Trailing by seven with just over 2:25 on the clock, the Badger defense was able to stop the Buffalo offense one last time, giving Brooks Bollinger his last chance to rally the Badgers to a come-from-behind victory in the final game of his career. The drive and finish of the game that followed were improbable and nothing short of incredible.

It was a drive that showcased Wisconsin’s propensity to make mistakes at crucial moments, but it also showed a newfound ability to rise up and overcome those mistakes. It showed the Badgers’ inability to work through the air as they were forced into fourth-and-long twice in the final minutes, but the Badgers were in turn able to demonstrate a tremendous resolve from all the players on the team to execute until the game was over and the last chance gone.

“It was actually a pretty smooth drive. We didn’t panic; we knew what we had to accomplish and what we wanted to do, and we just had to make plays,” Brandon Williams said. “It was real calm in the huddle, and we kept it together and stayed focused.”

This time the Badgers made plays down the stretch, something they had failed to do in tight but winnable games against Penn State, Indiana, Ohio State and Michigan. The extra three weeks of practice seemed to have taken many members of the young team and turned them into veterans.

Freshman Brandon Williams had two catches for 59 yards during the final Wisconsin drive, but it was a fourth-down catch at the one-yard line by Darrin Charles that exemplified what the Badgers were capable of. The 6-foot-6 sophomore was well covered, but he held off the defender, broke back to the ball and grabbed it at its highest point, snatching it away from the hapless defender. It was a play coaches had been waiting all season for the usually banged up Charles to make.

“That (aggressiveness) is something that I lacked all season long,” Charles said. “I needed to compete a whole lot more. I took this game into consideration and focused and rebuilt myself mentally and physically, and things took care of themselves.”

It was another struggling sophomore who finished Wisconsin’s improbable victory over the Buffalos. In overtime, Mike Allen was called upon to kick a game-winning 37-yard field goal. Ordinarily a shaky and inconsistent kicker at best, Allen took the field with confidence. On the sideline there was a feeling that making the kick was already a forgone conclusion, that Allen would drill the kick.

“I never try to figure out kickers, but for some reason I was confident in that last kick,” Wisconsin head coach Barry Alvarez said. “He had the best look in his eye, and he was hitting everything all game. I didn’t look into the eyes and see the back of his head or anything, but he looked at me and had a smile and was very confident.”

True to the moment, Allen hit the kick and the celebration began.

“I had a good feeling,” Allen said. “I was excited for it; you don’t get nervous for things like that, you just get more excited.”

It would be hard to overestimate the importance of this win for the Badgers. Coming into the game some wondered whether Wisconsin was deserving of an Alamo Bowl bid — or any bowl bid at all. With just a 7-6 overall record and 2-6 record in league play heading into the bowl season, Wisconsin wasn’t given much of a chance against a highly ranked Colorado team. A loss would have given the Badgers a .500 record and would have ensured a belief from most people that this season was a failure.

However, the win does quite the opposite for UW. Now finishing strong at 8-6 with one of the most memorable Wisconsin bowl games ever, it is much easier to believe the season was a success and that the young team is definitely moving in the right direction into next year.

“Hopefully this will springboard them into the off-season and spring practice,” Alvarez said. “With as many young ones that played, they know what it takes to win; they know what it takes to beat a good team and make the plays down the stretch to get the job done. Hopefully we can take it from there and move forward and progress next year.”

While the win points the team in the right direction for next year, it completes the final chapter in the career of UW quarterback Brooks Bollinger on a positive note. The victory was the senior’s 30th win as a starter, placing him as the Big Ten’s fourth-winningest quarterback ever. Despite having already won two bowl games, Bollinger’s career and legacy as a Badger may have ended on a down note had he not been able to march the Wisconsin offense down the field for the ninth come-from-behind victory of his career.

“This game started out rocky for me in that first drive, but I think this game illustrates all the things that this program is about,” Bollinger said. “The season that we have had and the last couple of years, just never quit. That’s what this program has been built on, and I’m just fortunate to have been a part of it.”

Bollinger’s leadership down the stretch was vital to this Badger team, particularly because of its youth. Though the Badgers return 16 of 22 starters next season, replacing Bollinger will be a more difficult task than many Wisconsin fans believe.