In his final collegiate game, Gordon, Wisconsin’s record-setting running back, ran for 251 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Badgers to a 34-31 overtime win over Auburn in the Outback Bowl. It was a game where the two teams combined for 956 yards of total offense, but it was Wisconsin’s rushing attack that stole the show.
In addition to Gordon’s huge game, sophomore Corey Clement – Gordon’s likely replacement next season – added 105 yards on 15 carries. In all, the Badgers racked up an Outback Bowl record 400 yards on the ground on 54 carries – a 7.4 yards per run average.
Clement scored on a seven-yard touchdown pass from Joel Stave on Wisconsin’s first drive, but the Badgers really weren’t able to get much going in the first half. In fact, Auburn led 14-7 at halftime. Cameron Artis-Payne scored on a short run, then Nick Marshall, in his final game as Tigers’ quarterback, found Ricardo Louis behind the defense for a 66-yard touchdown.
The third quarter was when the Melvin Gordon show really began.
Gordon’s 25-yard touchdown capped off the Badgers’ first drive of the second half to tie the score 14-14. After a Daniel Carlson 51-yard field goal put Auburn back in front 17-14, Gordon reeled off another highlight-reel run. Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez, filling in as interim coach following the departure of Gary Andersen, decided to go for it on a 4th-and-1 from the Badgers’ 47.
Predictably, Stave handed off to Gordon, who exploded through the line, made two men miss and was off into the secondary. He capped off the run with a ferocious stiff arm to an Auburn defender near the goal line as he fell into the end zone. That put the Badgers back in front, 21-17, with 20 seconds left in the third.
It was a back-and-forth affair from then on out with both offenses clicking on all cylinders.
To open the fourth, Auburn ran with Artis-Payne, who ran for 126 yards and two touchdowns and Corey Grant to set up a 20-yard touchdown pass from Marshall to C.J. Uzomah to retake a 24-21 lead. Wisconsin responded quickly. On seven runs, three from Clement, three from Gordon and one by wideout Kenzel Doe on an end around, allowed the Badgers to quickly go back in front 28-24 on Gordon’s third touchdown.
After regaining possession, Auburn was able to gash an exhausted Wisconsin defense again with a 10-play, 71-yard drive to regain a 31-28 lead on an Artis-Payne touchdown run with 2:55 to go.
With a chance to win the game or force overtime, Wisconsin went back to the ground. Runs from Clement and Gordon got the Badgers deep into Auburn territory, but it was the arm of Joel Stave – who had already thrown three interceptions in the game – that got the job done.
First, Stave hit Sam Arneson for a first down on a 4th-and-5 from the Auburn 33. Next he hit Gordon out of the backfield for a short gain and Doe for 10 yards down to the Auburn 11. The drive stalled there and freshman kicker Rafael Gaglianone forced overtime with a 29-yard field goal.
Gaglianone hit from 25 to open overtime and then the Wisconsin defense was able to tighten up, forcing Auburn to try to force a second overtime on another long Carlson kick. Again, Carlson missed and Wisconsin celebrated.
The win gives Wisconsin an 11-3 record to end the season with Paul Chryst coming in to be head coach in 2015.
Auburn drops to 8-5 with the loss. Additionally, the SEC West, considered by many to be the best division in college football, dropped to 2-4 in bowl season.
For more Wisconsin news, visit BadgerBlitz.com.
For more Auburn news, visit AuburnSports.com.
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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
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