Today s game is the 81 st Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, and the eighth played at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. Western Michigan won the coin toss, and elected to defer its choice to the second half. Wisconsin then chose to receive to start the game. The Classic kicked off at 12:01 pm Central time. FIRST QUARTER WISCONSIN (8:52): Corey Clement 2-yard TD rush (Andrew Endicott kick). The Badgers drive was 11 plays, 75 yards and took 6:08 after the game s opening kickoff. Wisconsin ran 9 times for 65 yards, was 2-2 passing for 15 yards and penalized one time for 5 yards on the drive. KEY PLAY: 20-yard pass from QB Bart Houston to TE Troy Fumagalli, who made a one-handed catch to convert a 3 rd -and-13 play from the Western Michigan 32 to the WMU 12. Wisconsin 7, Western Michigan 0. The 11-play touchdown drive was the Badgers 20 th scoring drive of 10 plays or more this season. Wisconsin had 4 chunk plays (3 runs of 10+ yards and 1 pass of 15+ yards) during the drive. WISCONSIN (3:23): Dare Ogunbowale 1-yard TD rush (Endicott kick). Badgers drive was seven plays, 88 yards and took 3:52 after a Western Michigan punt. Wisconsin rushed 5 times for 41 yards, was 2-2 passing for 47 yards on the drive. KEY PLAY: Houston 23-yard pass to Clement, who caught the pass in the backfield and turned it into a first down at the Western Michigan 18. Wisconsin 14, Western Michigan 0. Wisconsin had four chunk plays (2 runs of 10+ and 2 passes of 15+) during the drive. END OF FIRST QUARTER: Wisconsin 14, Western Michigan 0
SECOND QUARTER WESTERN MICHIGAN (5:27): QB Zach Terrell 2-yard TD rush (Butch Hampton kick). The Broncos drive was 16 plays, 65 yards and took 8:45 after a Wisconsin punt. Western Michigan rushed 10 times for 35 yards, was 4-6 passing for 30 yards and the Broncos were penalized once for 5 yards on the drive. KEY PLAY: On 4 th and 5 at the Wisconsin 38, after a WMU timeout, Terrell completed a 10-yard pass to WR Corey Davis for a first down to the Wisconsin 28. Wisconsin 14, Western Michigan 7. WISCONSIN (0:18): Endicott 30-yard field goal. The Badgers drive was 9 plays, 63 yards and took 5:09 after a Western Michigan touchdown. Wisconsin rushed 5 times for 53 yards, was 1-3 passing for 15 yards and the Badgers were penalized once for 5 yards on the drive. KEY PLAY: WR Jazz Peavy rushed around right end for 51 yards to the Western Michigan 25. Wisconsin 17, Western Michigan 7. Wisconsin had two chunk plays (1 rush of 10+ and 1 pass of 15+) during the drive. The Wisconsin field goal pushed the all-time scoring total in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic to 3,001 points. HALFTIME: Wisconsin 17, Western Michigan 7 FIRST HALF NOTES Western Michigan is 2-0 when trailing at halftime in 2016 (5-18 overall under head coach P.J. Fleck. Wisconsin is 9-2 when leading at halftime in 2016 (18-2 overall under head coach Paul Chryst). Teams leading at halftime have won 51 of the previous 80 Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classics, including 8 of the last 9 Classics.
Wisconsin averaged 8.4 yards per play in the first half (245 yards/29 plays), while Western Michigan averaged 4.2 yards (114 yards/27 plays). Wisconsin had 10 chunk plays in the first half (6 rushes of 10+ yards and 4 passes for 15+ yards), 7 of which went for 20 yards or longer. Western Michigan had 2 chunk plays (1 rush of 10+ and 1 pass of 15+). THIRD QUARTER Western Michigan exercised its option and chose to receive the second-half kickoff. WESTERN MICHIGAN (10:00): Hampton 27-yard field goal. Broncos drive was 11 plays, 65 yards and took 5:00 after receiving the second-half kickoff. Western Michigan rushed 6 times for 48 yards and was 1-4 passing for 17 yards on the drive. KEY PLAY: On 3 rd and 8 at the Western Michigan 41, Terrell completed a 17-yard pass to Davis for a first down to the Wisconsin 42. Wisconsin 17, Western Michigan 10. The Broncos had one chunk play (1 rush of 10+ yards) during the drive. END OF THIRD QUARTER: Wisconsin 17, Western Michigan 10 THIRD QUARTER NOTES Wisconsin is 9-2 this season when leading after three quarters (17-2 under Chryst). This is the first time Western Michigan has trailed entering the fourth quarter this season (1-16 under Fleck).
