I never knew how much I liked purple – not that there was a lot of it in the stands on this day. I figured the low attendance was a result of the cold rain that dampened Dyche Stadium. But, I soon learned that Northwestern has had an unfortunate athletic history. 1949 marked their last Rose Bowl experience – or any bowl expereince for that matter. So, even though Wisconsin lost to Michigan State the week before, I felt confident that the Badgers would win with ease.
Game 5: Northwestern @ #21 Wisconsin
Wisconsin’s glory season was underway as they entered this contest 4-0 and nationally ranked for the first season in years. A crazy Camp Randall made things difficult for the Wildcats and they lost 53-14. Quarterback Darrell Bevell completed his first 14 passes, and Wisconsin accumulated more points than they had in a single game in ten years – all this in front of a sellout crowd of over 77,000, a number that included a few bowl scouts.