Wisconsin to face Western Michigan in Cotton Bowl

[Da-news-now]

Wisconsin is headed to Arlington, Texas to take on Western Michigan in the Cotton Bowl Classic on January 2.

Kickoff is slated for noon and the game will be broadcast by ESPN.

The Badgers fell to No.8 in the Associated Press Rankings following their 38-31 loss to Penn State in the Big Ten Championship Game on Saturday night. WMU is ranked No.12, making this Wisconsin’s seventh game this season against a team ranked in the AP top-12.

The Broncos, who boast a 13-0 record, captured the Mid-American Conference crown with a 29-23 win over Ohio in the MAC title game on Friday.

Wisconsin owns a 3-1 edge in the all-time series with a win in the most recent meeting, a 19-7 triumph back in 2000.

UW has now been selected for a bowl game in each of the last 15 seasons. That streak is tied for the longest active in the Big Ten and is tied for the sixth-longest active mark among FBS schools. Wisconsin has won its last two bowl games.

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[57packer]

A kind of a no-win game. UW loses and it looks bad losing to a MAC team, if they win, everyone kind of gives it the ho-hum treatment since it was "only" a MAC team. I didn't think the Badgers had a shot at the playoff, but was hoping they would get a marquee Power-5 opponent in their Bowl game.

 

[eyecatcher]

I agree with you 57packer. On the other side it is great for Western. They will finally get to see how good they really are. This will be by far their toughest opponent.

 

[Nutbush]

Kind of like a bull rider drawing a bad bull. If you fall off the bull wins if you hang on not many points scored.

 

[FlaPack]

Great opportunity for Wisconsin recruiting wise to play a game in the Dallas area. Zero downside. As to playing a MAC team it's kind of like playing a mid major in hoops. I get it but the hype and press Western got this year makes them much like the Boise State teams a few years ago

 

[Crease Creature]

Great opportunity for Wisconsin recruiting wise to play a game in the Dallas area. Zero downside. As to playing a MAC team it's kind of like playing a mid major in hoops. I get it but the hype and press Western got this year makes them much like the Boise State teams a few years ago

They've won at Northwestern (by 1 in week 1) and at Illinois (by 24 in week 3), yet their SOS is 85th, and their best win was at home over Toledo. They're good offensively, with a point differential of +313.

Wisconsin also won at Northwestern (by 14) and at Illinois (by 45) and we also have another opponent-in-common: Akron.

Sat Oct 15: WMU 41-0 on road

Sat Sept 15 (week after LSU) UW 10-54 at home.

Western Michigan got the 6 seed in my CFB tournament bracket, Wisconsin is #13

I also heard that early ticket sales for this game are in the tank. These are some unusual teams coming to Dallas and the local regulars aren't that enthused. There were seats in good sections going for $9.

Jerry's World will probably be about 60-70% full on game day.

 

[TW]

I tend to agree that playing in Dallas is a great recruiting tool. The Badgers have started to mine talent out of the state, and a game like this could give them the exposure they need to make it even better.

Since it's Western, the team who gets the most press will be the Badgers because of their fan support.

It's a winning situation for the Badgers if they can shut down Western.