MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – The Miami Hurricanes have found themselves in a relatively ideal situation.
Despite a two-game losing streak that ultimately kept Miami (No. 10; 10-2 overall) from playing in this year’s College Football Playoff, the ACC runner-up is in great position to knock off Big Ten runner-up and Orange Bowl opponent Wisconsin (No. 6; 12-1) tonight at Hard Rock Stadium. This is technically a “home” game for the Hurricanes, and it couldn’t have come at a better time.
“We know we have a tremendous opponent in Wisconsin,” Miami head coach Mark Richt said. “I’ve been saying it all along, the more film I watch, the more impressed I am with them. I’m a big guy on just fundamentals of blocking and tackling and playing hard and doing your job and doing it well, and that’s all you see from them. They are a great team.”
Richt delved further into how he sees the Orange Bowl turning out tonight.
“You don’t win as many games as they win without being that type of a football team, Richt said. “I think it’s going to be one heck of a battle. I know our guys are excited about the opportunity to compete. That’s one thing about our guys is they do like to compete. It ought to be one heck of a ballgame.”
Wisconsin head coach Paul Chryst concurs with Richt’s take on the Orange Bowl matchup.
“Every team that plays in a bowl game, they want to win their last game,” said Chryst, who led Wisconsin to a 12-0 regular season record before its Big 10 title game loss to Ohio State (27-21) on Dec. 2.
“It’s the last game for us that this group will be together. We’ll have guys go on,” Chryst continued. “So you’re proud of what they’ve done, and I think our team is proud of what they’ve done, and yet they know we’re not finished yet, and we certainly know that it won’t be easy going up against a really good Miami team. They’re well-coached, talented. But I think every team, we’re no different. You want to finish it out the best that you can, and you’d like to win it.”
Wisconsin will go into the Orange Bowl as the nation’s No. 1 defensive unit, a challenge that Miami’s offensive unit is ready to meet on the field. This could be the deciding factor in the game, as both teams could attest.
“I think guys are excited,” Wisconsin defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard said. “You get in the grind of a season, and you’re used to going and just playing week in and week out, and all of a sudden you hit a bowl game, and it’s a little bit different because physically you’ve got to take a little time to get these guys’ bodies back and mentally give them a little bit of a break, and then you reach that point where everyone is just ready to go. You get so much extra time watching tape and kind of talking the game plan, you just try to make ways to get it not stale and keep it fresh, and then eventually guys turn it up and go out there and get ready to compete.”
Leonhard has been intrigued by the tape he saw of Miami starting running back and Oxbridge Academy 2016 alum Travis Homer.
“He’s extremely dynamic,” Leonhard said of Homer. “You know, to me it’s the run game and the pass game. It’s not like he gets a ton of targets in the pass game, but it seems like good things happen when he gets the ball in his hands. I mean, very, very explosive out of the backfield, physical runner, obviously great — elusive, great speed. He’s a problem. He’s a handful. We’ve got to make sure we try to limit him early in the game.”
Homer spoke to media members earlier this week on his outlook for the Orange Bowl.
“They’re big and they’re strong,” Homer said. “They’re well-coached, so they’re a great defense. I think they’re going to pose a challenge for us. We’re just going to try to overcome it, which we can.”
The kickoff for tonight’s Orange Bowl is 8 p.m. It will be televised on ESPN.
PHOTO CREDITS: Keith Forde
