(L-R) Oregon’s Herbert Justin and Wisconsin’s Taylor Jonathan (Photos – uwbadgers.com, goducks.com)
Bowl Season is truly a wondrous time of year; the 2020 Rose Bowl presented by Northwestern Mutual promises an intriguing matchup as the No. 6 Oregon Ducks face the No. 8 Wisconsin Badgers.
By Christopher Floch
As the nation’s oldest currently operating bowl game, the Rose Bowl is “The Granddaddy Of Them All.” This year the Rose Bowl retains the tradition of one school from the PAC-12 and one from the BIG 10, it also boasts two of college football’s brightest stars in Oregon’s Quarterback Justin Herbert and Wisconsin’s Running Back Jonathan Taylor.
The new decade kicks off with a battle of Oregon’s dynamic offense against Wisconsin’s staunch defense. The 2020 Rose Bowl is a rematch of the 2012 game in which the Ducks won a thriller 45-38. Both programs have had to fight tooth and nail down the season’s stretch for the honor of clinching the Rose Bowl.
Ducks
Oregon has risen again to national prominence under second year head coach Mario Cristobal. At a mark of 11-2, the Ducks won the PAC-12 Conference title. The Ducks obliterated the Utah Utes 37-15 behind the legs of running back CJ Verdell, who torched the Utes defense for a whopping 208 yards and three touchdowns. Oregon not only punched its ticket to Pasadena in the lopsided victory, but it also squashed Utah’s hopes and dreams of playing in the College Football Playoff. The Rose Bowl will be the final chance to watch QB Justin Herbert before he enters the NFL. Herber threw for 3,333 yards, 33 TDs and only 5 interceptions; it is easy to see why he is projected to be selected in the top five of the 2020 NFL Draft.
Badgers
As for the Badgers, grit combined with a dash of help from the Playoff Selection Committee ensured their spot in the New Year’s Day festivities. At 10-3, Wisconsin is led by, Jonathan Taylor, one of the best running backs in the history of college football and the recipient of his second consecutive Doak Walker award. Taylor sits at 1,909 rushing yards on the season, a mere twenty-nine yards behind Oklahoma State’s Chuba Hubbard.
Taylor became just the sixth player in FBS history to rush for 6,000 yards in the Badgers’ heartbreaking 34-21 loss to No. 2 Ohio State in the BIG 10 Championship game. Wisconsin seemed poised for a monumental upset, jumping out to a 21-7 lead in the first half. Unfortunately, the Buckeyes woke up and scored 27 unanswered points to secure the BIG 10 title, and a spot in the College Football Playoff.
The Playoff Selection Committee had a tough choice on its hands: Penn State or Wisconsin? Wisconsin was ranked two spots ahead of the tenth ranked Nittany Lions. In addition, its performance in the BIG 10 Title earned them a spot in “”The Granddaddy of Them All”.
The Rose Bowl aura
We are living in an era in which the luster of Bowl games is fading away and in which collegiate stars would prefer to train for the NFL Combine rather than risk injury in a Bowl game. Thankfully, the aura and significance of the Rose Bowl remains intact. The 2020 Rose Bowl presented by Northwestern Mutual will air on ESPN. Kickoff is slated for 2:00 pm.
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