INSIDE SLANT

Chris Maragos knows what you’re thinking. Wisconsin faced Florida State last year in the Champs Sports Bowl and looked achingly slow as the Seminoles hung the Badgers with a 42-13 loss. Now that the Badgers are matched up with Miami in this year’s Champs Sports Bowl, Wisconsin’s senior safety can write the storyline well in advance.

“Within the team we feel we can go out and compete,” Maragos told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “But outside the team everybody is going to say: ‘Rematch of last year. They’ve got skilled receivers. How are they going to match up against our corners? They have a good running back. We haven’t seen a guy with this much speed for our run defense.’

“For us, we’re going to prove that we can play with teams that people don’t think we can play with—teams that are fast and have great skill. It is going to be a good test. We’re excited for it. We’re excited to play the best possible team we can.”

This Wisconsin team isn’t the same as last year’s. While the pass defense hasn’t been perfect—the Badgers rank in the middle of the national pack in pass efficiency defense with a 128.7 rating—Wisconsin plays an aggressive style that works well for playmakers such as senior defensive end O’Brien Schofield and outside linebacker Chris Borland.

Miami quarterback Jacory Harris has proven he’ll make mistakes when harassed—he has thrown 17 interceptions this season—so it’ll be up to Badgers’ defensive coordinator Dave Doeren and his staff to dream up ways to get Schofield and Borland into the backfield. It helps that sophomore defensive end J.J. Watt and senior defensive tackle Jeff Stehle picked up the pace down the stretch to make the overall rush more dangerous.

NOTES, QUOTES

• For the fourth time in the last five years, Wisconsin gets to end its season in Orlando, Fla. On paper (particularly a piece with a map of Central Florida on it), it looks like the Badgers didn’t make any progress in a year’s time because they find themselves back at the Champs Sports Bowl.

But just as Jacksonville and Miami don’t have much in common other than the same state, neither do the 2008 Wisconsin squad and the 2009 crew that will face No. 15 Miami on Dec. 29 at Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium. Last year’s team finished 7-6 in a blaze as Florida State dismantled the Badgers 42-13 in the Champs Sports soiree. This year the Badgers head south with a 9-3 record, the No. 25 spot in the final regular-season BCS standings and a spirit that bigger things are around the corner.

As for the fact the Outback Bowl, which is played on prestigious New Year’s Day, bypassed Wisconsin in favor of Northwestern? And the fact that the Badgers are playing in a Florida bowl for the sixth year in a row? Bah, who cares?

“I couldn’t have asked for a better matchup,” fourth-year Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “For us to put two ranked teams in our bowl game…the whole season for us has been about gaining respect. I know we’ve played a lot of bowl games in Florida, but that is a positive thing. I’m thankful we’re not playing in Shreveport or Detroit.”

Scouting The Offense:   Wisconsin’s pro-style attack nearly achieved perfect balance during the regular season. Led by Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year John Clay, who led the league with 1,396 yards and 16 scores, the Badgers averaged a Big Ten-best 206.7 rushing yards per game. Quarterback Scott Tolzien feeds off Clay’s presence by operating play-action sets that gave the Badgers 209.2 passing yards per game. Senior TE Garrett Graham and WR Nick Toon don’t have obscene numbers, but there’s a reason Graham made the media’s all-Big Ten team and the coaches’ second-team unit. Wisconsin’s best blockers are on the left side, where guard John Moffitt and tackle Gabe Carimi earned all-league plaudits.

Scouting The Defense:   The Badgers’ 4-3 defense surrendered 85 points and 1,088 yards in their final three Big Ten games, but a huge effort in the regular-season finale against Miami restored confidence as well as the team’s national standing. Wisconsin ranks eighth nationally in rush defense (90.5 ypg) and 18th in total defense (310.4 ypg) as the front seven, led by DE O’Brien Schofield and OLB Chris Borland, fits right and makes the plays. The secondary hasn’t as good or as consistent, which could be a problem against pass-happy Miami, but second-team all-Big Ten safety Jay Valai picked off a pass against Hawaii as did LB Blake Sorensen.

