WISCONSIN BADGERS SPEAR USC TROJANS
The University of Wisconsin Badgers football team was dominant in the time of possession department and quarterback Joel Stave completed nearly 70 percent of his passing attempts (18-of-27, 217 yards, 1 TD), as the Badgers speared the University of Southern California (USC) Trojans by a final score of 23-21 before an announced attendance of 48,329 spectators at the 38th Annual Holiday Bowl played at Qualcomm Stadium on Wednesday evening, December 30.
Wisconsin, the alma mater of former Madison High Warhawks quarterback Chase Knox, controlled the clock for 37:18, compared to 22:42 for USC.
Meanwhile, Stave demonstrated his ability to distribute the pigskin equally to all parts of the field, with 33 percent of his spirals directed to the left side, 33 percent up the middle, as well as 33 percent to the right side.
Austin Traylor (3 catches, 47 yards, 1 TD), Alex Erickson (5 catches, 54 yards), and Robert Wheelwright (4 catches, 47 yards) were Stave’s favorite receivers, especially Erickson, who was targeted 30 percent of the time by Stave.
The Badgers also showed off their strong ground attack between the hashmarks, with more than 50 percent of their attempts coming up the middle behind running backs like Corey Clement (19 carries, 66 yards, 1 TD), Dare Ogunbowale (13 carries, 50 yards), Derek Watt (5 carries, 32 yards), and Tanner McEvoy (4 carries, 25 yards).
“They (the Trojans) are a tremendous team and a tremendous program,” said Stave. “They are one of the staples of college football. When you think of college football, you think of USC, so that’s who you grow up watching.”
“We knew it would be a physical game,” said Trojans quarterback Cody Kessler (18-of-32, 221 yards, 1 TD).
Kessler exhibited favoritism for the right side of the field, with over 50 percent of his footballs falling into the hands of receivers such as JuJu Smith-Schuster (4 catches, 65 yards), Adoree’ Jackson (3 catches, 32 yards), Darreus Rogers (2 catches, 25 yards, 1 TD), and San Diegan Taylor McNamara (2 catches, 21 yards).
USC gained some momentum from running backs Ronald Jones II (8 carries, 47 yards) and Justin Davis (12 carries, 27 yards, 2 TD’s) with Davis’ second touchdown run of the ballgame in the third quarter. Davis’ first score was a 1-yard dive over the top in the second period.
OTHER COLLEGE FOOTBALL BOWL GAME SCORES, RESULTS, AND STATISTICS
HOLIDAY BOWL: Boise State Broncos 55, Northern Illinois Huskies 7
HAWAI’I BOWL: SDSU Aztecs 42, Cincinnati Bearcats 7 (Donnel Pumphrey 118 all-purpose yards, 1 TD)
ALAMO BOWL: TCU Horned Frogs 47, Oregon Ducks 41 (Darren Carrington II 7 catches, 107 yards, 1 TD)
2015-16 TOP LOCAL AREA HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL PLAYERS IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER BY POSITION
MADISON WARHAWKS: Terrell Carter (QB); Erick Buchanan (RB); Darius Jackson (RB); Erris King (RB); Zak Kolek (RB); Perdale Owens (RB); Brandon Lewis (WR); Shaheed Madyun (WR); Marc Quinlin (WR); Elijah Thomas (WR); David Falo (OL-DL); Jojo Falo (OL-DL); Jason Cole (DE); Lee Williams (DT); Bryson Collins (LB); Donte Grady (LB); Nick Meray (LB); Sampson Niu (LB); Travis Hess Jr. (DB); Isaiah McDaniels (DB); Robert Wright (DB); Diego Ledezma (K); Jonathan Navarrete (K);
KEARNY KOMETS: Takoda Browne (QB); Lerone Randle (QB); Frank Gallaway (RB); Treshaun Gray (WR); Damontae Hill (WR); Bryan Le (WR); D.J. Linton (WR); Josiah Sa’o (OL-DL); Gabriel Childs (LB);
CLAIREMONT CHIEFTAINS: Nick Dicarlo (QB); Nick Hascall (RB); Dylan Irwin (RB); Juan Sotelo (RB); Dylan Suitts (RB); Jorge Castaneda (WR); Maximillian Kalber (K)
HORIZON CHRISTIAN ACADEMY PANTHERS: Oscar Navarro (RB); Oscar Cordova (WR);
FRANCIS PARKER LANCERS: Ben Krongard (QB); Bryce Neels (RB); Michael Yourg (RB); Andrew Cross (WR); Sterling Hayes (WR); Cam Miller (LB);
