For the first time in 95 years, the Oregon Ducks are Rose Bowl winners. The No. 6 Ducks did it in true Oregon fashion, beating the No. 9 Wisconsin Badgers 45-38 in the highest-scoring Rose Bowl in history. The victory was the first Rose Bowl win for Oregon since beating Penn 14-0 in the 1917 game in Pasadena.
The previous record for most points in a Rose Bowl game was in 1991, when Washington beat Iowa 46-34. The two teams combined for 1,130 yards and 49 first downs. Oregon accounted for 621 of those yards, falling just short of the Rose Bowl record of 633 yards set by the USC Trojans in 2008 against Illinois.
Oregon tailback LaMichael James ran for 159 yards on 25 carries, narrowly beating teammate De'Anthony Thomas for the team rushing lead. Thomas carried twice for 155 yards - yes, you read that correctly - and two touchdowns. Thomas also added four catches for 35 yards and returned six kickoffs for 125 yards.
Wisconsin was driving for the tying touchdown, and Russell Wilson found Jared Abbrederis for a 29-yard gain to the 15-yard line, but Abbrederis fumbled and the ball somehow stayed in bounds along the sideline. Oregon took the ball and was able to run nearly four minutes off the clock, punting to Wisconsin with 23 seconds remaining in the game.
The Badgers drove 62 yards in two plays down to the Oregon 13-yard line, but time ran out before Wilson was able to spike the ball in an attempt to get another play.
Montee Ball ran for 165 yards on 32 carries for Wisconsin and scored his 39th touchdwon of the season, tying Barry Sanders for the most tocuhdowns in a single season in NCAA history.
For more news on Wisconsin football be sure to read Bucky's 5th Quarter. For more Oregon football analysis, Addicted To Quack.