Tennessee (9-4) vs. Wisconsin (9-3)
Jan. 1st,
11:00 a.m. ET, ESPN
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2008 Outback Bowl History, Each Team's Best Bowl Moments, & More
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|
National
Rankings |
|
Tennessee |
Wisconsin |
|
Total Offense |
|
55th 399.23 ypg |
44th 413.92 ypg |
|
Total Defense |
|
74th 407.62 ypg |
36th 350.42 ypg |
|
Scoring Offense |
|
30th 33.38 ppg |
45th 30.50 ppg |
|
Scoring Defense |
|
66th 28.08 ppg |
35th 23.33 ppg |
|
Run Offense |
|
70th 144.62 ypg |
19th 201.50 ypg |
|
Run Defense |
|
68th 162.54 ypg |
49th 139.75 ypg |
|
Pass Offense |
|
40th 254.62 ypg |
68th 212.42 ypg |
|
Pass Defense |
|
84th 245.08 ypg |
35th 210.67 ypg |
|
Turnover Margin |
|
29th 0.46 |
63rd -0.08 |
|
Tennessee
at
California L 45-31
So Miss
W 39-19
at
Florida L 59-20
Ark St
W 48-27
Georgia
W 35-14
at Miss St
W 33-21
at Alabama
L 41-17
S Car.
W 27-24 OT
UL Laf
W 59-7
Arkansas
W 34-13
Vanderbilt
W 25-24
at Kentucky W 52-50 4 OT
SEC Championship
Dec. 1 LSU L 21-14 |
Wisconsin
Wash State
W 42-21
at UNLV
W 20-13
The Citadel
W 45-31
Iowa
W 17-13
Michigan St
W 37-34
at Illinois
L 31-26
at Penn State
L 38-7
No Illinois
W 44-3
Indiana
W 33-3
at
Ohio State L 38-17
Michigan
W 37-21
at Minn.
W 41-34 |
|
Position
Ratings
relative to each
other |
|
T |
5
highest
1 lowest |
W |
|
4.5 |
Quarterbacks |
3.5 |
|
4 |
RBs |
5 |
|
3.5 |
Receivers |
3 |
|
4 |
O
Line |
4 |
|
3.5 |
D
Line |
4 |
|
4.5 |
Linebackers |
4 |
|
3.5 |
Secondary |
4 |
|
4 |
Spec
Teams |
4 |
|
4 |
Coaching |
4 |
|
In the whole SEC-is-great-Big-Ten-stinks
wave sweeping the nation, most forgot about what happened 365 days
before this key matchup of the two highest-profile leagues when
Tennessee lost the Outback Bowl to Penn State and Wisconsin won the
Capital One Bowl over Arkansas. For the Big Ten, getting as much
ammunition in the debate is a must, while for the SEC, and more
importantly, for Tennessee, a win here, along with a Florida win
over Michigan in the Capital One, might end the discussion for the
time being.
While the Big Ten's shining star, Ohio State, has yet to beat an SEC
team in a bowl game, Wisconsin has come up with two in the last two
seasons after losing the previous five times, including a 28-21 loss
to Tennessee in the 1981 Garden State Bowl. A third straight New
Year's Day win for the Badgers might bring some begrudging respect
from the SEC fans. Some.
Tennessee has been a strange team in a great season, getting blasted
in three early high profile regular season games against Cal,
Florida and Alabama, but it showed up ready to rock 'n' roll from
the opening kickoff in a 35-14 win over Georgia and came through
with every clutch play and big win needed over the last six weeks to
get to the SEC Championship where one awful throw for an
interception led to a 21-14 loss to LSU.
The overall athleticism is there, as always, and there are just
enough key players in important spots to come through when needed,
but this hasn't been a consistent team, and it tends to play up or
down to the competition. Once one of the strongest bowl teams around
under Phil Fulmer, the Vols have gone 2-5 since winning the 1998
Fiesta Bowl over Florida State for the national title. Getting to
the SEC title game got Fulmer off of any sort of hot seat, but he
could be right back on it if he doesn't buck the post-season trend.
Wisconsin hasn't had too many bowl problems winning six of its last
eight and nine of its last 12, but two of the losses came in the
Outback Bowl. Of course, this is a new team, and it'll seem like a
new one after having a month off to heal up after being one of the
Big Ten's most beaten up teams at the end of the year.
From injuries on the defensive line and secondary, to TE Travis
Beckum's shoulder, to QB Tyler Donovan's hand, to RB P.J. Hill's
thigh bruise, everyone had time to heal up, and this should be a
vastly different team than it would've been had the game been played
a week earlier. Not that the one over the final month was that bad.
