Wisconsin earned itself a 13th game to play after posting an 8-4 overall record and a 6-3 mark in Big Ten play for the 2021 regular season. Where will Paul Chryst and his Badgers travel to in the upcoming weeks? We will all find out on Sunday.
UW sits 5-1 in bowl games with Chryst as head coach, which includes two New Year's Six Bowl victories in 2016 and 2017. The lone loss came during the 2020 Rose Bowl in a 28-27 defeat to Oregon.
Last season, Wisconsin took advantage of four second-half interceptions on way to a 42-28 win over ACC opponent Wake Forest. Based on the most up-to-date projections by the national experts, perhaps a trip to the Sunshine State is in store? Let's take a look at some of those predictions.
OUTBACK BOWL
A few national reports project Wisconsin to be heading to Tampa for the Jan. 1 bowl game that will broadcast on ESPN2.
CBSSports.com's Jerry Palm projects Wisconsin and Kentucky (9-3 overall, 5-3 SEC) to the bowl inside Raymond James Stadium, updated as of Dec. 5.
Three writers believe the Badgers will play in this Florida-based bowl as well, and for that matter, against one particular SEC West foe. ESPN's Kyle Bonagura, The Athletic's Stewart Mandel and AthlonSports.com's Steven Lassan all released projections to see Wisconsin and Arkansas (8-4 overall, 4-4 SEC) face off.
UW is 2-3 all-time when playing in the Outback Bowl. Its lone wins came against Duke (1995) and Auburn (2015), while Georgia (1998, 2005) and Tennessee (2008) handed Wisconsin its trio of defeats.
Update, Dec. 5: Action Network's Brett McMurphy moved his projection for Wisconsin to the Vegas Bowl on Sunday morning. On Saturday, he had the Badgers going to the Outback Bowl. Kyle Bongura's latest updated projection late on Dec. 4 actually has UW facing Arkansas instead of Mississippi State, which he predicted earlier last week. Apologies for the disconnect there.
LAS VEGAS BOWL
This season, the bowl pits a program from the Big Ten and Pac-12 against one another on Dec. 30. The bowl's website shows that those two conferences, along with the SEC, are affiliated with the event.
ESPN's Mark Schlabach still projects Wisconsin to play against Arizona State (8-4 overall, 6-3 Pac-12). The Sun Devils finished their 2021 regular season winning three of their last four games. Yahoo! Sports predicts the same scenario.
Update, Dec. 5: Action Network's Brett McMurphy moved his projection for Wisconsin to the Vegas Bowl on Sunday morning. The opponent? You guessed it, Arizona State.
This would be the first time UW would participate in the Las Vegas Bowl.
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