ARLINGTON, Texas — Wisconsin tight end Troy Fumagalli made a leaping 8-yard touchdown catch in the fourth quarter and the Badgers won 24-16 in the Cotton Bowl on Monday to deny Western Michigan an undefeated season.
The TD catch by Fumagalli with 14 minutes left, in the back of the end zone between two defenders, came three plays after a rare interception thrown by Zach Terrell and made it 24-10.
With their “Row The Boat” mentality inspired by young head coach P.J. Fleck, the 12th-ranked Broncos (13-1) made it from one win during his first season in Kalamazoo three years ago to the last FBS team other than No. 1 Alabama this season with a chance to be undefeated.
Eighth-ranked Wisconsin (11-3), which finished with 11 wins for the fourth time in seven seasons, was clearly bigger and stronger – especially up front. The Big Ten runner-up Badgers set the tone early, with rushing touchdowns on their first two drives to take a 14-0 lead against the Group of Five team.
Fumagalli had several other highlight catches, including a one-handed 20-yard grab on the Badgers’ opening drive, and a 26-yard catch to convert third-and-8 as they ran out the final 3:27 after Western Michigan scored.
OUTBACK BOWL
(20) FLORIDA 30, (21) IOWA 3: Chauncey Gardner Jr. returned one of his two fourth-quarter interceptions 58 yards for a touchdown, and graduate transfer Austin Appleby threw for 222 yards and two TDs as the Gators routed the Hawkeyes at Tampa, Florida.
With Gardner grabbing game MVP honors, the Gators (9-4) held up their end of what many expected to be a day that defenses ruled, especially considering Florida entered ranked 115th in the nation in total offense – five spots ahead of the sputtering Hawkeyes.
NOTES
MIAMI: Brad Kaaya rewrote the school’s record book in three years, and is off to a bigger challenge.
The Hurricanes’ quarterback is no longer the Hurricanes’ quarterback, after announcing he is skipping his senior season and entering the NFL draft.
Kaaya leaves Miami as the school’s career leader with 9,968 yards passing, 720 completions and 1,188 attempts. His four scoring passes in Wednesday’s 31-14 win over West Virginia in the Russell Athletic Bowl tied a Miami postseason record, and gave him 69 in his career – third in school history behind Ken Dorsey’s 86 and Jacory Harris’ 70.
VIRGINIA TECH: Quarterback Jerod Evans and receiver Isaiah Ford are giving up their final seasons of eligibility to enter the NFL draft.
The star Hokies each posted their decisions on their Twitter accounts.
Evans is a junior college transfer who played one season in Blacksburg, Virginia.
The 6-foot-3, 238-pound junior passed for 3,546 yards and 29 touchdowns and ran for 846 yards and 12 scores. He also threw eight interceptions.
Ford has been a three-year starter for the Hokies. He leaves as the school’s career leader in receptions (210), yards receiving (2,967) and touchdown catches (24).
OHIO STATE: All-American safety Malik Hooker is entering the NFL draft after one sensational season as a starter with the Buckeyes.
WASHINGTON: Wide receiver John Ross will reportedly forgo his senior season and enter the NFL draft.
ESPN and The Seattle Times reported that Ross will leave early. The school said it would not have any comment.
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