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Guaranteed Rate Bowl: Wisconsin wins 24-17 over Oklahoma State

The Wisconsin Badgers wins the Guaranteed Rate Bowl over Oklahoma State at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona.

Matt Belz

In this story:

Looking to send the seniors and prior coaching staff away with a win, the Wisconsin Badgers entered the Guaranteed Rate Bowl against Oklahoma State as narrow favorites. 

Despite missing several players because of the NFL Draft and the transfer portal, the Badgers managed to hold off the Cowboys for a 24-17 win to maintain their sterling record in bowl games. 

Here is a breakdown of Wisconsin's 7-point win on Tuesday night to secure another winning season. 

Contents

  1. Game Recap
  2. Players of the game
  3. Photos of the game

Game Recap

After winning the opening coin toss, the Badgers kicked the ball deep to Oklahoma State to begin the game. After a quick first down by the Cowboys, the Wisconsin defense would force a punt and take over near the 30 yard-line.

With Chase Wolf under center, the Badgers would turn to Braelon Allen on their first drive. The sophomore running back registered the first 36 yards of the game with a short reception and a long run to the outside to move the offense into Oklahoma State territory. Following a five-yard loss by Chez Mellusi and an 11-yard reception by Keontez Lewis over the middle, the Badgers would ultimately settle for an early Nate Van Zelst field goal. The freshman kicker booted it through from 47 yards out to give Wisconsin a 3-0 lead with 10:19 remaining in the first quarter. 

On the next drive, Wisconsin would pin Oklahoma State at their own 13-yard line on a great special teams play by Jackson Acker in kickoff coverage. The defense would prove to be just as stout, forcing a quick three-and-out to give the Wisconsin offense the ball back with good field position. 

Running back Chez Mellusi would explode down the sidelines for a 51-yard gain to again propel the Badgers into scoring position. However, Chase Wolf would underthrow Chimere Dike, who was blanketed in double coverage, for an easy interception by Trey Rucker of Oklahoma State with just over six minutes remaining in the quarter. With all of the momentum, Oklahoma State wide receiver Stephon Johnson would take advantage of some poor tackling by Wisconsin moments later to scamper 84 yards on a screen pass for the game's first touchdown to give the Cowboys a 7-3 lead. 

Wisconsin wide receiver Chimere Dike would respond with a 41-yard kickoff return to set the Badgers up inside Oklahoma State territory on the next play of the game. An illegal shift would back UW up though, and Wisconsin would punt the ball back to the Cowboys after failing to convert on third and long. 

After a quick punt by Oklahoma State from their own end zone, the Badgers would pick up an initial first down on a fake punt by Andy Vujnovich late in the first quarter. From there, Wisconsin would have to punt the ball away, as the offense once again sputtered with minimal success in the passing game. 

On the next possession, Wisconsin safety John Torchio barely missed a fore sure pick-six on third down, and as a result, Oklahoma State punted the ball back to Wisconsin after a three-and-out of their own. 

Chase Wolf would deliver a 14-yard completion to Keontez Lewis to give the Badgers a much-needed first down shortly thereafter. Following six-straight runs, Wisconsin would manage to pick up two more first downs before Chase Wolf connected with Hayden Rucci on a short pass to move the ball into the red zone. Following a 10-yard completion to Chimere Dike, running back Chez Mellusi would plunge into the end zone for a 1-yard touchdown to put the Badgers up 10-7, and cap off a 7-minute drive by the Badgers. 

Oklahoma State would fail to come up with an answer on the next possession, going three-and-out for the fourth time in the first half. With the ball back, Chase Wolf got back into business on the next drive, throwing back-to-back completions to Chimere Dike, and then a third completion to Skyler Bell to give the Badgers a pair of first downs in Oklahoma State territory. After a first down run by Braelon Allen, Wolf would do it again, hitting Hayden Rucci in the end zone for a 15-yard touchdown off play-action to make it 17-7 in favor of Wisconsin late in the second quarter. 

Another quick three-and-out by Oklahoma State because of a James Thompson Jr. sack would send the Badgers into halftime with a 10-point advantage. 

Receiving the second-half kickoff, the Wisconsin Badgers would get a nice 16-yard run on the first play of the half, with Braelon Allen finding an open running lane on the left side of the line. Chez Mellusi would keep the drive alive with a fourth down conversion, and then an Oklahoma State pass interference penalty would move the chains for a third time. However, the Badgers would go backward from there and ultimately punt the ball back to the Cowboys from plus territory after a six-yard loss by Braelon Allen and a Chase Wolf sack.

The two teams would proceed to exchange three-and-outs, and then it was senior cornerback Jay Shaw breaking the game open for Wisconsin with an interception. The Badgers would go on to gain a first down on a wide receiver reverse by Chimere Dike, and Braelon Allen would do the rest with a 20-yard touchdown run through a huge hole to make it 24-7. 

