As Wisconsin’s 16 seniors were introduced prior to Saturday’s game against visiting Cal Poly, mixed emotions swirled around Camp Randall Stadium. With plenty of cardinal-and-white memories in mind, the last players to play for Barry Alvarez wanted to create one more, end their careers on a high note and go out with a bang.

Although a one-point overtime victory over the Mustangs of the Great West Conference may not have been what they had in mind, the 36-35 victory did better their chances to earn a bowl game appearance, whereas a loss could have ended their season entirely.

“It [would be] a great reward, especially for the seniors,” said junior defensive end O’Brien Schofield. “We all strive hard for the season to get to the best bowl game possible. To pull one out after having that streak of losses, it’s real special for us.”

“On Senior Day, [I wanted to] get them out with a big bang like they deserve,” redshirt freshman running back John Clay added. “The season didn’t go how we wanted it, but I’m glad we got the opportunity to give them a [good farewell].”

Three offensive linemen played their final game in Madison Saturday, a corps with a combined 119 starts among them. Eric Vanden Heuvel (right tackle), Kraig Urbik (right guard) and Andy Kemp (left guard) will be leaving big shoes to fill, both physically and figuratively.

“Those [three] big guys, our three senior offensive linemen, embody probably what our offensive linemen have always been here at Wisconsin since coach Alvarez’s arrival — just big, solid, believing in what they practice every day,” said head coach Bret Bielema. “It’s interesting to see [Urbik] and Vanden Heuvel from the same high school (Hudson) being able to do what they’ve done over the course of time. All three of those guys have put themselves in a position, when this last game is over with, to have an opportunity to play at the next level.”

Urbik made 49 starts in a Wisconsin uniform, but his streak of consecutive starts ended this season at 45.

“My parents were a little emotional before the game, but I wasn’t very emotional. It still hasn’t hit me,” Urbik said. “I thought it was more of a sad thing, but it ended up being more of a happy thing.”

“It was the last time playing under the lights at Camp Randall, which was a big thing,” Vanden Heuvel added. “Our last ‘Jump Around’ — we tried to enjoy that as much as we could. It turned out to be a very enjoyable experience for our last game.”

The Badgers’ defensive line also saw three senior starters play their final regular season games Saturday. Matt Shaughnessy (end), Jason Chapman (tackle) and Mike Newkirk (tackle) make up another trio in the trenches that will be sorely missed next season.

“Those guys are like my big brothers,” said Schofield, the only non-senior starter on the UW defensive line. “Next year I’ll have to be that leader with the new guys that will be replacing them, but those guys are going to be hard to replace. It’s a great group of guys that started for three or four years. That will take a hit on us because those guys are just amazing.”

Like Urbik, Newkirk said the reality hasn’t quite sunk in.

“I don’t think it’s really going to soak in until Saturday rolls around and I don’t have a game to go play,” the Ladysmith, Wis. Native said. “Or when spring ball comes and I don’t have to go to practice. It’s something that I definitely wasn’t looking forward to. Me and [Chapman] and Matt, we’re really close and we really enjoy playing together. It’s something that you’ve got to make the most of the time that you have. I think [we have].”

Outside linebackers Jonathan Casillas and DeAndre Levy — both three-year starters — also played their final games in Camp Randall Stadium. And despite a disappointing final 7-5 campaign, Levy has no regrets.

“Looking back, I always saw the seniors on the field crying and I said, ‘Aw, it can’t be that bad,’ but then you run out there and it hits you,” Levy said. “I was walking off the field when we got that [game-winning extra point] and it kind of sunk in a little bit. But I enjoyed it — I can’t really be down or sad or anything. It was fun.”

Senior cornerback Allen Langford had the tough task of defending Cal Poly’s 6-foot-6 wideout Ramses Braden.

“He definitely took it as a challenge,” Bielema said of Langford, who was making his 43rd start for Wisconsin. “Allen Langford is one of the most competitive, strong-minded players I’ve ever been around.”

Saturday’s win all but locked up a December bowl appearance for Bielema’s Badgers. But more importantly for them, they were able to go “1-0” at home one last time.

“I’m just glad we won; it says a lot for our seniors,” Bielema said. “To not send them out on a winning note would be a crime we didn’t want to commit.”