Things appeared to be going into the tank in a hurry as injuries and
inconsistencies led the way to a two-game midseason losing streak
against Illinois and Penn State, with the trip to Happy Valley a
big-time clunker that appeared to be the end of any New Year's Day
bowl hopes. And then the defense turned things up a few notches
allowing just six points in blowout wins over Northern Illinois and
Indiana before playing Ohio State tough for three quarters, only to
get steamrolled over in the fourth in a 38-17 loss. With wins over
Michigan and Minnesota, the latter being a tougher battle than it
should've been, Wisconsin is in a position to come up with its third
double-digit win season in a row and 32 win in three years.
It's the first game of the new year, and it should be a great one.
Get the two TVs fired up with the Missouri vs. Arkansas Cotton Bowl
starting soon after, but make sure to keep an eye on this one.
Whatever happens, you're probably going to hear about it in one way
or another for the next year.
Players to watch: Just how healthy is P.J. Hill? The
bruising Badger star tried to give it a go late in the year with a
variety of leg problems, but was limited to just five carries for 14
yards against Michigan and sat out the Ohio State and Minnesota
games. Probable with a deep thigh bruise, he'll likely give it a go
and be good for 10-15 carries, but he's not going to carry the
entire workload by himself. He won't have to.
5-11, 185-pound Zach Brown isn't nearly the battering ram
that Hill is, but he proved down the stretch that he can provide a
little bit of pop to go along with his breakaway speed. He ran for
108 yards and two touchdowns in the win over Michigan, and then, as
the only real rushing option, he carried it 29 times for 250 yards
and two scores in the win over Minnesota. At the time, he was the
only back for the Gopher game because Lance Smith was being
disciplined for an off-the-field incident by not being allowed to
travel to road games. He'll get to play against Tennessee, providing
ultra-fresh legs and an extra burst of speed in the Badger
backfield.
With the way the Badgers are going to want to run the ball,
Tennessee's tackling machine Jerod Mayo should come up with a
huge game. Talent was never an issue, but staying healthy was, and
now he's been able to show what he could do getting through the
season relatively injury free making 127 tackles including 49 in his
last three games. While he has the speed to make plays in pass
coverage, and can get into the backfield on occasion, his job will
be to consistently hold up against the run for a full four quarters.
If he's making tackles, things should be fine for Tennessee, but if
it's star safety Jonathan Hefney
making the stops, there will be
problems since that'll mean the UW backs are running well past the
first level. Hefney will have his hands full keeping an eye on TE
Travis Beckum, a Mackey Award finalist who led the Badgers with
73 catches for 960 yards and six scores. The second-leading UW
receiver caught just 25 passes.
Tennessee
will win if... it stuffs the run. Wisconsin isn't the pure
ground attack team is has a reputation for being, but everything
revolves around pounding the ball. The Badgers ran for fewer than
150 yards in three games this season, and it happened to be three
games they lost being held to 127 yards by Illinois, 87 by Penn
State, and 12 against Ohio State. While the Illini, Nittany Lions
and Buckeyes did a fantastic job of stopping the Badger backs, the
net numbers also came from generating sacks. Tennessee's defensive
line has been a bit of a disappointment, especially when it comes to
getting into the backfield, but the Wisconsin line will give up
sacks and has trouble against the more athletic speed rushers. If
the Tennessee defensive line has a great game, Wisconsin will be in
big trouble.
Wisconsin will win if...
it wins the wars in
the trenches. Controlling the game with the running game, especially
into the second half, is a must, but just as important will be to
get to QB Erik Ainge and make him hustle his throws. That'll be
easier said than done against a Tennessee offensive line that was
the best in the nation in sacks allowed giving up a mere four, but
as LSU showed in the SEC Championship,
just getting close to Ainge might be good enough. Ainge is terrific
at getting the ball out of his hands in a hurry and avoiding the
sack, and while he'll be happy to throw the ball away when needed,
he'll also occasionally try to make a pass or two that isn't there.
Usually he gets away with it, but the Badger corners are too
talented to let too many mistakes get by them.
What will happen: This will be the Badger team everyone was
thinking it would be at the beginning of the year. Wisconsin has
problems with spread offense and running quarterbacks. Facing
Florida would've been a real problem, but Tennessee's attack is a
near-perfect matchup for the Badger D. Tennessee's defense will
force more than its share of three and outs, but Wisconsin will come
up with one of its crispest games of the year and give the Big Ten a
major feather in its cap.
Line: Tennessee -3.5 ... CFN Prediction:
Wisconsin
24 ... Tennessee 20
2008 Outback Bowl History, Each Team's Best Bowl Moments, & More