Matchup To Watch:   Miami WR Leonard Hankerson vs. Wisconsin’s “quarters” defense—The Badgers like to ask their secondary to play zone and split the field into quarters, but that might invite the blurry-quick Hankerson to sizzle right through the seams in the zone. He averages 17.6 yards per catch on his 44 receptions and he posted touchdowns in six of Miami’s last eight games. Hankerson’s regular-season yardage total (773) ranks third on Miami’s list during this decade—trailing only All-Pro Andre Johnson. Wisconsin’s cornerbacks have had their ups and downs, but they’ll need to be disciplined in order to hang with the Hurricanes.

Other Key Matchups:   TB John Clay vs. OLB Colin McCarthy and MLB Darryl Sharpton.

The Big Ten’s Offensive Player of the Year led the league with 1,396 yards and 16 touchdowns. Much of his best work came between the tackles, where his massive line would carve out a crease and he used his power and speed to do the rest. It’ll be up to McCarthy and Sharpton, a pair of second-team all-ACC selections, to fight off the Badgers blockers at the second level and team up to bring down Clay.

WR Nick Toon vs. CB Brandon Harris.

Toon, the redshirt sophomore who’s the son of former UW (and New York Jet) great Al Toon, came on strong down the stretch of his first starting campaign. Toon grabbed 20 passes for 367 yards and two TDs in the final four games. He’ll need to bring his “A” game against Harris, a sophomore who earned first-team all-ACC honors. Harris intercepted just two passes, but he broke up 14 others and forced two fumbles.

Quote To Note:   “If you live in Wisconsin, any time you have a chance to go to Florida in December it isn’t a bad deal.”—Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema using the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel to try to rally the usual swarm of Badgers fans to Orlando.

STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL

Bowl Breakdown:  

Wisconsin vs. Miami, Champs Sports Bowl, Dec. 29, Orlando, Fla.—For the sixth year in a row, the Badgers end their season with a bowl in Florida. For the second year in a row, they’re in the Champs Sports Bowl against a team from Florida that should enjoy a nice home-field advantage. Wisconsin wants to earn its first 10-win season since 2006 while Miami wants its first double-digit victory total since 2003.

Players To Watch:  

TB John Clay—The Big Ten’s offensive player of the year is the linchpin to Wisconsin’s pro-style offense. The redshirt sophomore trampled his way to a league-best 1,396 yards and 16 touchdowns on the ground during the regular season.

DE O’Brien Schofield—With two sacks in the Hawaii finale, Schofield finished the year with 10 sacks and 22.5 tackles for loss. The speedster finished tied for third nationally in TFLs and moves all over the field in an effort to confuse offenses.

QB Scott Tolzien—The redshirt junior leaped from the third string (in the spring) to become the nation’s No. 29 passer in efficiency. Tolzien started every game and finished 192 of 302 (64 percent) for 2,445 yards, 16 TDs and 10 interceptions.

G/C John Moffitt—The junior missed the first two games of the season with an injured pectoral muscle, but came back strong enough to earned first-team all-Big Ten honors from the coaches and the media.

Roster Report:  

• C Peter Konz started the first 11 games, but the freshman sat out the season finale at Hawaii with inflammation in his lungs according to The Capital Times. Left guard John Moffitt moved back to the spot he held down last year, while true freshman Travis Frederick filled in at left guard.

• RT Josh Oglesby missed the season’s last three games with a knee injury. It’s not known whether he’ll return for the Champs Sports Bowl, though coach Bret Bielema initially thought Oglesby wouldn’t miss any time and that didn’t turn out to be the case.

• LB Mike Taylor led the team in tackles until the redshirt freshman went out for the year in Week 7 with a torn ACL in his knee. True freshman Chris Borland took his spot and earned the Big Ten’s Freshman of the Year honor.

• K Philip Welch missed an extra point against Hawaii, so Bielema sent out Borland to kick the next three conversions. The freshman hadn’t done that at the collegiate level.