LAS VEGAS – This was a battle of attrition.
Arizona State entered the Las Vegas Bowl down several key player because of injury and opt-outs.
UW came in missing four starters and lost key players throughout the night.
The Badgers made enough big plays on both sides of the ball to build a 14-point halftime lead and then ran off the final 9 minutes 57 seconds with an 18-play, 90-yard drive that ended at the Sun Devils’ 7 to hold on for a 20-13 victory in front of a crowd of 32,515 Thursday at Allegiant Stadium.
UW started the drive at its 3 and got a huge 30-yard pass play from Graham Mertz to Chimere Dike to the Arizona State 46, on third and 12.
Braelon Allen gained 14 yards on a punishing run to the Sun Devils’ 20 and Arizona State was offside with UW facing third and 4 from the 14.
Allen gained 3 yards on the next play and with Arizona State out of timeouts Mertz took a knee and then called a timeout with 48 seconds left.
BOX SCORE: Wisconsin 20, Arizona State 13
Mertz went down to a knee again and UW called is final timeout, with three seconds left. Fullback John Chenal, who had an 8-yard touchdown run, gained 3 yards on the final play to end the game.
The Badgers (9-4) improved their bowl record under Chryst to 6-1 and finished the season with a 9-4 record. Three of their losses came against teams ranked in the top 20 at the time.
Arizona State finished 8-5.
UW went without four starters — right tackle Logan Bruss, center Joe Tippman, cornerback Faion Hicks and wide receiver Danny Davis – and kickoff returner Stephan Bracey.
They lost reserve wide receivers Kendric Pryor (leg) and Dike (unspecified) in the first half and tailback Brady Schipper (arm) in the opening half. They lost tight end Jake Ferguson (leg) in the third quarter.
Dike returned late in the third quarter and had a huge 30-yard catch on third and 12 in the final quarter to give UW the ball at the Arizona State 46.
Allen broke the 100-yard mark for the eighth time in his freshman season and finished with 159 yards on 29 carries. He was named the MVP of the game.
Allen finished the season with (1,268 yards and 12 touchdowns on 186 carries).
Quarterback Graham Mertz, who entered the night with 10 interceptions and nine touchdowns, threw one interception that led to an Arizona State field goal.
But he was 3 of 4 for 57 yards on third down in the opening half, had the huge throw to Dike on the final drive and finished 11 of 15 for 157 yards.
UW’s defense held Arizona State to field goals on two red-zone trips in the opening half and allowed just one touchdown drive after halftime.
Arizona State, playing without its top two tailbacks and starting center, had to rely almost exclusively on quarterback Jayden Daniels.
Daniels, who came in with 2,222 yards passing yards and 670 rushing yards, passed for 159 yards and rushed 19 times for 40 yards. He was sacked four times.
The Badgers struck quickly for a 7-0 lead.
Arizona State got the ball first but safety John Torchio made a diving interception at the Sun Devils’ 36 just 1:46 into the game.
UW faced third and 12 three plays later, but Mertz found freshman wide receiver Markus Allen for 30 yards to the 8.
Chenal, who didn’t join the team until Wednesday, scored on the next play to help UW take the lead with 11:40 left in the quarter.
The Sun Devils, led by the running of Daniels, with a 14-play, 55-yard drive that resulted in a 38-yard field goal to cut UW’s lead to 7-3 with 4:21 left in the quarter.
Daniels scrambled for gains of 5, 6, 16 and 7 yards on the drive, converting third-down chances on the third and fourth runs.
However, his pass on third and 10 from the UW 20 was incomplete and Cristian Zendejas hit the field goal to salvage points.
UW needed just six plays and 2:44 to drive 75 yards for a touchdown.
Braelon Allen ripped off a 43-yard run to the Sun Devils’ 8 on the third-play of the drive and Mertz hit a wide-open Jake Ferguson for a 7-yard score two plays later. Collin Larsh added his second conversion and UW had two scores in two series and a 14-3 lead with 1:37 left in the quarter.
UW forced a punt and took over at its 19 but Mertz tried to hit Pryor over the middle on the first play of the possession and it cost the Badgers.
Mertz’s throw was behind Pryor and cornerback Timarcus Davis intercepted the pass at the UW 35.
The Badgers defense allowed one first down and the Sun Devils settled for another field goal from Zendejas, this time from 36 yards, and the lead was 14-6 with 11:13 left in the half.
UW responded with its third score on three possessions to take a 17-6 lead.
Mertz hit Ferguson for 12 yards to the Arizona State 46 on third and 3 to keep the drive alive but four plays later was unable to hook up with Jack Dunn on third and 4.
Chryst appeared to argue that Dunn was held as he tried to work back for the ball but no call was made and Larsh hit a 48-yard field goal with 5:42 left in the half to help UW push its lead to 11 points.
Arizona State went three and out for the first time in the game and UW took over at its 28 after the punt.
The Badgers moved the ball down the field, with the key play a 15-yard pass from Mertz to freshman Skyler Bell to the Sun Devils’ 40 on third and 9.
The drive stalled at the 17 when Mertz scrambled for 7 yards on third and 8 but UW called its final timeout, with 7 seconds left, and Larsh hit a 35-yard field goal for a 20-6 halftime lead.
With the Badgers running out of healthy wide receivers, they failed to take advantage of a pass-interference call that gave them a first down at their 35.
Mertz was sacked for a loss of 13 yards on third and 7 and UW was forced to punt.
The Sun Devils then drove 64 yards in just five plays twice for 19 yards and passing for 38 before tailback Daniyel Ngata scored on a 4-yard run with 8:52 left in the third to help cut UW’s lead to 20-13.
Could UW’s injury-ravaged offense respond?
No.
UW went three and out and Mertz was again sacked on third down.
The Sun Devils moved from their 27 to the UW 30 before the Badgers’ defense rose up.
Linebacker Jordan Turner, subbing for Leo Chenal, sacked Daniels for a loss of 7 yards. Sanborn sacked Daniels for a loss of 12 yards and the Sun Devils’ quarterback was called for grounding.
Then Noah Burks brought down Daniels in the open field after a gain of just 2 yards and the Sun Devils had to punt.
UW went three and out again but Nick Herbig came up with a huge third-down sack and the Sun Devils had to punt on fourth and 13 from their 48.
UW was called for running into the punter – a 5-yard penalty – and reserve punter Logan Tyler pinned the Badgers at their 3 with 9:57 left with a 44-yard effort.
The Badgers had zero yards on 11 plays in the half to that point.
Allen gained 5 yards on first down and 4 on second to set up third and 1 from the 12. UW, 3 of 8 on third down, got a 3-yard run by Allen to the 15 for a critical first down. Mertz hit Chenal for 10 yards and a first down at the 26 and three plays later, on third and 12, Mertz stood in against a blitzing defender and hit Dike for a 30-yard gain to the Sun Devils’ 46.
Absolutely huge play.
The Badgers kept churning out yards and taking time off the clock until the final second disappeared an they had closed the season with a victory.