The Cowboys would once again falter on offense missing an eighth-straight third down conversion to give Wisconsin the ball back. However, Chase Wolf would fumble the ball and give it right back to Oklahoma State with Lyrik Rawls stripping him on a sack. Even with good field position, Oklahoma State could not muster a first down, and Mike Gundy opted to punt the ball back to the Badgers.

On the next drive, Braelon Allen would eclipse 100 yards with a 17-yard run up the middle on the first play, but alas Andy Vujnovich would be forced to punt after the Badgers and Chase Wolf missed a deep shot to Skyler Bell on third and six.

Oklahoma State would respond with a pair of first downs to move into Wisconsin territory late in the third quarter and then get into scoring positions on a 41-yard reception by Brennan Pressley. The Badgers would fend off the Cowboys to bring up a fourth and one on the goal line, but Garret Rangel would throw an underhanded touchdown to Ollie Gordon while in the arms of Wisconsin linebacker Jordan Turner. That score trimmed the Badgers' lead back to 10 points, 24-14. 

Chase Wolf and Wisconsin would once again struggle to generate anything on offense over the next four plays, bringing back out Andy Vujnovich and the punting unit. Oklahoma State would get right back in business with Garret Rangel finding Rashod Owens for a 41-yard gain to push the ball down into the red zone. The Cowboys would settle for a field goal after a big third down stop by the Wisconsin defense, making it a 7-point game with just over five minutes left to play in the game. 

The Badgers could not run out the clock on the next possession, as Chase Wolf's third-down throw intended for Chimere Dike was batted down, giving the Cowboys the ball back at their own 15-yard line with three and a half minutes remaining. 

Cornerback Cedrick Dort would come up with a huge over-the-shoulder interception on a deep ball by Garret Rangel to give Wisconsin the ball right back moments later. 

Following the key interception, Wisconsin wide receiver Skyler Bell took a jet sweep 44 yards to move the Badgers into scoring position at the 12-yard line. A tough Chez Mellusi run would give UW a late first down to keep the clock rolling, and that proved to be enough, as Wisconsin took care of business for a 24-17 win. 

Players of the game

  • Braelon Allen (Wisconsin)

Sophomore running back Braelon Allen looked sharp on Tuesday night after missing the final game of the regular season with a shoulder injury. The talented tailback ran hard behind the Wisconsin offensive line and finished the game with 116 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries. Allen won the Offensive Player of the Game award for the game. 

  • Jordan Turner (Wisconsin)

Outside of three chunk plays, the Wisconsin defense played a great game. While interceptions by Cedrick Dort and Jay Shaw will steal some of the headlines, Jordan Turner led the way with eight tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss on Tuesday night. Turner also had a quarterback hurry and played well all game long to take home Defensive Player of the Game honors. 

  • James Thompson Jr. (Wisconsin)

With the Badgers playing without nose tackle Keeanu Benton against Oklahoma State, sophomore defensive end James Thompson Jr. stepped up with some big plays for Wisconsin. The 6-foot-5 defensive lineman came up with a big second-quarter sack and also stuffed the Cowboys on the goalline with a big run stop at the one-yard line. 

  • Stephon Johnson Jr. (Oklahoma State)

Freshman wide receiver Stephon Johnson Jr. had the highlight play of the game, breaking multiple tackles to take the ball 84 yards for a touchdown on a simple screen pass. Johnson did not add another catch in the game, but he made his top play count. 

Photos of the game

Chase Wolf / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Wisconsin quarterback Chase Wolf throwing the ball sidearm against Oklahoma State. 

Braelon Allen / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Braelon Allen running the football through an open lane created by the Wisconsin offensive line. 

Hayden Rucci / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Wisconsin tight end Hayden Rucci celebrates a touchdown reception against Oklahoma State in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl. 

Chimere Dike / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Wisconsin wide receiver Chimere Dike diving for the end zone in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl. 

Stephon Johnson Jr / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Oklahoma State wide receiver running the ball after the catch for an 84-yard touchdown against Wisconsin. 

Chez Mellusi / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Wisconsin running back Chez Mellusi celebrates a touchdown run for the Badgers. 

Chase Wolf and Chez Mellusi / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Chase Wolf and Chez Mellusi celebrate a touchdown in the first half of the Guaranteed Rate Bowl. 

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Matt Belz
MATT BELZ

Title: Publisher, Beat Writer for AllBadgers.com, a Sports Illustrated Channel Hello, my name is Matt Belz, and I am the site manager at All Badgers. I previously wrote for multiple years at Buckeyes 5th Quarter and have been the leading publisher here since March of 2022.  When I am not covering the Wisconsin Badgers football and men's basketball teams, I enjoy being outside and spending time with family and friends.  You can follow everything I write about on several different platforms. First and foremost on our site...AllBadgers.com You can follow me personally on Twitter at @savedbythebelz or check out our Facebook page at Wisconsin FanNation on Sports Illustrated.

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