In a true team effort, the Wisconsin Badgers offense carried the team to a halftime lead, the Badgers defense made some big plays late in the game, and Rafael Gaglianone hit a trio of field goals as Wisconsin earned a 23-21 Holiday Bowl victory over the USC Trojans, defeating the opponent for the first time in school history.
The win made Joel Stave the winningest quarterback in school history in a game he showed plenty of guts. After getting his nose stepped on late in the fourth quarter after a questionable call erased a would-be Tanner McEvoy touchdown run, Stave returned to the field and hit consecutive 17-yard passes to Austin Traylor and Troy Fumagalli to set the Badgers up for the go-ahead field goal with 2:27 left in the game.