Florida State vs. Wisconsin

Seminoles -5 1/2 vs. Badgers

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A few years back an American television network produced some low-budget pieces involving rabid animals, out of control cars and other wacky activities and behavior. These shows were usually called, “When Animals Attack” or a reasonable facsimile. If someone produces a movie about this past years University of Wisconsin season, it should be named, “When Good Seasons Go Wrong.”

On September 27, the 3-0 Badgers visited Ann Arbor to take on the hapless Wolverines. They raced out to an 18-0 lead and put on cruise control until Michigan began climbing back into the game late in the third quarter. The end result was a stunning 27-25 loss when a holding call erased a game-tying two-point conversion. The game seemed to demoralize Wisconsin as they dropped their next four and five out of the following six.

The week following the Michigan loss, the Badgers faced off against the Buckeyes in Columbus and once again watched a late lead evaporate into a loss. Over one month later, on November 1, as Wisconsin tried to build on their first victory since September 13 the week before, the Badgers once again blew a late fourth quarter lead and watched the Spartans kick a game-winning field goal in East Lansing.

Yet coach Brett Bielema was able to get his players to play hard down the stretch to win three straight, become bowl eligible and achieve a 7-5 season, something unthinkable during the Badgers losing skid. Their reward for the turnaround is a December 27th trip to Orlando to take on Florida State in the Champs Sports Bowl.

The Seminoles (8-4) was the opposite of the Badgers. Florida State played well the first half of the season but stumbled their way down the stretch, landing in this bowl game. Florida State is now appearing in their third-straight non-January 1st (or later) bowl game after 15 straight years of going to January 1st (or later) Bowl games. The good news for Florida State, however, they now own the longest bowl streak at 27, after Michigans lousy season broke their streak of 33.

These teams have never met before.

This will be Wisconsins 20th bowl game. They have gone 10-9 in the previous 19, including last seasons Outback Bowl loss to Tennessee. This will be Florida States 37th postseason affair, having gone 20-14-2. They were defeated by Kentucky in last seasons Music City Bowl.

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