UW-Stout claims Culver's Isthmus Bowl, first postseason victory

SUN PRAIRIE — Last week, UW-Stout football coach Clayt Birmingham compared the toughness his football team has to the storyline in “Rocky IV.”

It’s not often that football games play out like they do on the big screen.

But, sometimes, they just do.

Take the fifth annual Culver’s Isthmus Bowl on Saturday between the Stout Blue Devils and the Washington University Bears for instance, as the Blue Devils rallied for a dramatic 31-23 win.

The game couldn’t have started much worse for Stout, as WashU (8-3) jumped out to an early 17-point lead in the second quarter thanks to a pair of passing touchdowns from Bears quarterback Levi Moore.

The Blue Devils (6-5), meanwhile, stumbled at first, going three-and-out on their three opening quarter drives, and rushing for negative two yards.

“We started off a little slow,” Birmingham said Monday. “It was just basically us having to feel that other team out.”

Stout got off the canvas in the second quarter, as senior quarterback Adam Moen found receiver Davonte Evans for an 18-yard score.

A WashU three-and-out showed Stout had more punches to throw and an 83-yard Blue Devil drive punctuated by a 26-yard Moen touchdown run showed the fight was just beginning heading into halftime.

“It all started upfront,” Birmingham said. “I thought the first couple drives our offensive line was kind of playing a little more passive and kind of feeling them out. Once we knew their speed and how we could handle them, our offensive linemen started getting after them and opening holes for our running back.”

Another Bears three-and-out gave way to a 9-yard Chandler Ross touchdown run to give the Blue Devils their first lead in the third quarter.

“Our coordinators did just a great job at halftime making some adjustments and (we) came out and took over the lead,” Birmingham said.

Stout tacked on a Garrison Jackman field goal to increase its lead to seven.

The fourth quarter began with a Moore pass to tight end Will Gardner. The 1-yard touchdown pass made the score 24-23.

Less than a minute later, the Blue Devils responded as Moen connected with Evans again for a 38-yard passing touchdown.

Despite their slow start, the Blue Devils ran for 215 yards Saturday, with Ross accounting for 118 yards and Moen 78 yards.

Moen’s 150 passing yards and three touchdowns won him the Culver’s Isthmus Bowl MVP.

“Both Moen and Davonte Evans played tremendously,” Birmingham said. “Chandler Ross ran the ball real well for us. Our O-line was very active and opened up holes.”

After giving up a lead early on, the Blue Devil defense fought back with Blaine Seidl and Gabe Kramer leading a group that allowed just six points after the first quarter. Seidl and Kramer combined for 13 tackles and each recorded an interception on the final two WashU drives.

“I thought we made some good halftime adjustments,” Birmingham said. “We started to recognize the quarterback run game. Our defense did a great job just working together as the game went on to really bottle that up.”

Kramer intercepted WashU’s Hail Mary effort at the Stout 4-yard line as time expired.

The Blue Devils sideline erupted in celebration, as they clinched Stout’s first postseason victory.

“It was pretty fun,” Birmingham said. “There’s nothing like winning obviously, but to put an extra icing on the cake, having a bowl game and receiving a trophy against another conference, it was pretty sweet.”

Birmingham couldn’t have scripted a better ending for his 2025 team. His whole 105-man roster was in attendance Saturday, including 20 seniors that ended their college careers as champions.

“Every good movie starts with the winner getting knocked down a few times,” Birmingham said. “It’s not how you start, it’s about how you finish.”