Wisconsin football is heading to Miami and the Orange Bowl at the end of the month. So Badger of Honor runs down three reasons to be grateful for the assignment
Wisconsin football certainly were hoping for a College Football Playoff spot. And the Badgers were 47 yards away from getting there.
But instead, Wisconsin will settle for one of the New Year’s Six big bowl games. The Badgers will head to Miami to take on the hometown Miami Hurricanes in the Orange Bowl.
So while Badger fans dreamed chiefly of Sugar or Roses. They should still be excited about the Orange Bowl and here is why.
Related Story: Wisconsin Football: Badgers Heading to Orange Bowl
1. The Orange Bowl against the Miami Hurricanes is real test
Wisconsin is the road team in this match up since they’ll be playing in Miami against Miami. This is a good opportunity for the underclassmen to face a potentially hostile road environment.
This season, the harshest road environment may have been at elevation against BYU. The Badgers won that game 40-6 and BYU had a disastrous season. In conference play, the night game against Nebraska appeared to be a boisterous environment.
But Wisconsin hasn’t seen a quality team away from Madison. They’ll get that chance in Miami.
2. Any reason to visit Florida is a good one
The state of Florida has always been a recruiting hotbed. This is Wisconsin’s 11th visit to the sunshine state in bowl games. Any trip to Florida is a good opportunity for the Badger coaching staff to connect with top in-state talent.
As we noted a day ago, the Badgers currently have nine Florida natives on the roster with special emphasis in the secondary. That includes seniors Natrell Jamerson and Derrick Tindal as well as junior S D’cota Dixon and freshman CB Dontye Carriere-Wiliams
So heading to Miami for the bowl game is a good for Wisconsin to make in-roads for the next bunch of Florida men who can help this program.
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3. The Badgers will get some undivided attention in the bowl game
Obviously we’d prefer the notoriety of the Playoff and attention that entails. But the good news is the bowl schedule thins a bit at the end of the month.
The Orange Bowl is on Saturday December 30th at 7 p.m. CST. But if you run down the full list (and Saturday Blitz has a useful list) you’ll see that the Orange Bowl stands out. Specifically, the Fiesta Bowl between Washington and Penn State should have concluded by kickoff.
So Wisconsin and Miami will have the eyes of the college football world to themselves during the game.