First ' Goal: Dec. 10
December 10, 2009 | Football
Dec. 10, 2009
MADISON, Wis. --
The 411
Wisconsin will face Miami (9-3 overall, 5-3 ACC Coastal Division) in the 2009 Champs Sports Bowl on Dec. 29 at the Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium in Orlando, Fla. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. CST. ESPN will televise the game live.
The team has been off since returning from Hawaii, but will reconvene tomorrow.
Bowl Talk
Some University of Wisconsin football fans might be tired of the Champs Sports Bowl and Orlando, Fla. But Champs officials don’t seem to be weary of the Badgers, according to Tom Mulhern of Madison.com.
A win over Miami on Dec. 29 in the Champs Bowl in Orlando, Fla., would help validate the Badgers’ season and recovery, says Mike Lucas of Madison.com.
At the risk of sounding like he’s selling tickets to the Champs, Tom Oates of Madison.com says it’s silly to consider this bowl a step down. Indeed, the matchup between two 9-3 teams — 20th-ranked UW of the Big Ten and 14th-ranked Miami (Fla.) of the ACC — is better than the Badgers could have hoped for, better even than the New Year’s Day matchup with Auburn (7-5) in the Outback Bowl that it desired.
Mark Schlabach of ESPN.com ranked all 34 bowl games and has the Champs Sports Bowl at No. 17.
Stewart Mandel of SI.com did the same thing, but had the Badgers’ game at No. 10.
Season Recap
Adam Rittenberg of ESPN.com has his recap of the 2009 season for the Badgers.
Rittenberg also has his recap of the 2009 Big Ten season and hands out some awards, including John Clay as Offensive MVP and Wisconsin as his biggest surprise.
Four Badgers made it onto Rittenberg’s All-Big Ten team, while two UW linebackers were among his freshmen of the year.
Final Grades
Michael Bleach and Jordan Schelling of the Badger Herald provide their grades for the football team this season.
Badgers host inaugural Football Awards Show
Badger fans are invited to celebrate with the team and coaching staff at the Wisconsin Football Awards Show on Friday, Dec. 11, at 7:30 p.m. at the Kohl Center. Admission is free. A brand new event designed for fans of all ages, the Wisconsin Football Awards Show will feature presentations of the program’s post-season awards including Rookie of the Year, Scholastic Player of the Year, Badger Power Award, Team MVP and more. Fans also have the chance to vote for the Play of the Year.
Badgers in the Pros
• Jim Sorgi appeared in only one game this season, but a shoulder injury will now cause him to miss the rest of the year.
• The New York Giants are looking for Travis Beckum to start making an impact, writes Mike Garafolo of The Star-Ledger.
Tweet of the Day
UWMadisonNews Today Show, CNN, GMA, Weather Channel, NYT all showing the nation how Badgers roll on a Snow Day! http://bit.ly/6hZGo3 Posted Dec. 10 at 9:43 a.m.
Follow us at Twitter.com/BadgerFootball and Coach Bielema at Twitter.com/BretBielema.
What you won’t find on Facebook
If a pro football career doesn’t work out, Jaevery McFadden says he plans to go back to school, get his masters, then either own a business or be a principal or high school teacher.
Note of the Day
With two kickoff returns against Hawaii, David Gilreath tied the Big Ten record for career kickoff returns (106). He is tied with former Badger Brandon Williams and Michigan State's Derrick Mason.
Become a Badger Football Insider
Think these links were good? You should see what we have on the Badger Football Insider. Get daily news delivered to your inbox when you sign up and never miss a thing about Coach Bielema’s squad.
If you have any links that you think would be worthy of 1st & Goal, email them to Karl Anderson at kga@athletics.wisc.edu.
