Wisconsin Badgers arrive in Miami for Orange Bowl
The Miami Hurricanes Orange Bowl opponent the Wisconsin Badgers arrived in Miami late Sunday after their airplane had to defrost before takeoff. The Badgers will have six days to get acclimated to South Florida before Saturday’s Orange Bowl.
This will be Wisconsin’s first appearance in the Orange Bowl game. This is the Badgers third trip to South Florida. They defeated Miami 20-0 in September 1958. Nearly 30 years to the day, the Hurricanes earned a 23-3 victory over the Badgers.
The teams have split their four all-time meetings. Miami won the second half of a home and home in 1989 in Madison 51-3. Wisconsin won the last meeting between the programs 20-14 in the Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando following the 2009 season.
Although this is Wisconsin’s first appearance in the Orange Bowl they are not new to New Year’s Six or major bowl games. This is the Badgers second year in a row in a New Year’s Six game. They defeated Western Michigan 24-16 in the Cotton Bowl last season.
Wisconsin has also appeared in six Rose Bowls since 1993, five Capital One Bowls and three Outback Bowls. This is the 16 consecutive bowl game for Wisconsin. They have made bowl appearances in 23 of the last 25 seasons.
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South Bound & Down
Mark Richt often talks about teams from the North having to adjust to the heat and humidity of South Florida. The forecast for Saturday is for a high of 78 degrees with a low of 59 and 62 percent humidity. Saturday’s forecast for Madison, Wisconsin is seven degrees for the high and negative seven for the low.
Both teams enter the Orange Bowl off losses. Wisconsin lost 27-21 in the Big Ten Championship Game to Ohio State. That is their only loss in a 12-1 season. The Buckeyes just missed out on a College Football Playoff spot. The Buckeyes will play USC in the Cotton Bowl.
The Badgers bring a three-game bowl winning streak to the Orange Bowl game.
In addition to last season’s win in the Cotton Bowl, the Badgers also won the Outback and Holiday Bowls following the 2015 and 2016 seasons.
Nine of the Badgers players return to their home state and five are from Dade or Broward counties. Wisconsin wide receiver Paul Jackson gets to return to his hometown of Miami Gardens to play.
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Wisconsin’s Big Ten West Division title was their third in four seasons and second in a row since the Big Ten aligned geographically. They have lost in the title game all three times. They also won the leaders division the first two years the Big Ten split into divisions. Wisconsin won the Big Ten title both of those years.