FOURTH QUARTER WISCONSIN (12:26): Fumagalli 8-yard TD pass from QB Alex Hornibrook. The Badgers drive was 3 plays, 12 yards and took 1:26 after a Wisconsin interception at the Western Michigan 12. Wisconsin rushed 2 times for 4 yards and was 1-1 passing for 8 yards. KEY PLAY: Wisconsin LB T.J. Edwards picked off Terrell at the WMU 12 on the first play after a Wisconsin punt. Wisconsin 24, Western Michigan 10. WESTERN MICHIGAN (3:27): Davis 11-yard TD pass from Terrell (Hampton kick missed wide right). The Broncos drive was 16 plays, 75 yards and took 8:59 after a Wisconsin touchdown. Western Michigan rushed 8 times for 30 yards, was 8-10 passing for 57 yards and the Broncos were penalized once for 10 yards. KEY PLAY: On 4 th and 4 at the Wisconsin 11, Terrell was flushed from the pocket, rolled right and threw to the back corner of the end zone to Davis for the touchdown. Wisconsin 24, Western Michigan 16. The Broncos had one chunk play (1 pass of 15+ yards) during the drive. The WMU touchdown drive was the 20 th TD drive of 5:00 or more this season (3 times in 2017 Classic), second-most in FBS (Army, 21), Credit: ESPN Stats and Information. The WMU touchdown drive tied the longest allowed by Wisconsin this season in terms of plays (16; twice in the Classic) and was the longest by allowed by time elapsed (8:59). FINAL SCORE: Wisconsin 24, Western Michigan 16 POSTGAME NOTES FINAL RECORDS: Wisconsin (11-3 overall; 7-2 Big Ten), Western Michigan (13-1 overall; 8-0 MAC).
2017 GOODYEAR COTTON BOWL CLASSIC AWARDS SANFORD TROPHY (Outstanding Offensive Player): Wisconsin TE Troy Fumagalli (6 receptions, 83 yards, 1 TD, 13.8 average, 7 targets). McKNIGHT TROPHY (Outstanding Defensive Player): Wisconsin ILB T.J. Edwards (10 total tackles, 4 solo tackles, 1 interception). Wisconsin had 14 chunk plays in the game (8 rushes of 10+ yards and 6 passes for 15+ yards), 9 of which went for 20 yards or longer. Western Michigan had 6 chunk plays (3 rushes of 10+ and 3 passes of 15+). Wisconsin joins Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic champions Michigan State in 2015, UCLA in 1998, Brigham Young in 1997, Florida State in 1992 and Miami (Fla.) in 1991 as teams to score triumphs in their first Classic appearances over the past 25 seasons. Wisconsin captures its third consecutive bowl game after topping Auburn 34-31 in the 2014 Outback Bowl and Southern California 23-21 in the 2015 Holiday Bowl. The Badgers are now 14-14 all-time in bowl games, and UW has made 15 consecutive bowl appearances, the longest current bowl streak in the Big Ten. Wisconsin s victory today ends Western Michigan s 15-game winning streak, which was the second-longest active streak in the FBS. Teams without a loss entering the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic are now 5-9-3 all-time. The Wisconsin defense held Western Michigan to a season-low 16 points. The previous low was 22 in the season-opening win over Northwestern. MORE POSTGAME NOTES Wisconsin passers were 13-of-14 on the day. TE Troy Fumagalli caught six passes, running backs Corey Clement and Dare Ogunbowale each caught two
and wide receivers George Rushing (2) and Robert Wheelright (1) combined for three. Big Ten teams are now 3-1 in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, while the Mid- American is 0-1. The team scoring first has won the last five Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classics. Overall, the team scoring first has won 45 of the past 80 CBC games. Today s attendance was 59,615. The 2016 Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic was played in 3:02. 2017 GOODYEAR COTTON BOWL CLASSIC