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Wisconsin Football: Comparing Badgers to Miami, by the numbers

By Trevor Jossart

MIAMI GARDENS, FL - DECEMBER 31: A detailed view of the trophy after the Clemson Tigers defeated the Oklahoma Sooners with a score of 37 to 17 to win the 2015 Capital One Orange Bowl at Sun Life Stadium on December 31, 2015 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
MIAMI GARDENS, FL - DECEMBER 31: A detailed view of the trophy after the Clemson Tigers defeated the Oklahoma Sooners with a score of 37 to 17 to win the 2015 Capital One Orange Bowl at Sun Life Stadium on December 31, 2015 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) /
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The Wisconsin Badgers and Miami Hurricanes will meet on December 30 in this year’s Orange Bowl

In one of the more intriguing matchups of the 2017 bowl season, the Miami Hurricanes will take on the Wisconsin Badgers on December 30 in the Orange Bowl. Basically a home game for the Hurricanes as the game will take place on their home field, the Badgers come into this game in a very similar state of mind as the Hurricanes, despite being outnumbered in various categories in the teams’ football histories.

This will be just the fifth all-time meeting between the two programs, with their last matchup coming back in 2009, a 20-14 victory for the Badgers in the Champs Sports Bowl. Wisconsin was then led by head coach Bret Bielema and took down the Hurricanes who were led by quarterback Jacory Harris. Miami won two meetings in the 1980s, while the Badgers blanked the Hurricanes 20-0 in their first ever encounter back in 1958.

Both Wisconsin and Miami stem from similar stories in 2017 as each team were one of the final three Power Five Conference teams to remain undefeated. The Hurricanes fell in their regular season finale on the road to Pittsburgh, while Wisconsin’s lone blemish comes at the hands of a 27-21 defeat to Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship.

On top of the similar path, both teams experienced more criticism than praise throughout the year. Many people had doubted both squads, either saying Miami had too many close calls or that Wisconsin’s strength of schedule and wins were unimpressive. While both teams fell short of a College Football Playoff berth, they each took the college football world by storm and had a shot at the end to make history.

Despite the similar 2017 seasons, both teams come from completely different histories. The Hurricanes on one hand have always been known as a blue-blood of college football, with multiple championships and talented players going in and out of Miami. Whenever the Hurricanes under perform, it becomes a story due to the magnitude of their impressive history.

On the flip side, before the 1990s the Badgers were abysmal- rarely ever talked about on a national scale. Today, they own one of the nation’s longest bowl streaks and are consistently ranked in the national poll, as well as competing for Big Ten titles- all without the major four and five-star players some of the other blue-bloods are receiving every year.]

Here are a few historical numbers to put in perspective (h/t Winspedia):

All-time win percentage

  • Miami – .632
  • Wisconsin – . 583

National championships

  • Miami – 5
  • Wisconsin – 0

Bowl games

  • Miami – 38
  • Wisconsin – 28

Bowl game win percentage

  • Miami – .500
  • Wisconsin – .500

NFL draft picks

  • Miami – 335
  • Wisconsin – 273

Heisman Trophy winners

  • Miami – 2
  • Wisconsin – 2

Conference championships

  • Miami – 9
  • Wisconsin – 14

Next: Predicting all 41 bowl games and CFB Playoff

While history does not mean much in present day contests, it is remarkable to see the various backgrounds of both the Badgers and Hurricanes. Each team has had a similar path in 2017, but history indicates one team has the edge.

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