WMU rowing to Cotton Bowl to play Big 10 runner-up Wisconsin

Western Michigan is one of just two Divison I teams to go undefeated this year, the other being Alabama.

And yet here the Broncos are, preparing for a Cotton Bowl duel against a Wisconsin team whose players aren’t any more familiar with Western Michigan than I am.

The Broncos were the highest-ranked Group of 5 team, which gave them the opportunity at a New Year’s Six bowl. The Badgers (10-3) almost won the Big Ten title, but Penn State stormed back in the second half to knock off Wisconsin.

The New Year’s Six will conclude with Big 12 champion Oklahoma taking on Auburn in the Sugar Bowl. Western Michigan is one of two unbeaten teams left in the FBS, with Alabama being the other. The Broncos beat two Big Ten teams early this season, 22-21 at Northwestern and 34-10 at IL. “Western Michigan at 13-0, conference champion, what they’ve accomplished this year is tremendous”.

The next group of bowl selections are in, and Western Michigan is going to row its boat to the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic.

Western Michigan heading to Cotton Bowl. It’ll be a challenge for us, but I’m glad it’s like that where our kids will be, they’ve got to prepare and do all we can to have a chance.

The Cotton Bowl will be played on January 2 at AT&T Stadium.

The Badgers come in at 10-3, after being gutted in the Big Ten Championship against Penn State.

It appears the final obstacle to the WMU Broncos playing in this year’s Cotton Bowl has been eliminated thanks to Temple’s 34 to 10 upset win over Navy Saturday afternoon.

The Broncos and Badgers have met four times with Wisconsin taking three matchups.

RB Corey Clement, 1,304 yards, 14 TDs rushing. The Broncos are skilled enough that if the Badgers bounce back and play their best, the game likely won’t be over quickly.

Western Michigan has the pieces in place to battle Wisconsin and keep this game close for most of the game. Wisconsin has played the Broncos since a 19-7 victory to kick off the 2000 season and are 31-2 all-time against teams now in the Mid-American, including a 54-10 win over Akron in week two. The Badgers won the last meeting 19-7 in 2000, two years after Western Michigan got its only win in the series.