PASADENA, Calif. — Oregon’s highest and lowest moments of the 2012 Rose Bowl against Wisconsin came within the span of two minutes in the third quarter.
At the 2:40 mark, with Oregon trailing 38-35 and facing a third-and-18 situation on Wisconsin’s 33-yard line, Darron Thomas overthrew a pass that was intercepted by Wisconsin safety Aaron Henry. To make matters worse, Oregon offensive lineman Carson York was injured on an illegal block in the back during the return. As he lay on the ground in agony, and a stretcher was brought out to carry him off the field, all of Oregon’s previous momentum seemed to be slipping away.
That was the low point.
The high point — and what ultimately swung the game permanently in Oregon’s favor — came just as third quarter began to wind down. Wisconsin quarterback Russell Wilson, who up until that point had thrown a near perfect game, dropped back to pass on third-and-three. Oregon linebacker Kiko Alonso jumped the “stick” route and came up with a diving interception. It was just the fourth of the season for Wilson, but it turned out to be perhaps the biggest play of the game.
“Definitely swung momentum,” linebacker Michael Clay said. “They just had an interception, they were going to try to wear us down. Third down, Kiko made a great play on a stick route. Came up, jumped in, made an athletic play, just kind of got the ball rolling for the whole defense.”
Oregon went on the score on the ensuing possession, as Thomas hit Tuinei for an 11-yard touchdown, and Wisconsin would never regain the lead. As is so often the case, it was the offense that finished the job, but the defense that swung momentum in the first place.
“(The interception) was really important because they got two turnovers on defense,” said Alonso, who finished with five tackles, 1.5 sacks and the interception en route to being named Defensive Player of the Game. “And so we needed to match them, and that’s what we did…I was loose arming on the sideline looking at him, and I just got a good jump on him.”
Later in the fourth quarter, after Oregon kicked a field goal to extend the lead to seven, Wisconsin once again began a steady drive down the field. On second-and-six at his own 44-yard line, Wilson uncorked a 29-yard pass that was caught by receiver Jared Abbrederis. What looked like a significant gain turned into just the opposite when Oregon cornerback Terrance Mitchell forced a fumble on the sideline. The ball sat next to the sideline for a moment before anyone noticed it was loose. Then, just in time, Clay dove in to make the recovery.
“It just sat there,” Clay said. “I just didn’t want it to roll out, and I just pounced on it. But it speaks to how we practice — everyone is running to the ball.”
With that second turnover, Wisconsin’s chances to win began to shrink by the second. Oregon ran precious time off the clock on the ensuing possession, and the Badgers could to little to stop it with just one timeout left in their arsenal. Wilson and company had one last chance to tie the game with 16 seconds left on the clock, but ultimately fell short.
In the aftermath of Oregon’s first Rose Bowl victory in 95 years, the offense will likely receive most of the credit. 45 points and 621 total yards on offense earns them that right. But despite its uneven performance, the defense came up with two of the game’s biggest plays.
“For our guys, we talked about having faith and being resilient,” Kelly said. “And that’s what these guys do in every stretch of it. It’s awesome. When they had to make a play, they made a play. So many different guys contributed to it, and it’s truly a team win, and we’re just proud that we can say that we were Rose Bowl champions.”
Asked about the notion that Pac-12 teams don’t play defense, Kelly had a simple response.
“I don’t care.”
Come again?
“I don’t care.”
In this instance, with a BCS trophy finally in hand and critics off his back — for now— Kelly didn’t need to answer the question.
What happened on the field spoke for itself.