With two career sacks, Wisconsin’s Jack Cichy gets three straight against USC

SAN DIEGO Wanted: big people. They have the ability to set the tone and that ability to set the tone early and often makes them tough to beat.

Wisconsin went into Wednesday’s Holiday Bowl with zero wins over teams with winning records. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports Dec 30, 2015; San Diego, CA, USA; Wisconsin Badgers cornerback Sojourn Shelton (8) is congratulated by cornerback Darius Hillary (5) after an interception against the USC Trojans during the fourth quarter in the 2015 Holiday Bowl at Qualcomm Stadium.

Player of the game: The honor has to go to the entire Wisconsin defense, but one player is worth highlighting in particular.

Helton has seen it first-hand as well, having gone through the 2013 season at USC when Lane Kiffin was sacked after five games and Ed Orgeron was named interim coach, then Helton coached the bowl game after Orgeron resigned.

Clement’s 13 first-half carries were more than he had received in any game this year.

Today’s USC Trojans vs Wisconsin Badgers college football bowl game has a start time schedule of 10:30pm eastern time and airs on TV channel ESPN. Playing in the Big Ten certainly helps with that as several of the offenses aren’t very good.

“They had a relentless effort to the ball”. But Wisconsin quickly responded with another field goal to take a 23-21 lead.

Corey Clement returned to the Badger lineup and rushed for 66 yards on 19 carries with a touchdown. That drive was kept alive on a 34-yard pass from Cody Kessler to Adoree’ Jackson on fourth-and-4 from the 36. That play preceded the touchdown. The Trojans punted on three consecutive possessions before finally finding the end zone on a nine-play 55-yard drive that saw USC convert to crucial fourth down conversions. USC 24, Wisconsin 10.

The Trojans can run the football well, too – both Ronald Jones II and Justin Davis had great seasons. As intellectually-ready for a pro offense as any other quarterback entering the draft, Kessler is comfortable changing the call at the line or checking to his second or third reads easily. The former walk-on inside/outside linebacker missed the first half of the game due to the targeting penalty he was assessed in the second half of the Minnesota contest. He ran play action and rolled out to find Traylor in splendid isolation. USC won a pair of Rose Bowls against Wisconsin in 1953 and ’63.

The Trojans immediately answered, Kessler connecting with receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster along the right sideline for a 39-yard gain. It’s all about how tall you’re going to stand, with your head up and keep pushing. He also completed 65.4 percent of his passes for 2,301 yards and 29 touchdowns with Arizona Western back in 2012. Another touchdown by Davis cut the lead to 20-14. The Badgers held on to knock off the U-S-C Trojans 23-21 to capture the Holiday Bowl.

Various oddsmakers have made USC a three-to-3 1/2-point favorite.

But Greg Townsend Jr. brought the first meaningful pressure all night on Stave and sacked him on third down. Kessler doesn’t have the arm strength to make deep throws on the run, and when not given a few solid seconds of protection, he frequently gets rattled under defensive pressure.

Joel Stave, QB, Wisconsin- As mentioned earlier, Stave has gone through some ups-and-downs in his career at Wisconsin, but he has an opportunity to leave the Badger fans with a smile. Backup Bart Houston couldn’t move the Badgers, although they felt they should have been ahead anyway, since Connor McEvoy streaked down the sidelines out of the Wildcat formation and seemed sure to score.