Wisconsin to Face Wake Forest in the Duke's Mayo Bowl

MADISON, Wis. – Of all the players who have come out publicly to say they would play in a bowl game if invited, Wisconsin senior Eric Burrell gave the simplest explanation as to why the Badgers wanted to keep their season going when so many others decided to be done.

“We missed three games,” he said. “We’ve got to make that up. This was a crazy game and I just liked how everybody came together. That is what brothers are supposed to do and that is what we did. If the opportunity comes and we get into a bowl game, I think we’ll all be excited.”

Imagine then that the mood around the program is jovial Sunday, as Wisconsin accepted an invitation to play in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl in Charlotte, N.C., on Dec.30 (11 a.m./ESPN). It marks the 19th consecutive season the Badgers will play in a bowl game, extending the longest streak in the conference.

The Demon Deacons finished the season with an 4-4 overall record, with a four-game winning streak in the middle of the season. Three of their four losses were to Top 25-ranked ACC opponents (Clemson, North Carolina, NC State). They have won five of their last seven bowl games, with the two losses by only six points each.

While the bowl was not the desired end destination for Wisconsin as the season began, the selection caps a season

Wisconsin began the season ranked No.12 in the AP poll, saw its nonconference games get canceled, received a new 10-game schedule and see that schedule get canceled entirely less than a week later.

Once its games finally started, UW soundly beat Illinois at home before a COVID outbreak within its program forced the Badgers to cancel their road game at Nebraska and home game against Purdue. The Badgers returned to crush Michigan on national television, ascending to No.10 in the poll.

A loss at Northwestern the following week put Wisconsin essentially knocked the Badgers out of the Big Ten West race and the Gophers canceling their Nov.28 game. Injuries and a lack of execution sent Wisconsin to consecutive losses to No.10 Indiana and No.19 Iowa.

Perhaps that’s why there was a euphoric eruption from Wisconsin’s sideline following Collin Larsh’s 30-yard overtime field goal, and why the celebration with Paul Bunyan’s Axe seemed to take a little longer than usual.

“There’s definitely a relief with all the things we’ve gone through to get a win like this,” senior receiver Jack Dunn said. “It just feels really good, especially against Minnesota.

“Everybody has been through adversity with what’s going really around the world right now. At the end of the day, we’re just playing football. There’s a lot more serious things going on. But when you boil it down to just football, there’s been a lot of obstacles and we’ve had to persevere through them. It’s a great feeling when guys step up and do the things they have to do to help us win games.”