First ' Goal: Dec. 22
December 22, 2009 | Football
Dec. 22, 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 return to practice Tuesday night at 6:30 and then again at 11:30 a.m. tomorrow before leaving for Orlando Wednesday afternoon.
Bostad enjoying success of O-line
Legend has it, University of Wisconsin offensive line coach Bob Bostad has a sense of humor. "I've heard, outside the stadium, from some of the other coaches, he's one of the funniest coaches on the staff," junior center John Moffitt said. Some players even swear they've seen Bostad laugh, although it's hard to confirm. Learn more about the offensive line coach/run game coordinator in this article by Tom Mulhern of Madison.com.
Zeitler proving invaluable
Kevin Zeitler was built to play on the Wisconsin offensive line. "He is a great worker," center John Moffitt said of Zeitler, a sophomore from Wisconsin Lutheran High School who has started all 12 games at right guard this season. "He is relentless. He is focused. He is a serious guy. . . He wants to hit people and he is a very physical player." Jeff Potrykus of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has more on the Waukesha, Wis., native.
Maragos’ journey
There are all kinds of inspiring stories involving former Racine County athletes over the years, so many of which are forever lost in time. But the story of Chris Maragos is likely to endure, for it is a story that relates how anything is possible for those who refuse to place limits on themselves, writes Peter Jackel of the Journal Times (Racine).
Best case-worst case rewind
Adam Rittenberg takes a look back at his preseason prediction for what could go right and could go wrong for the Badgers. It looks like his best-case scenario came to fruition.
Planning for bowl game extends beyond the field
The Wisconsin football team departs for the Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando, Fla., tomorrow afternoon, but the staging and planning for the event began much longer ago. Read the story from UWBadgers.com.
View from the other side
The Hurricanes are concerned with Wisconsin’s passing game, but coach Randy Shannon is more focused on the run. Shannon has emphasized strong play on first and second down to force third-and-long and make the Badgers beat them with the pass, writes Shandel Robinson of Sun-Sentinel.com
Although many consider Wisconsin a running the team, [Miami cornerback Brandon] Harris says the defensive backs are looking at this as a game against a pass-happy offense. The Badgers are much more than running back John Clay, the Big Ten's offensive player of the year, writes Robinson.
Even 6-foot-7, 318-pound offensive linemen have their security blankets. For Orlando Franklin, the University of Miami's gigantic junior, it's come in the form of equally-big Jason Fox, the Hurricanes' 6-7, 314-pound senior left tackle. For nearly as long as he's been at UM, Franklin has lined up next to the steady Fox. But when the 14th-ranked Hurricanes (9-3, 5-3 ACC) face No. 24 Wisconsin (9-3, 5-3 Big Ten) next Tuesday in the Champs Sports Bowl, Fox will be on the sideline in street clothes, his college career prematurely ended by a knee injury, writes Jorge Milian of the Palm Beach Post.
If the Hurricanes want to finish their season with 10 wins, they'll have to stop a big, bulldozing running back in John Clay, Solange Reyner writes for CBS4.com.
Vote for Bucky’s Bests of the Decade
The first decade of the 21st century is coming to a close at the end of December. This momentous occasion has given the Wisconsin Athletics Communications staff pause to remember some of Bucky's best performances over the past 10 years.
Here is an opportunity to relive the best moments by Wisconsin since 2000. Fans are encouraged to vote during the month of December on UW's Best Plays, Teams, and Athletes of the Decade.
Enjoy the trip down memory lane as you review the top moments, the best performances, and the tremendous success of Wisconsin's teams and student-athletes. Complete the registration and continue to the voting pages. Vote daily as often as you wish.
Badgers in the Pros
Jamison Hensley of the Baltimore Sun has a list of free agent cornerbacks that the Ravens could possibly sign, and former Badger Jamar Fletcher is listed as an option.
Alexis Martin, a fourth-grader at Taft Elementary School, lived every Cleveland Browns fan's dream Thursday, spending the day at the team's training facility in Berea meeting players and coaches. One of her activities on the day was interviewing offensive lineman Joe Thomas.
Tweet of the Day
CS_Bowl Champs Sports Bowl DYK? - This will only be Wisconsin's third game on natural grass this year (Camp Randall is turf), but Miami's 12th. Posted Dec. 21 at 12:35 p.m.
Follow us at Twitter.com/BadgerFootball and Coach Bielema at Twitter.com/BretBielema.
What you won’t find on Facebook
Over spring break last year, Aaron Henry spent time in his hometown of Immokalee, Fla., talking to students at his church, a local elementary school and his old high school.
Note of the Day
After playing 13 of its first 15 bowl games outside the state of Florida, UW will be playing its sixth-straight bowl game in the Sunshine State. This will be the fourth time in the last five years Badgers have played at Citrus Bowl Stadium in Orlando.
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If you have any links that you think would be worthy of First & Goal, email them to Karl Anderson at kga@athletics.wisc.edu.
