A bowl trip to California for the Wisconsin Badgers has always meant playing in the Rose Bowl. That was until this year, when the Badgers will play in their first Holiday Bowl against the USC Trojans. 

As great as it is to get to the west coast this time of year, California hasn't always come up roses for the Badgers.

Of the nine previous trips out to Pasadena to play in the “Grand Daddy of Them All,” the Badgers have come away with just three victories. The first of those came back in 1994 when Wisconsin ended a 10 year bowl drought and saw themselves in the Rose Bowl for the first time in 31 years. In that game the UCLA Bruins outgained the Badgers 500 yards to just 346 for Wisconsin. But five Bruins turnovers would be the difference maker. Running back Brent Moss, who ran for 158 yards and two touchdowns, was named the Rose Bowl Player of the Game.

Wisconsin would win their next two trips to the Rose Bowl in consecutive years, 1999 against the Bruins and in 2000 against the Stanford Cardinal.

But the last three appearances have not been too kind to the Badger faithful. The Badgers made three straight trips to Pasadena where they faced the TCU Horned Frogs (2011), the Oregon Ducks (2012) and the Stanford (2013). Wisconsin would lose all three games by a combined 15 points. 

Let’s rewind this shall we and go back even farther in time. Back to Wisconsin’s first three appearances in what is arguably the greatest college football game out there. In 1953, the Badgers would lose 7-0 to those pesky USC Trojans. It wouldn't be until 1960 that the Badgers would reach the Rose Bowl again, this time getting trounced by the Washington Huskies 44-8. But it’s the 1963 classic against the Trojans that has people still talking to this day as one of the greatest football bowl games ever played.

It was this game that saw the very first meeting of a No. 1 vs. No. 2 in a bowl game ever. The Trojans jumped out to an early lead and found themselves in control with a 42-14 lead heading into the fourth quarter. It was here that saw Wisconsin quarterback Ron Vander Kelen orchestrate a furious comeback as the Badgers would rattle off 23 unanswered points. The comeback would fall short, but the game would go down as one of the greatest played and at the time set 11 Rose Bowl records, most of which have been broken to this day. The one record still standing from this game is the 32 first downs that the Badgers racked up. Both Vander Kelen and USC quarterback Pete Beathard were named Players of the Game.

Wisconsin’s nine trips to the Rose Bowl are nothing short of impressive, but the three wins is something most Badger fans would like to see change. For that to happen, they will have to wait for another season and another shot at a berth in the New Year’s Day classic.

In the meantime the Badgers will try and buck the trend and grab a victory in California against those pesky Trojans on December 30th in the Holiday Bowl. Wisconsin has never beaten the Trojans in their six previous meetings that include two Rose Bowl matchups. The Badgers will look for some California Love before ringing in 2016 and head into the off season to make another run at Pasadena.