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Wisconsin to face Arizona State in 2021 Las Vegas Bowl

The Badgers' men's basketball program hit the jackpot in Vegas in late November. Can the football team do the same later this month?

UW (8-4 overall, 6-3 Big Ten) and Arizona State (8-4 overall, 6-3 Pac-12) will tussle in Sin City in the 2021 SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl on Dec. 30, as announced by the bowl on Sunday afternoon. Action Network's Brett McMurphy first reported the news right before the release.

Kickoff will be at 9:30 p.m. CT inside Allegiant Stadium, and ESPN will carry the non-conference clash.

“I’m extremely proud of our team for earning the right to play another game together, and we are excited that opportunity will come in the Las Vegas Bowl,” Wisconsin head coach Paul Chryst said in a released statement on Sunday. “We look forward to the challenge of playing a very good Arizona State team.”

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Wisconsin claimed bowl eligibility for the 20th straight season in 2021. The program only trails Georgia (25) and Oklahoma (23) in that regard -- placing it as the third-longest mark in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), according to UW's game notes.

UW currently sits 17-15 all-time in bowl games played in the program's history. It has won six of its last seven postseason contests, including a 5-1 mark during Chryst's tenure dating back to the 2015 season.

The Badgers have won two New Year's Six Bowls with Chryst leading the program, defeating Western Michigan in the 2017 Cotton Bowl and Miami in the 2017 Orange Bowl. The lone loss in the last seven seasons came at the hands of Oregon in a 28-27 defeat in the 2020 Rose Bowl in Pasadena.

Wisconsin started the 2021 season 1-3 with losses to Penn State, No. 5 Notre Dame and No. 2 (and eventual Big Ten champion and College Football Playoff contender) Michigan. The Badgers then pulled off seven consecutive wins to help put themselves in control of their path to a Big Ten West championship; however, Minnesota played spoiler in a 23-13 UW defeat in Minneapolis on Nov. 27.

Now, Wisconsin receives an opportunity to end the season on a high note and claim one more victory in 2021.

“We are very excited to be the inaugural Big Ten team to play in the Las Vegas Bowl,” Wisconsin athletic director Chris McIntosh said in the same released statement on Sunday. “Our fans have a great tradition of support in Vegas, even as recently as a couple weeks ago when our men’s basketball team won the Maui Invitational. Allegiant Stadium is a tremendous venue and I know our players will have a great bowl experience.”

Wisconsin trails the all-time series with Arizona State 3-1. Here are some quick facts and takeaways about the Sun Devils from their 2021 season.

QUICK FACTS ON ARIZONA STATE

*Record: 8-4 overall, 6-3 Pac-12

*Points per game: 29.7

*Opponents' points per game: 20.9

*Rushing yards per game: 204.5 (on 5.3 yards per carry)

*Opponents' rushing yards per game: 128.7 (on 3.6 yards per carry)

*Passing yards per game: 197.7

*Opponents' passing yards per game: 199.7

*Third-down conversions: 44.1%

*Opponents' third-down conversions: 35.9%

*Turnovers created: 20 (15 interceptions, five fumble recoveries)

*Turnovers lost: 21 (9 interceptions, 12 fumbles lost)

*Time of possession per game: 29:33

*Sacks credited: 25

*Sacks allowed: 20

1) Wisconsin will face another team that likes to run the ball; however, their main back will not be with them

Arizona State averages 204.5 rushing yards per game heading into the bowl matchup -- 24th in the nation -- and picks up over five yards per carry. The Sun Devils boasted a 1,000-yard back in redshirt senior Rachaad White. In 11 games, he ran for 1,006 yards on 5.5 yards per attempt with 15 rushing touchdowns.

Oddly enough, however, White only ran for over 100 yards twice in 2021 -- a 202-yard effort against USC and an 184-yard performance the following week against Washington.

However, it appears White will not play in Vegas. Reports from The Athletic, AllSunDevils.com and The State Press noted that the back told the Pac-12 Network after the Arizona win that he would forego the bowl game to concentrate on the upcoming NFL Draft.

DeaMonte Trayanum, a former Wisconsin recruiting target, was third on the team in rushing (402 yards on 5.2 yards per carry, six touchdowns), but he entered the transfer portal in late November.

There's also another player to watch in carrying the rock, and that leads us into point No. 2...

2) Wisconsin will face yet another dual-threat quarterback

Quarterback Jayden Daniels completed 66.4% of his throws for 2,222 yards and 10 touchdowns to nine interceptions during the regular season. He also rushed for 670 yards on 5.6 yards per carry with six additional rushing scores.

Wisconsin struggled this year against another dual-threat quarterback, Nebraska's Adrian Martinez, giving up 351 passing yards and a touchdown pass in a win over the Huskers. Martinez also ran for 23 yards and a rushing touchdown.

However, with two Arizona State backs no longer playing for the Pac-12 program, how will that affect Daniels' production?

3) Arizona State's defense statistically looks decent against the run, though it has given up some bigger totals to a few Pac-12 opponents.

Arizona State gives up 128.7 rushing yards per game, which places them 34th in the FBS as of Sunday. It has held six teams under 100 yards: Southern Utah (78), UNLV (88), Stanford (13), USC (92), Washington (95) and Arizona (50). The Sun Devils also allow under four yards per carry on the season.

That being said, four opponents have accumulated 180 or more rushing yards -- Colorado (183), UCLA (190), Utah (208) and Oregon State (237). Here's where those teams rank respectively in the FBS in rushing offense as of Sunday:

*Buffaloes (99th)

*Bruins (16th - 215.1 yards per game, just behind UW)

*Utes (14th - 216.1 yards per game, just ahead of UW)

*Beavers (12th - 217.4 yards per game)

4) Turnovers may be key again

Arizona State ranks tied for 10th in the nation in interceptions (with Wisconsin and many others) with 15 on the season. The program overall holds 20 takeaways, including five fumble recoveries.

However, the Sun Devils also sit at -1 in turnover margin this year due to nine interceptions thrown and 12 lost fumbles.

Wisconsin has created 23 turnovers (15 interceptions, eight fumble recoveries) and lost 22 (12 interceptions, 10 fumbles lost).

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