Cotton Bowl: Wisconsin wins 24-16 to give Western Michigan its only loss

Wisconsin tight end Troy Fumagalli made a leaping 8-yard touchdown catch in the fourth quarter and the Badgers won 24-16 in the Cotton Bowl on Monday to deny Western Michigan an undefeated season.
The TD catch by Fumagalli with 14 minutes left, in the back of the end zone between two defenders, came three plays after a rare interception thrown by Zach Terrell and made it 24-10.
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With their "Row The Boat" mentality inspired by young head coach P.J. Fleck, the Broncos (13-1) made it from one win during his first season in Kalamazoo three years ago to the last FBS team other than No. 1 Alabama this season with a chance to be undefeated.
But Wisconsin (11-3), which finished with 11 wins for the fourth time in seven seasons, was clearly bigger and stronger — especially up front. The Big Ten Badgers set the tone early, with rushing touchdowns on their first two drives to take a 14-0 lead against the Group of Five team.
Fumagalli had several other highlight catches, including a one-handed 20-yard grab on the Badgers' opening drive, and a 26-yard catch to convert third-and-8 after Western Michigan scored in the fourth quarter.
Terrell combined with All-America receiver Corey Davis for 51 career touchdowns, tying the FBS record on an 11-yarder on fourth down with 3:27 left. Even with cornerback Sojourn Shelton's arms wrapped around him in the back of the end zone, Davis broke free to make the catch.
Western Michigan's senior quarterback had 33 touchdowns and only four interceptions this season, the last pick by Wisconsin linebacker T.J. Edwards.

It's bowl season again, with 40 games wedged into 17 days before college football crowns its national champion a week after that.
If the argument is reaching a bowl is less of an accomplishment than ever, that is accurate. Of the 128 FBS teams, 80 will participate in the postseason. That 62.5 percent rate dwarfs the 19.4 percent of Division I men's college basketball teams invited to the NCAA tournament. Three more teams with losing records (Hawaii, Mississippi State and North Texas) are playing on this year.