Bowl game roundup: Lamar Jackson leads Louisville to win over Texas A&M

The Holiday Bowl gets the second choice among Pac-12 Conference teams following the New Year’s Six games.

Holiday Bowl recap, score and key stats for the Badger and Trojans. – Wisconsin QB Joel Stave completed 18-of-27 passes for 217 yards and a score. All told, the Badgers outgained the Trojans, 394-286, and notched a 14-minute advantage in time of possession while amassing six more first downs.

Wisconsin trailed by one with five minutes to play, but the Badgers worked their way back into USC territory with a seven-play, 42-yard drive that culminated in a 29-yard game-winning field goal with just over two minutes to go. As for the USC Trojans, they have a chance to get revenge on the Big Ten after Nebraska beat UCLA in the Foster Farms Bowl. But while Wisconsin poses an imposing threat for Kessler, the reverse can be said for the Badger defense.

“It’s not any certain game plan or play call”, linebacker Su’a Cravens said. He also pressured the quarterback on Sojourn Shelton’s late interception en route to being named the game’s defensive MVP.

“We were banged up going into that game”, Helton said. “Things happened we couldn’t control as players, especially me”.

“They had a relentless effort to the ball”.

Helton, who relieved defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox of his duties as part of a shakeup of the coaching staff before the bowl game, could be bringing back Clancy Pendergast, now an assistant with the San Francisco 49ers.

WISCONSIN LINEBACKER JACK CICHY on how he was able to get three sacks on the same series – what was USC giving them: “On film we saw that their A gaps were open a lot on pass pro, so Aranda schemed up a lot of blitzes that attacked that deficiency, I guess, and honestly, I mean, once would be great, but three times is kinda’ just luck of the draw”.

“I thought our offensive line in that first quarter had some missed assignments in that set us back”, Helton said on the slow start.

For the third time this season, the Badgers could smell the end zone, only to have it swiped away from them when they least expect it. And a similar fate seemed to be upon the cardinal and white. And I think mainly when I came out, I didn’t want to – I wanted to let the game come to me.

There’s more to this and any bowl handicap than just strength of schedule, but I think when we look at each team’s results it’s clear that not only did USC compete against better competition but they showed more capable. The Trojans will get the ball to start the second half and will need a touchdown drive to take over the lead and steal momentum. Kessler was scrambling around looking for someone in the endzone and finally found Rogers to give USC a 21-20 lead. Wisconsin has four games on the season where they allowed 21 or more points and one includes the juggernaut Alabama Crimson Tide.

Running back Corey Clement pushed the Badgers’ lead to 10-0 when he rushed over from 6 yards midway through the second quarter. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports Dec 30, 2015; San Diego, CA, USA; Wisconsin Badgers wide receiver Robert Wheelwright (15) congratulates tight end Austin Traylor (46) after scoring a touchdown against the USC Trojans during the third quarter in the 2015 Holiday Bowl at Qualcomm Stadium.

The Trojans took their first lead of the game early in the fourth quarter on a methodical drive with three third-down conversions.

Despite playing just half the game, Cichy finished as the Badgers’ leading tackler, recording nine stops, including three tackles for loss, the three sacks.

Second-team All-American JuJu Smith-Schuster ranks among the national leaders with 85 receptions and 10 TDs, and entered the bowl season third in the FBS with 1,389 receiving yards.