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Ball tied Barry Sanders' FBS record with his 39th touchdown of the season, but the Heisman Trophy finalist was held to three carries for no yards in the fourth quarter. Every Badgers skill player had regrets about the scoreless fourth quarter -- nobody more than Abbrederis.
"I have to be more careful with the ball," said Abbrederis, who made a TD catch on the opening drive. "They made a big play. I can't dwell on this. I have to move forward and look towards next year. We're all human. This will make me better."
Tuinei was named the Ducks' offensive player of the game, but their flashiest star in those futuristic helmets was De'Anthony Thomas, the freshman from Los Angeles who showed off his electrifying athleticism on the longest scoring run in Rose Bowl history in the second quarter, going 91 yards up the middle. He added the 64-yard scoring run in the opening minute of the second half as Oregon won the matchup of the last two losers of the Rose Bowl.
Wisconsin lost 21-19 to TCU last season, and the Ducks lost to Ohio State two years ago before losing the BCS title game last year.
"It almost felt like there was some sort of magical force keeping us from getting it done in bowl games," Oregon guard Carson York said. "Glad we did it today."
LaMichael James rushed for 159 yards and an early TD in his likely college finale for the Ducks, and Kenjon Barner caught a TD pass from Darron Thomas.
Nick Toon caught a TD pass for Wisconsin, and defensive end Louis Nzegwu returned a fumble 33 yards for a score in the second quarter.
Both teams won their respective conferences' first-ever league title games to earn this trip to Pasadena. Although the Ducks' drought was generations longer, Wisconsin hasn't won in Pasadena since Jan. 1, 2000, when Ron Dayne led the Badgers to back-to-back Rose Bowl titles.
Oregon quickly debunked the theory that teams with extra time to prepare for the Ducks' inventive offense have a better chance to stop it. The Ducks were 1-4 in bowl games and season openers under Kelly until they carved up Wisconsin with the second-biggest yardage performance in Rose Bowl history.
De'Anthony Thomas ended the record-breaking first quarter by bursting through the Wisconsin line and sprinting down the Oregon sideline, surpassing Tyrone Wheatley's bowl-record 88-yard run in 1993 and capping the second-longest scoring drive in Rose Bowl history at 95 yards.
Both defenses then got a brief chance to shine in the second quarter: The Ducks stopped Wisconsin on fourth down inside the Oregon 20, but blitzing Wisconsin linebacker Mike Taylor forced Darron Thomas' fumble moments later, and Nzegwu scooped it up and scored.
De'Anthony Thomas' 64-yard TD run put Oregon ahead for the first time, but the Badgers swung ahead with Wilson's 18-yard TD pass to Toon. After the quarterbacks traded interceptions, Darron Thomas found Tuinei for his second score just 25 seconds into the fourth quarter, putting the Ducks ahead to stay.
NOTES: The game-time temperature was 82 degrees, making it the warmest bowl game in Wisconsin history. ... It was also the highest-scoring bowl game in Wisconsin history, and the Badgers tied the school bowl record with 38 points. ... Oregon is 2-4 in the Rose Bowl. ... Oregon LB Kiko Alonso was the defensive player of the game with an interception and 1 1/2 sacks.
[Associated Press;
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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