First ' Goal: Dec. 11
December 11, 2009 | Football
Dec. 11, 2009
MADISON, Wis. --
The 411
Wisconsin will face Miami (9-3 overall, 5-3 ACC Coastal Division) in the 2009 Champs Sports Bowl on Dec. 29 at the Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium in Orlando, Fla. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. CST. ESPN will televise the game live.
The team will host its Football Awards Show tonight. See below for more information.
Badgers host inaugural Football Awards Show
Badger fans are invited to celebrate with the team and coaching staff at the Wisconsin Football Awards Show tonight at 7:30 p.m. at the Kohl Center. Admission is free. A brand new event designed for fans of all ages, the Wisconsin Football Awards Show will feature presentations of the program’s post-season awards including Rookie of the Year, Scholastic Player of the Year, Badger Power Award, Team MVP and more. The event will also be live-streamed on UWBadgers.com.
Bowl Talk
Wisconsin may be the last Big Ten team to ever play in the Champs Sports Bowl. That’s because this is the last year of the bowl’s agreement with the Big Ten and it will be dropped from the schedule, along with the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio, writes Tom Mulhern of Madison.com.
Most will bill the Champs Sports Bowl as a matchup of opposites, but the two head coaches in the game aren't so sure. Wisconsin and Miami might seem very different on the surface. The Badgers win with size and power, while the Hurricanes' depth chart bursts with speed and athleticism. Miami always will have the reputation for being one of the nation's flashier programs, while Wisconsin isn't known for its glitz. But Bret Bielema and Randy Shannon don't see drastic differences between their teams, says Adam Rittenberg of ESPN.com.
The 10-win season is a magical mark in college football. Players and coaches around bowl season emphasize the importance of getting to 10 because of how hard it is to get to double-digit wins. Last season only 20 of 119 Division I-A teams made it to 10 or more victories. This season, 14 of 120 teams have made it to at least 10 wins. Another 14 have nine wins. Wisconsin and Miami are two of those nine-win teams, placing even more importance on their matchup in the Champs Sports Bowl on Dec. 29. The difference between getting nine and 10 wins is the difference between having a good season and a great season, writes Andrea Adelson of the Orlando Sentinel.
The Badgers are heading back to Orlando for the Champs Sports Bowl, and that’s just fine with Max Henson of the Badger Herald, because, in all honesty, it’s the best destination UW could have hoped for, he says.
Jorge Milian of the Palm Beach Post has quotes from both Bielema and Miami head coach Randy Shannon after the two met with the media on Wednesday.
Shandel Richardson of SunSentinel.com also has quotes from Shannon’s media session on Wednesday.
Cover Boy
Wisconsin running back John Clay is featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated’s “Pictures of the Year” edition. View the cover online.
Badgers in the Pros
• Working on fundamentals is paying off for the Browns' Joe Thomas, according to Steve Doerschuk of Canton Rep.com.
• Check out the full recap of Badgers in the NFL from week 13.
Tweet of the Day
UWBadgersdotcom What UW team, or athlete or play would get your vote as Bucky's Best of the Decade from 2000-09? See the list and vote now http://ow.ly/KIsQ Posted Dec. 10 at 1:38 p.m.
Follow us at Twitter.com/BadgerFootball and Coach Bielema at Twitter.com/BretBielema.
What you won’t find on Facebook
As part of his pre-game ritual, senior defensive end O’Brien Schofield listens to gospel music, prays and reads a bible scripture.
Note of the Day
John Clay’s appearance on the Dec. 11 cover of Sports Illustrated is the first by a Badger football player on a Sports Illustrated publication.
Become a Badger Football Insider
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If you have any links that you think would be worthy of 1st & Goal, email them to Karl Anderson at kga@athletics.wisc.edu.
