Wisconsin has a history with new Big Ten members Oregon, USC, Washington and UCLA

MADISON – The Big Ten Conference welcomes four members of the disbanded Pacific 12 conference in 2024:

USC, Oregon, Washington and UCLA.

For football that means 18 teams will vie for the top two spots and a berth in the league title game on Dec. 7 in Indianapolis.

Wisconsin, which finished 5-4 in the Big Ten and 7-6 overall last season, opens league play Sept. 28 at USC and hosts Oregon on Nov. 16.

The Badgers host Washington and play at Oregon in 2025. They host USC and play at UCLA in 2026.

UW is 1-6 against USC, with the last meeting coming in the 2015 Holiday Bowl.

UW is 3-3 against Oregon, with the last meeting coming in the 2020 Rose Bowl.

UW is 0-4 against Washington, with the last meeting coming in 1992.

UW is 4-7 against UCLA, with the last meeting coming in the 2000 Sun Bowl.

Here is a look at UW’s memorable games against USC, Oregon, UCLA and Washington.

Badgers’ loss to USC in 1963 Rose Bowl remains a classic

UW entered the 1963 Rose Bowl No. 2 in the polls with an 8-1 mark, behind only No. 1 USC at 10-0.

Pete Beathard completed his fourth touchdown pass of the game, a 13-yarder to Fred Hill, to help the Trojans take a 42-14 lead just six seconds into the final quarter.

Game over, correct?

Not so fast.

Ron Vander Kelen then directed three touchdown drives help UW rally to within 42-37, but the Trojans held on.

Vander Kelen passed for 401 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for one touchdown in the loss.

End Pat Richter, who caught a 23-yard touchdown pass in the final quarter, finished with 11 catches for 163 yards.

The Badgers’ last appearance on the USC campus came during the 1966 season. UW suffered a 38-3 loss to the fifth-ranked Trojans in Week 2 and went on to finish 2-4-1 in the league and 3-6-1 overall.

Michael Bennett stars in UW’s 2000 victory over Oregon

With Ron Dayne in his rookie season with the New York Giants, Michael Bennett took over as UW’s No. 1 tailback in 2000.

Bennett put his skills on display in UW’s second game of the season, a 27-23 victory over visiting Oregon.

UW entered the day No. 5 in the nation and Bennett rushed 28 times for 290 yards and two touchdowns to help UW overcome a 6-0 halftime deficit.

Bennett gained 258 yards in the second half, when he scored on runs of 59 and 75 yards and set up the go-ahead touchdown with an 83-yard burst in the fourth quarter.

Cornerback Jamar Fletcher secured the victory with his third interception of the game and safety Jason Doering was terrific with 18 tackles.

Season-opening loss at Washington in 1992 led to a change at QB for Wisconsin

Barry Alvarez’s third season at UW began with a daunting task – a road game against a Washington team coming off a 12-0 season and a share of the national title.

The Huskies, led by quarterbacks Billy Joe Hobert and Mark Brunell and tailback Napolean Kaufman, rolled up 455 total yards, but UW’s defense didn’t break in a 27-10 loss.

UW quarterback Jay Macias completed just 5 of 19 attempts for 91 yards and a touchdown in the loss, and the next week a little-known freshman got the start against visiting Bowling Green.

Darrell Bevell completed 11 of 17 attempts for 142 yards, with three touchdowns and two interceptions, to lead UW to a 39-18 victory. He started the rest of the season and helped UW to a share of the Big Ten title and a Rose Bowl victory the next season.

Barry Alvarez and his players take over the Rose Bowl

UW fans won’t ever forget Jan. 1, 1994, whether they were among the 70,000 spectators adorned in red and white in Pasadena or crowded around a TV in their homes.

UW, which had won a share of the Big Ten title, knocked off No. 13 UCLA, 21-16, for the program’s first Rose Bowl victory.

Brent Moss rushed for 158 yards and two touchdowns, the defense forced six turnovers and Bevell scored on an improbable 21-yard run in the fourth quarter to help push UW’s lead to 21-10.

The announced crowd was 101,237. The number of fans wearing red? At least 70,000.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin has a history with new Big Ten members Oregon, USC, Washington and UCLA