A Brief History of Bucky vs. Ducky

The Badgers lost a 28–27 heartbreaker to Oregon in the 2020 Rose Bowl. Bryce Richter

When the Badgers host the Oregon Ducks on November 16 at Camp Randall Stadium, they will be welcoming a fresh face to the Big Ten Conference. But these football programs are already familiar foes, having first faced off in 1977 and last competed at the Rose Bowl in both 2012 and 2020.

This year’s game will be a rubber match of sorts: the all-time series is tied 3–3, with the Badgers winning the first three affairs and the Ducks prevailing in the past three. The average scoring margin over the six matchups? Five points.

For Wisconsin, that’s meant thrilling but heartbreaking losses in Pasadena. You may remember the 2012 game as the Russell Wilson MSx’13 Rose Bowl. The transfer quarterback electrified the program in his lone season as a Badger, leading the highest-scoring offense in the Big Ten. Oregon’s offense ranked third in the country, so it was no surprise when these juggernauts combined for 83 points and broke the Rose Bowl scoring record. The Badgers led 38–35 entering the fourth quarter, but the Ducks ran off 10 unanswered points to secure their first Rose Bowl win.

The teams wouldn’t meet again until the 2020 Rose Bowl, which had a similar result. Wisconsin’s 28–27 loss marked its fourth Rose Bowl defeat in a decade, all by a touchdown or less. The highlight was Aron Cruickshank x’22’s 95-yard kick return — the second-longest scoring play in Rose Bowl history. Jonathan Taylor x’21 led the Badgers with more than 100 yards from scrimmage, but four team turnovers ultimately doomed Wisconsin.

You have to go all the way back to September 9, 2000, to find better days for the Badgers in this matchup. Coming off consecutive Rose Bowl wins, Wisconsin lost its Heisman running back Ron Dayne ’17 to the NFL and 26 other players to suspension for unadvertised shoe-store discounts. But no matter: Michael Bennett x’02 rushed for a whopping 290 yards to lead the Badgers to a 27–23 win over the Ducks in Madison. (Quarterback Brooks Bollinger ’03 had to complete just five passes for 65 yards.)

The Big Ten welcomed three other programs to its ranks this year: USC, Washington, and UCLA. But Oregon is the only new member visiting Camp Randall in 2024. And that leads us to one last trend that we hope sticks: the Badgers, at press time, are undefeated at home against the Ducks.

Published in the Winter 2024 issue