Wisconsin Football: Preview, prediction for Orange Bowl vs. Miami

In a battle of the runner ups, Miami and Wisconsin football battle it out for the Orange Bowl title. Here is our preview of the matchup.

Both Wisconsin and Miami were in consideration for the College Football Playoff up until the very end. However, losses in their conference championship games knocked them out of contention. Wisconsin is known for physical defense and a power run game.

Miami is known for speed and agility on both sides of the ball as well as the turnover chain. Which team will have the upper hand on Saturday night?

Here is how you can watch the matchup:

Date: Saturday, Dec. 30
Time: 9:00 pm ET
Location: Miami, Fla.
Venue: Hard Rock Stadium
TV: ESPN
Live Stream: WatchESPN

Keys to Victory

For Miami, they are already playing in their home stadium. They need to take advantage of that. It is a no brainer that the stadium will have quite a few Canes fans as they don’t have to travel very far. They will also need to focus on more than just turnovers, something that can really doom a defense and fast. While getting Wisconsin to turn the ball over would be great, their focus should be to stop the power run game that the Badgers bring to the table.

For Wisconsin, they need to take care of the ball. That is paramount. The less the Badgers see the “turnover chain” the better. This team did not go 12-0 without serious amounts of talent. It is time to show that talent on the big stage, in their opponent’s home stadium. Their defense will need to play their physical, powerful game from the first snap, not allowing Miami to really get anything going against them.

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Prediction

This game is bound to be a close one. Two defenses battling it out and two offenses trying to find weaknesses in the defensive front. While I think Miami forces a turnover or two, in my mind this is Wisconsin’s game to lose. They are the most complete of the two teams and that will show on Saturday night. The running game will click for the Badgers, running over the Miami defense. The Badgers win this one by three and head into the 2018 season with quite the bright future.

Final Score: Wisconsin 24, Miami 21