Prep work key to Chryst’s bowl success
MADISON – Paul Chryst executed a masterful sales job last December.
Wisconsin finished the regular season 5-4 in the Big Ten and 7-5 overall and was coming off a humbling loss to rival Minnesota.
For the first time since 2015, Chryst's first season as head football coach, UW did not reach the Big Ten title game.
The reward for UW? A finale against a 7-5 Miami team in the 2018 Pinstripe Bowl in New York.
Miami? Again? The teams had met the previous season in the Orange Bowl and UW rallied for a 34-24 victory to finish 13-1.
The buzz surrounding the rematch was muted.
“I think it is important that you make it important,” UW athletic director Barry Alvarez said. “I don't care what bowl it is. Normally you think of a bowl game, you're up north and you want to go south.
“We went to New York. Paul did a great job of making the game important. And the kids had a good experience. A lot of people don't do that.”
Although some UW fans didn't embrace the game, Chryst and his players appeared and sounded genuinely enthusiastic about a trip to New York and a chance to finish the season with a victory. That was particularly true for the seniors who walked off the Camp Randall Stadium field after the 37-15 loss to Minnesota.
Any questions about UW's preparation or motivation against Miami were answered quickly.
The Badgers took the opening kickoff and drove 65 yards in just six plays for a touchdown, a 35-yard strike from Jack Coan to Kendric Pryor.
Safety Eric Burrell's interception and 30-yard return on Miami's first offensive play set up Jonathan Taylor's 7yard touchdown run and UW had a 14-0 lead just 31⁄2 minutes into the game and went on to a 35-3 victory.
“I thought last year the game helped boost our kids' confidence and led us into this season,” Alvarez said. “It gave us momentum going into the off-season. Had a lot of young guys play and have success.”
Despite a 34-21 loss to then-No. 1 Ohio State in the Big Ten title game earlier this month, UW received a berth in the Rose Bowl.
The No. 8 Badgers (10-3), who have won at least 10 games for the fourth time in Chryst's five seasons as head coach, face No. 6 Oregon (11-2) at 4:10 p.m. on Jan. 1.
UW has won its last five bowl games, including four in a row under Chryst.
A review of those games reveals Chryst and his staff had the team well prepared in each game.
2015: UW closed the regular season with a 31-21 victory over rival Minnesota to finish 6-2 in the Big Ten and 9-3 overall.
The Big Ten losses came by a combined 10 points – 10-6 to Iowa and 13-7 to Northwestern, both home games.
UW closed the season with an entertaining 23-21 victory over USC in the Holiday Bowl.
The Badgers built a 10-0 lead midway through the second quarter, eventually built the lead to 20-7 and then used a 29yard field goal by Rafael Gaglianone and two defensive stands to prevail.
2016: UW blew a three-touchdown lead in the Big Ten title game en route to a 38-31 loss to Penn State. Instead of heading to the Rose Bowl as the Big Ten champion, UW faced Mid-American Conference champion Western Michigan in the Cotton Bowl.
UW (10-3) was ranked No. 8 in the polls; Western Michigan (13-0) was unbeaten and ranked No. 12 but some fans viewed the game as a no-win situation for UW. Win and you get little credit for beating a MAC team. Lose to a MAC team and you will face ridicule.
Chryst and his players didn't buy that narrative.
UW scored on its first two possessions – on drives of 75 and 88 yards – to build a 14-0 lead it never relinquished en route to a 24-16 victory.
2017: UW entered the Big Ten title game against Ohio State with a 12-0 mark and No. 4 in the College Football Playoff rankings.
A 27-21 loss to the Buckeyes ended UW's playoff hopes and it headed to the Orange Bowl ranked No. 6 to face No. 11 Miami.
UW used a 21-point second quarter to erase an early 14-3 deficit and won comfortably to become the first team in the history of the program to win 13 games.
Alvarez, who lauded Chryst's work in preparing the team for the Pinstripe Bowl last December, knows his coach won't have to use any type of sales pitch to get his players ready to face Oregon.
“This is a little different bowl,” he said. “This is the Rose Bowl. This is not chopped liver. This is top drawer now. This is big time.
“And you're playing a big-time opponent that is ranked higher than you. It is going to be a challenge. You want to prepare like you prepared for Ohio State in the championship game. It is really important.”