Mark Richt and Blake James react to Miami Hurricanes Pinstripe Bowl bid

The Miami Hurricanes are headed to Yankee Stadium to play in a bowl game for the second time in their history. They will play the Wisconsin Badgers in the postseason for the second straight season.

Wisconsin defeated the Miami Hurricanes on their home field last season at Hard Rock Stadium in the Orange Bowl game. After identical disappointing 7-5 seasons Miami and Wisconsin will get a chance to close out their seasons on a high note in the Bronx.

The Miami Hurricanes previously played in a bowl game in New York when they lost the 1962 Gotham Bowl 36-34 to Nebraska at the old Yankee Stadium. That was the Hurricanes sixth ever bowl appearance and only their second outside of Florida. The Hurricanes lost the Liberty Bowl in Philadelphia 15-14 to Syracuse in 1961.

The trip to New York for the Pinstripe Bowl is a good opportunity for the Miami Hurricanes to close the 2018 season with momentum headed towards next season. It’s been a rocky year after beginning the season with the nation’s number eight ranking.

Miami has turned the season around after a four-game losing streak dropped the Hurricanes to 5-5 and in danger of missing a bowl game in a non-probation year for the first time since 2007.

A win against Virginia Tech ended the losing streak and made Miami bowl eligible. The win versus Pittsburgh a week later ensured a fourth straight winning season. A win over the Badgers in the house that Jeter built will give Miami its fourth straight season of eight or more victories.

It would also be UM’s first bowl win outside Florida since the 2006 Micron PC Bowl in Boise. The reaction from the Miami Hurricanes players and staff was positive about getting a chance to play in New York. UM, Athletic Director Blake James and Head Coach Mark Richt were not too insightful giving standard responses.

James spoke about the opportunity to play in the Pinstripe Bowl in such an iconic venue like Yankee Stadium and the process of how the teams are selected for each bowl. Quotes are courtesy of HurricaneSports.Com and the Miami Herald via Sunday’s teleconference.

"“We are excited to accept a bid to the New Era Pinstripe Bowl for the first time in our history…Visiting New York and playing a game in a storied venue like Yankee Stadium is a unique and memorable opportunity for both our student-athletes and our fan base.”There isn’t any specific order in what they pick,…It’s really the bowls coming together and really working with each other to figure what’s the best scenario for the four bowls.Obviously, with us being in Florida, Jacksonville was one that I thought would be a great fit. With that said, we have a huge alumni base in the Northeast corridor.As I said to Randy Levine, the president of the Yankees, when he called me, I said we’ll have people from Miami that will jump at the opportunity to go to New York over the holidays and be there for the game.And at the same time, the alumni base we have in the New York area — New Jersey and Connecticut, and that Northeast corridor — I’m hoping we’ll have a lot of people that’ll be excited to have us up there.”"

Richt’s statement was concise and vague as has been the case throughout the season. He has clearly been frustrated by a team that did not come close to reaching its expectations. Richt has been thoroughly criticized this year for his offensive staff and play calling, plus how he handled the quarterbacks.

"“We are looking forward to playing Wisconsin in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl on Dec. 27…They (Wisconsin) had a terrific season and I know we have a tremendous challenge ahead of us. We can’t wait to return to the practice field and start preparing for this game.It’s big for a lot of reasons…We know Wisconsin is a very good team, playing them last year. We didn’t get it done, so we know they’re an outstanding team and we believe we are, too. So I believe it will be a great matchup.”"

The opportunity to travel to New York and play against Wisconsin again is important for the Miami football program. The Hurricanes can close the season with a three-game winning streak and build momentum for the 2019 season.

The victory in the 2016 Camping World Bowl helped the Hurricanes close the season with a five-game winning streak and propel them towards their ten game winning streak to start the season. Many view the weeks of bowl practice as the beginning of the following season. For Miami, it will give a chance to the younger players to grow.