tough matchup against the Alabama Crimson Tide, which will be another opportunity for the Big Ten to show how they can perform against an SEC opponent.
“Melvin is truly special,” said Wisconsin head coach Barry Alvarez following the game. “We’ve had a lot of good backs come through here.”
Wisconsin used a field goal from Rafael Gaglianone to take a three-point lead in overtime and then clinched the win when Daniel Carlson’s game-tying 45-yard field goal went bouncing off the upright for Auburn.
The Badgers sent the game to overtime after they converted a 4th and 10 and kicked a game-tying field goal with 0:07 remaining in the game.
Gordon got the Badgers offense started in the second half as he ran for 51 yards on Wisconsin’s opening drive of the half including a 25-yard touchdown which tied the game at 14-14 early in the second half.
Auburn took a 17-14 lead when Carlson hit a career-best 51-yard field goal with 9:32 remaining in the third quarter. But then Gordon put Wisconsin ahead when he broke a 53-yard touchdown run on 4th down to give the Badgers a 20-17 lead going into the fourth quarter.
Gordon ran for 116 yards during the third quarter and his two touchdowns made him just the third player in FBS history with 2,000 yards rushing and 30 touchdowns in a season. The other two players to achieve the task were Barry Sanders and UCF’s Kevin Smith.
“We wanted to open the game throwing the ball, open it up, make them run around maybe try to tire them,” said Alvarez about choice to run it more in the second half. “Loosen them up a little bit because we knew they’d hug the line of scrimmage and the we told the offensive line they had to take the game over in the second half.”
The Heisman runner-up continued his dominance in the fourth quarter when he scored his third touchdown of the game, giving the Badgers a 28-24 lead with 7:58 remaining in the game.
Gordon finished the season with 2,587 yards for the season, which was good enough for the second-best single season rushing performance in FBS history behind Barry Sanders 2,628 yards.
Wisconsin’s 400 net yards rushing against Auburn set a new Outback Bowl record, which was previously 278, as Gordon and backup running back Corey Clement rushed for a combined 369 as a tandem.
Cameron Artis-Payne put the Tigers back on top when he rushed two-yards into the end zone to give Auburn a 31-28 lead with under three minutes to play in regulation. Wisconsin drove the ball down to the 11-yard line on the following drive and Gaglianone sent the game to overtime with his 29-yard field goal after the Badgers had to convert on 4th and 10 to keep the drive alive.
Gaglianone opened overtime with a 25-yard field goal to put Wisconsin ahead and then the Badgers sealed the victory when Carlson’s kick went off the right goal post, giving Wisconsin their 11th win of the season.
“I had a perfect hold, perfect snap,” said Gaglianone about his two big kicks. “So it’s all up to me and it was a short field goal so it’s all about trusting yourself.”
The win was very emotional for the Badgers as it sent off interim head coach Barry Alvarez, who went from being the University’s athletic director to their head coach after Gary Andersen left to coach at Oregon State. The win was the 119th for Alvarez’s coaching career and allowed the long-time Wisconsin coach to go back into retirement with a win in his final game.
“I wanted to send coach Alvarez out in the right direction,” said Badgers linebacker Vince Biegel. “But more importantly I wanted to get it done for the seniors, this is their first bowl win and a fun one at that.”
Now the Badgers will go into the offseason and begin to get acclimated with new head coach Paul Chryst. Wisconsin will open up the 2015 season with a tough matchup against the Alabama Crimson Tide, which will be another opportunity for the Big Ten to show how they can perform against an SEC opponent.