 Instead of advancing to the first Bowl Championship series game (the 1999 Fiesta Bowl) as a contender for the national championship, the Bruins "settled" for the Rose Bowl, something that previously had been the ultimate goal of the Pacific-10 conference champion.Wisconsin ended up in a three-way tie for first place in the Big Ten with Michigan and Ohio State.All three teams had 7–1 conference records and were conference co-champions.