The Wisconsin Badger football team accepted an invitation Sunday to play in the Champs Sports Bowl on December 27 against the Florida State Seminoles of the Atlantic Coast Conference. The invitation marks the seventh-straight year in which the Badgers will end their season playing in a bowl game, a school record.
[The players] are very excited about the opportunity,"" UW head coach Bret Bielema said. ""It is something that we have been anticipating and I know our kids will be especially amped up just to have an opponent like Florida State.""
The Badgers will play Florida State for the first time in school history, and have not faced an ACC team in a bowl game since playing Duke in 1995.
Wisconsin has played in January 1st bowl games in each of Bielema's previous seasons, but the coach is certain his players will be ready despite the shortened practice schedule.
""We now have a little bit of a shorter window than we have had in the last two years,"" Bielema said. ""But one that I know we will take full advantage of in our preparation to get ready and play.""
The Seminoles (8-4) are led by sophomore quarterback Christian Ponder, who leads the team with 1,807 passing yards and 12 touchdowns. In the rushing attack, senior running back Antone Smith has carried most of the load, rushing for 753 yards and 14 touchdowns, while freshman Jermaine Thomas has chipped in 478 yards and three touchdowns.
However, the strength of the Seminoles is its defense. Senior linebacker Derek Nicholson leads the team with 76 tackles and junior defensive end Everette Brown has a team-high 12.5 sacks. Most of the spotlight this season has been taken up by junior safety Myron Rolle, who is a Rhodes Scholar. Despite his
off-the-field commitments, Rolle ranks second on the team with 57 tackles.
Wisconsin will counter FSU's defense with a solid running game. Junior P.J. Hill leads Wisconsin's backfield with 1,021 yards and 13 touchdowns, while freshman John Clay totaled 852 yards and nine scores.
Defensively, junior linebacker Jaevery McFadden led UW with 79 total tackles. Junior defensive end O'Brien Schofield led the defensive line with five sacks, and sophomore cornerback Niles Brinkley was tops in the secondary with four interceptions.
The Champs Sports Bowl will take place in Orlando, Fla., on Dec. 27 and will be broadcast live on ESPN at 3:30 CDT.
