Orange Bowl Notes

Orange Bowl Notes
December 29, 2017
By Bookmaker

The Miami Hurricanes and Wisconsin Badgers were both on the verge of the College Football Playoff heading into conference championship week. Neither one ultimately got the job done in their biggest games of the season, but the fact that they're both getting a chance to play in the New Year's Six isn't a bad consolation prize.

"The U" is Back

Mark Richt has done a remarkable job with his alma mater. The Hurricanes have won 10 games for the first time since 2003. This is also their first trip to a New Year's Six/BCS game since '03 as well.

The biggest problem Miami had in the Al Golden and Randy Shannon eras was that it couldn't win a bowl game. The Hurricanes went 0-6 SU and ATS in six bowl games under their two previous coaches.

Richt won his first bowl game with the Canes in last year's Russell Athletic Bowl.

The Turnover Chain

Miami enters the bowl season No. 4 in the nation in forced turnovers. The Hurricanes have found ways to turn over even the most careful teams in America, and they're going to have their work cut out for them against Wisconsin.

The Badgers did play one more game than most teams this year, but they ranked No. 105 in turnovers lost.

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Alex Hornibrook is a decent game manager, but when he's forced to put the ball in air, there are problems. He was picked off twice in the Big Ten Championship Game. When he needed to drive the ball down the field to win the Big Ten and get into the CFP, it never felt like he had a shot against the Ohio State defense.

Spreading Sunshine at the Orange Bowl

Florida teams have a great history of playing in the Orange Bowl. Last year, Florida State was an underdog against Michigan and pulled off a 33-32 upset. The last time a Florida team was beaten in the Orange Bowl was in 2006.

Miami last played in the Orange Bowl in 2004, a 16-14 win over hated FSU.

Meanwhile, Big Ten teams haven't had any luck in South Beach. Iowa was the last Big Ten team to win the Orange Bowl in 2010. Since then, Ohio State and Michigan have both lost this game.

Bouncing Back

The Badgers went 8-5 ATS this year. Every time they failed to cover, they bounced back the very next game and posted an ATS victory.

Wisconsin's fifth failed attempt at beating the spread came in the Big Ten Championship Game. Just remember that last season, the Badgers were in the same boat. They were beaten in the Big Ten title game and played in a New Year's Six bowl game. They did beat Western Michigan but ultimately didn't cover the spread.

Miami, meanwhile, is 0-4 ATS in games after scoring fewer than 20 points in its previous game.

The Hurricanes have had a history of slacking in games where things either start to go wrong or aren't all that important. They were beaten up badly by Pittsburgh in the last game of the regular season when they knew they would reach the College Football Playoff with a win over Clemson. Then when the ACC Championship Game started to go south, there was no pulse shown the rest of the way.

Considering the downgrade from the CFP to the Orange Bowl, Richt is going to have a tough time keeping his team motivated.

Orange Bowl Game Odds for Saturday, December 30
Wisconsin vs. Miami (+5.5, 45)