The Rose Bowl is still a special game. College bowl games might be meaningless to some people, but the Rose Bowl will always matter to me. It is great when we get the Pac-12 pitted up against the Big Ten. Wisconsin will be back in the Rose Bowl for the first time since 2013. Badgers are 3-6 in Rose Bowl games, and they’re looking to avenge their three-game losing streak suffering from 2011 to 2013. One of the teams to beat them was Oregon in a wild back-and-forth game.

THREE STORYLINES TO WATCH
1. Paul Chryst bowl game savant – Wisconsin has been very good under Paul Chryst during bowl games. They haven’t lost since he took over the program in 2016. Wisconsin always seems ready to play in thee games, and the extra weeks help Chryst find some things in the other team’s defense. Mario Cristobal might be the best recruiter in college football, but as a coach, he is not great in-game and his clock management would make Andy Reid blush. Chryst holds a major edge.

2. Which running game will get going? – Both teams pride themselves on having a huge and effective offensive line. In turn, they both have excellent running games. The team that gets their running game going will likely win this game. Jonathan Taylor has been bottled up once all season against Ohio State the first time they played. In the last few weeks, Wisconsin has done a great job of changing up their offense to free up Taylor.

3. Stopping Kayvon Thibodeaux is a must – If you haven’t watched Oregon this year, get ready to see the Chase Young of the future. Kayvon Thibodeaux is a complete freak off the edge. He wrecked the Pac-12 game, and he could easily be the type of player that changes around the Rose Bowl. Wisconsin doesn’t have the speed to compete with him off the edge. My recommendation would be studied the tape of Young’s second game against Wisconsin and see if something can be found from there.

SNOTAPWI PREDICTED PLAYER OF THE GAME
Jack Coan – We’ve seen in the last few weeks how many big plays Jack Coan made with his legs and his arm. This feels like a game where they’re going to need Coan to be pretty good. I expect him to have a good day and help Wisconsin win this one.

PREDICTION
This will be an awesome game, but I believe Wisconsin will have enough to beat Oregon late. I like the matchups better for Wisconsin. Oregon should be more focused on the run, but I wonder if they’ll try to showcase Justin Herbert. Taylor breaks a big run late and gives Wisconsin the victory. Wisconsin 27 Oregon 21

Charlie.