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Fiesta Sports Foundation

Rate Bowl History

(c)W Scott Mitchell Photoqraphy LLC
(c)W Scott Mitchell Photoqraphy LLC

33rd Annual Game, 2022

  • Teams Wisconsin vs. Oklahoma State
  • Score 24-17, Wisconsin
  • Date December 27, 2022
  • Attendance 23,187

Biography

With a new head coach on the sidelines and a new starting quarterback at the helm of the offense, Wisconsin ended its season in a customary Badgers football way – with a bowl game victory. After racing out to a 17-7 halftime lead and withstanding an Oklahoma State fourth quarter comeback, the Badgers held on for a 24-17 victory in the 2022 Guaranteed Rate Bowl in Downtown Phoenix.
 
The win was Wisconsin's eighth in its past nine bowl games as the Badgers concluded the 2022 season with a 7-6 record, its 21st straight winning season.
 
Offensively, the Badgers relied on a punishing ground game led by Braelon Allen and Chez Mellusi. Allen, the Offensive Player of the Game, rushed for 116 yards on 22 carries and a score, while Mellusi added 77 yards and a touchdown of his own. In total, Wisconsin rushed for 258 yards, nearly matching Oklahoma State's entire offensive output (281).
 
The Badgers' ground game helped Wisconsin control the time of possession, with the fourth-largest possession time difference (15:56) in Guaranteed Rate Bowl history. That aided fifth-year senior Chase Wolf, who made his first career collegiate start at quarterback. Wolf, who had attempted just six passes this season prior to the game, completed 16-of-26 passes for 116 yards and a touchdown.
 
After Wisconsin took the initial advantage with a 49-yard field goal by Nate Van Zelst to cap the Badgers' opening possession, Oklahoma State claimed its only lead of the game on an 84-yard pitch and catch from Garret Rangel to Stephon Johnson Jr. The 84-yard touchdown reception was the second-longest play from scrimmage in Guaranteed Rate Bowl history, only trailing Washington State's Phillip Bobo's 87-yard touchdown reception in 1992.

Wisconsin reeled off 21 unanswered points that kept the Pokes off the scoreboard until early in the fourth quarter. Mellusi punched a touchdown in from a one-yard out and Wolf found Hayden Rucci for a 15-yard score right before halftime to give the Badgers a 17-7 intermission advantage.
 
Allen reached the endzone midway through the third quarter untouched on a 20-yard scamper to pad Wisconsin's lead to 24-7, a margin that held until Rangel tossed his second touchdown of the evening two minutes into the fourth quarter. After nearly being sacked on 4th and goal from the one-yard line, Rangel scooped it to Ollie Gordon II to bring the Cowboys within 10 points on the scoreboard.
 
Oklahoma State (7-6) then forced a Wisconsin 3-and-out and capped a 13-play drive covering 69 yards over six minutes with a 24-yard Tanner Brown field goal to push the score to 24-17 with 5:02 remaining. A second consecutive Badgers 3-and-out gave the Cowboys possession with 3:33 to play. However, Cedrick Dort Jr. preserved Wisconsin's bowl win – its second in as many all-time trips to the Guaranteed Rate Bowl – by intercepting Rangel's deep throw.
 
Jordan Turner, the Defensive Player of the Game, led the Badgers with eight tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss and one quarterback hurry. Maema Njongmeta was right behind with seven tackles and a tackle for loss.

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  • Stadium:

    Chase Field

  • Attendance:

    23,187

  • Offensive Player of the Game:

    Braelon Allen, RB, Wisconsin

  • Defensive Player of the Game:

    Jordan Turner, LB, Wisconsin

  • Head Coaches:

    Luke Fickell - Wisconsin, Mike Gundy - Oklahoma State

  • Weather:

    Indoors, roof closed

Quarter Scores

Scoring 1 2 3 4 F
UW 3 14 7 0 24
OSU 7 0 0 10 17

Yardstick

UW OSU
21 First Downs 10
47-258 Rushes - Yards 26-52
116 Passing Yards 229
16-26-1 Passes 14-31-2
7-327 Punts - Yards 9-406
1-1 Fumbles - Lost 0-0
2-20 Penalties - Yards 3-35

Individual Statistics

Rushing
UW Braelon Allen 22-116-1TD, Chez Mellusi 16-77-1TD, Skyler Bell 1-44, Chimere Dike 2-16, Andy Vujnovich 1-13, Julius Davis 2-8, Chase Wolf 3-(-16)
OSU Ollie Gordon II 12-45, Deondre Jackson 5-8, Jaden Nixon 2-6, Garret Rangel 6-(-3), Brennan Presley 1-(-4)
Passing
UW Chase Wolf 16-26-116-1TD-1INT
OSU Garret Rangel 14-31-229-2TD-2INT
Receiving
UW Chimere Dike 3-36, Keontez Lewis 3-26, Hayden Rucci 2-28-1TD, Jack Eschenbach 2-14, Braelon Allen 2-0, Skyler Bell 1-5, JT Seagreaves 1-3, Julius Davis 1-3, Brady Schipper 1-1
OSU Brennan Presley 6-74, John Paul Richardson 2-21, Stephon Johnson Jr. 1-84-1TD, Rashod Owens 1-41, Talyn Shettron 1-10, Ollie Gordon II 1-1-1TD, Braydon Johnson 1-(-1), Jaden Nixon 1-(-1)

How They Scored

UW OSU
3 0 Nate Van Zelst 47 yd field goal
3 7 Stephon Johnson Jr. 84 yd pass from Garret Rangel (Tanner Brown kick)
10 7 Chez Mellusi 1 yd rush (Nate Van Zelst kick)
17 7 Hayden Rucci 18 yd pass from Chase Wolf (Nate Van Zelst kick)
24 7 Braelon Allen 20 yd rush (Nate Van Zelst kick)
24 14 Ollie Gordon II 1 yd pass from Garret Rangel (Tanner Brown kick)
24 17 Tanner Brown 24 yd field goal