South Carolina vs. Wisconsin, 2014 Capital One Bowl: Connor Shaw leads Gamecocks in shootout

Wisconsin’s final four drives: 21 plays, 88 yards (4.2 per play), three turnovers, and a turnover on downs. Phillips, who did captain the Badgers to the Big Ten title in 2012 after another Stave injury, completed just seven of 12 passes for 37 yards and was picked off twice. A kick return touchdown kept the Badgers in the game, but South Carolina scored with six minutes left to make the score 34-24, and the Badgers had no answer.

There’s nothing saying Wisconsin would have won with Stave -- South Carolina was a much better team in close-and-late situations than Wisconsin in 2013 -- but without him, there was evidently no chance.

Box Score Hero: Connor Shaw finishes his South Carolina career with a stellar effort, going 22 for 25 for 312 yards and three scores while rushing for 47 yards and another TD.

Rankings Ramifications: South Carolina will finish in the top 10 for the third straight season, and depending on how things shake out in front of the Gamecocks, SC should finish around No. 8. Wisconsin, meanwhile, will only stay in the top 25 thanks to some losses below the Badgers in the rankings. No. 23 sounds about right, and really there’s no need to punish a team more for losing to a top-10 foe on a neutral field.

Thanks to Will Brinson for capturing this moment for future generations. Or however long Instagram is going to last.

KAPOOWWWWWW

Somewhat ironic that on the day of the NHL Winter Classic, the worst slip-and-fall was at the halftime show of a bowl game.

The performer here was Hunter Hayes, which is probably the secret identity of some tertiary DC superhero.

On Wednesday, Clowney could be playing his final collegiate game when South Carolina takes on Wisconsin in the Capital One Bowl. Clowney made noise in his bowl game a year ago, and this may be the last chance to watch one of the most dominant defensive players of the last decade.

Here’s a complete breakdown of what to look for in the Capital One Bowl.

It’s not hard to be a little underwhelmed by the non-BCS batch of January 1 bowls. LSU fans aren’t excited about LSU-Iowa, and neither Nebraska’s nor Georgia’s fanbase seems particularly jazzed about their Gator Bowl rematch. And then there’s UNLV-North Texas in the old Cotton Bowl, and while this could actually be a pretty fun game, it’s not destined for the attention of casual fans.

Among this crop, however, one game stands out. The Capital One Bowl eschews the normal disappointed-SEC-team-against-Big-Ten-underdog narrative; despite ranking 10 spots lower in the polls, Wisconsin is actually a slight favorite over South Carolina in Orlando. The 9-3 Badgers lost three games by a total of 16 points and beat everybody else by an average score of 39-9. Steve Spurrier’s 10-2 Gamecocks, meanwhile, lost two games by just 12 points and otherwise perfected the art of looking great when it had to (and not a moment before).

According to Oddsshark.com, the Badgers are listed as a 1.5-point favorite at most sportsbooks. The computers, however, forecast a 34-27 win for Wisconsin when it squares off with USC in Orlando, Fla. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET on Jan. 1.

The Badgers are just 1-5 straight up over their last six bowl games, with a current streak of three straight bowl losses. The Gamecocks have won each of their last two bowl games, but are 2-3 straight up and 1-4 against the spread over their last five.

Here is an endearing video of college football’s most fearsome athlete being a nice person with another nice person (who might happen to be the queen of South Carolina):

HERE ARE THE THINGS NFL SCOUTS HAVE LEARNED ARE AWFUL ABOUT JADEVEON CLOWNEY AFTER VIEWING THIS FOOTAGE:

Also, our Syracuse site is trying to raise money to send 1,000 kids to the game. Pitch in!

Michigan started the season 4-0, with tight wins over suspect opponents like Akron and Connecticut balancing out a win over a ranked Notre Dame. A four-overtime loss to Penn State ruined the team’s perfect record, and Michigan would end up losing to Michigan State, Nebraska, Iowa and Ohio State. The Wolverines will hope to get more consistent play on both sides of the ball against Kansas State.