wisconsin bowl game – Syndication Server

Team preview: Wake Forest Demon Deacons

The Wisconsin Badgers are set to take the field in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. Here is a team preview of…

The 3-3 Wisconsin Badgers are set to close out their 2020 season in just four days when they take the field against the 4-4 Wake Forest Demon Deacons in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl.

It is a finish line that seemed nearly impossible to reach at points this year, with the Big Ten initially postponing the season and the Badger football program experiencing a COVID-19 outbreak after their Week 1 victory against Illinois.

But we are now just a few days away from the finish line becoming reality and even though it’s been a bumpy road on the field to reach this point, completing a season during a year like this should be considered a success.

Many times when the Badgers enter a Bowl game it is against a team they have some history with—especially when they find themselves in or near the New Year’s Six.

Wake Forest, however, is a program Wisconsin has never faced–though the Badgers are 9-9-1 all-time against ACC schools and 4-1 against the conference in Bowl Games.

So there isn’t the level of familiarity that comes with a matchup against Oregon from the PAC-12 or Auburn from the SEC.

Here is a complete team preview of the 2020 Wake Forest Demon Deacons:

Are the Wisconsin Badgers eligible for a bowl game this year?

If you’ve followed the 2020 Big Ten football season then you know about the conference’s 6-game requirement for a team to qualify…

If you’ve followed the 2020 Big Ten football season then you know about the conference’s 6-game requirement for a team to qualify for the conference championship.

I’ve written about the rule extensively and argued that it will end up taking away the credibility of the season if 4-0 and No. 3-ranked Ohio State misses one more game and becomes ineligible for the Big Ten Championship.

Wisconsin Athletic Director Barry Alvarez spoke about the conference’s new rule for this season, noting that “that’s something [the athletic directors] have to revisit” if a scenario arises where undefeated Ohio State can’t play in the championship game.

Wisconsin AD Barry Alvarez, who chaired the Big Ten’s return-to-play task force, had interesting comments today about Big Ten possibly having to reconsider its requirements for championship (with OSU in mind) From a conversation w The Detroit News today…. pic.twitter.com/CIKEDxyELI

— angelique (@chengelis) December 2, 2020

How that plays out is yet to be seen, so what we’re looking at now is whether the 2-1 Badgers, who per the Big Ten rule are ineligible for the title game, will be able to play in a bowl game this season.

The answer: Yes.

Back in October the NCAA waived the normal 6-win bowl eligibility requirement, in essence making every FBS team bowl eligible.

Since Wisconsin only has three games left on their schedule–Indiana, Iowa and Big Ten’s Champions Week–under the normal rules they wouldn’t be able to play in a Bowl Game.

Due to the NCAA changing their requirements (as the Big Ten should), the Badgers will play in the postseason for the 19th straight season.

Only five teams since 2015 have played in a Bowl Game with fewer than six wins–Nebraska, Minnesota and San Jose State in 2015, and Mississippi State and North Texas in 2016. That is going to change this year with numerous teams across the country playing far fewer than the normal 10-game regular season.

So the focus now is on finishing the regular season on a high note and making the most of the challenging season that this has been. But if you questioned whether the team would be able to play in a Bowl Game, put those questions aside and shift to asking where, when and who they will play.

Indiana Preview:

Wisconsin faces a familiar foe in new USA TODAY bowl projections

After weeks of USA TODAY Sports and other outlets projecting the Wisconsin Badgers to face the Auburn Tigers in their bowl game this…

After weeks of USA TODAY Sports and other outlets projecting the Wisconsin Badgers to face the Auburn Tigers in their bowl game this winter, there is finally a projection change to talk about.

This obviously due to Auburn’s early-season performance, a 2-2 start with a tough road left ahead, and the Badgers still waiting to take the field, variables which have held UW towards the top of the bowl calendar and allowed another team to rise and join them.

That team is the BYU Cougars, a school that upset the Badgers back in 2018 when Paul Chryst’s team was No. 6 in the nation and had Big Ten Championship aspirations.

This recent USA TODAY projection has the two teams facing off in the Fiesta Bowl, with Alabama, Ohio State, Clemson and Oregon forming the College Football Playoff.

Speaking realistically, a Fiesta Bowl appearance would be a success for the 2020 Badgers. No, not because it means they lost the conference championship and their shot at the playoff, but because it would mean that they and the rest of the Big Ten were able to finish their regular season.

We’ve seen cancellations due to COVID-19 all across the college football landscape thus far, and since the Big Ten must play eight games in as many weeks in order to finish on time for the bowl schedule, just finishing the season in full would be something to celebrate.

Oh, and vengeance against BYU would be a pretty good consolation prize.