Champ Sports Bowl, Miami Hurricanes -vs- Wisconsin
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More on who to watch, with key match-up's and situational stats:
Miami's improvement this year is due in large part to the play of quarterback Jacory Harris, who is an emerging star. The sophomore quarterback threw for a healthy 3,164 yards and 23 touchdowns, but like many youngsters, he is prone to mistakes, throwing 17 interceptions.
Leonard Hankerson is the team's leading receiver and Harris' favorite target, pulling in 44 balls for 773 yards and six touchdowns.
Miami's ground attack is versatile and averaging a solid 144.4 ypg on the campaign. Graig Cooper leads the way with 666 yards, while Damien Berry is has accounted for eight of the team's 20 rushing touchdowns.
Defensively, the Hurricanes came on strong down the stretch and held three of their final four opponents to under 20 points. Miami gave up just 264.0 total ypg over that four-game stretch and will be focused on stopping Wisconsin's potent ground attack. The Hurricanes have been stingy against the run this season, permitting only 118.3 ypg and eight touchdowns on the ground.
The knock on this unit is that the group doesn't create enough big plays. Miami has forced 18 turnovers and recorded 23 sacks and those numbers are mediocre at best.
Darryl Sharpton leads the defense in tackles with 91, while Allen Bailey is the team's top pass rusher, racking up seven sacks and 11 TFLs.
It all about power football for the Badgers, who are pushing their way to 206.7 ypg on the ground. The punishing ground game has helped Wisconsin average 39 ppg over its last five outings and John Clay is the driving force behind this attack. Clay, the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year, has rushed for 1,396 yards and he is responsible for 16 of the team's 31 rushing scores.
The dominant ground game has helped to take some pressure off quarterback Scott Tolzien, who has responded by completing 63.6 percent of his pass attempts. Tolzien has thrown 16 touchdowns against 10 picks, but is the second option in this offense.
Nick Toon is the top target through the air with 52 catches and 779 yards, and expect Garrett Graham to get some looks as well after making 45 receptions and a team-best seven touchdown catches during the regular season.
Wisconsin's defense has been simply outstanding versus the run and is allowing just 90.5 ypg on the ground. Unfortunately, Miami is a more pass-oriented team and that is where the Badgers have some issues. Wisconsin has allowed 20 touchdowns and 219.9 ypg through the air, although the unit did come up with 15 interceptions.
Bringing down opposing quarterbacks is a strength of this group, as the Badgers have recorded 32 sacks. Leading the way in that department is O'Brien Schofield, who has just been a force, rolling up 10 sacks to go with 22.5 TFLs. He ranks third on the club with 59 overall stops and expect him to make his mark on this game.
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Nick Toon, WR for Wisconsin is the son of Al Toon, who also played for Wisconsin and was a star for the NY Jets. Nick is 6'3", 212 lbs, and mosty likely won't come out until 2012, which appears to be a deep class for WR's.
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Go Big Ten!
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Keep an eye on O'Brien Schofield (DE Wisconsin #50). He's an explosive edge rusher with the athleticism to play 3-4 OLB. However, instincts might be an issue: Wisconsin tried to turn him into a linebacker a few years ago, and he couldn't make it work.
Some think he'll end up being limited to a nickel rusher role, but I like his upside in the 3rd round.
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Keep an eye on O'Brien Schofield (DE Wisconsin #50). He's an explosive edge rusher with the athleticism to play 3-4 OLB. However, instincts might be an issue: Wisconsin tried to turn him into a linebacker a few years ago, and he couldn't make it work.
Some think he'll end up being limited to a nickel rusher role, but I like his upside in the 3rd round.
Keep an eye on O'Brien Schofield (DE Wisconsin #50). He's an explosive edge rusher with the athleticism to play 3-4 OLB. However, instincts might be an issue: Wisconsin tried to turn him into a linebacker a few years ago, and he couldn't make it work.
Some think he'll end up being limited to a nickel rusher role, but I like his upside in the 3rd round.
Nice player.
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Keep an eye on O'Brien Schofield (DE Wisconsin #50). He's an explosive edge rusher with the athleticism to play 3-4 OLB. However, instincts might be an issue: Wisconsin tried to turn him into a linebacker a few years ago, and he couldn't make it work.
Some think he'll end up being limited to a nickel rusher role, but I like his upside in the 3rd round.
Keep an eye on O'Brien Schofield (DE Wisconsin #50). He's an explosive edge rusher with the athleticism to play 3-4 OLB. However, instincts might be an issue: Wisconsin tried to turn him into a linebacker a few years ago, and he couldn't make it work.
Some think he'll end up being limited to a nickel rusher role, but I like his upside in the 3rd round.
Plays like his "Underwear is on fire"? LOL, who was the kid from Wisconsin that they said that about earlier inthe decade?
(No, not "Maddog in a meatlocker" Junkin)
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Wow, Clay is living up to the billing. Big, smart, patient, and can break away.
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Watch #50 on both teams #50 LB Darryl Sharpton of Miami is a stud, leads the Hurricanes in tackles and #50 DE O'Brien Schofieldof Wisconsin reminds me of Mike Vrabel.
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Sharpton's expected to go low in the draft because of his height (5'11") and below average coverage ability, but I like how he plays. He's made great strides from last year, when he didn't look like he knew what he was doing on the field.
Might be a late bloomer who surprises at the next level.
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I've liked Nick Toon everytime I've seen a Wisconsin game. I thought I was bias because of his dad, but the kid is running great patterns and catches the ball effortlessly. Even the catch out of bounds was a beauty.
Another one to follow over the next year or two.
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Wisc TE Lance Kendricks has a great pair of mits, and even Wisc RB John Clay picked a nice low pass off the carpet.
GO BIG TEN!!!
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Wisc TE, Kendricks has 7 catches 128 yards through 3-qtrs of play. Kids got great hands and gives his QB a nice target by sealing off his coverage.
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Man, Wisconsin is tough. They are letting the Hurricanes hang around but so far they have over-come everything from the fumble to every big gain this second half called back on a penalty.
I'm liking Wisconsins Junior QB Scott Tolzien.
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Great fumble recovery. C'mon Badgers. Close 'em out.
Go Big Ten!
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I'm telling ya, #50 Sharpton for Miami can play. Under-sized or not, that kid is the only one who can bring down Clay by tackling him up high.
#50 Schofield has definately lived up to his billing too.
Best Bowl game so far, IMO.
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Watch #50 on both teams #50 LB Darryl Sharpton of Miami is a stud, leads the Hurricanes in tackles and #50 DE O'Brien Schofieldof Wisconsin reminds me of Mike Vrabel.
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Physically, he reminds me of Bart Scott, but he's got more pass rush ability. All the tools are there - just gotta make sure he's got the mental makeup to play LB.
How did you like him dropping back into coverage on that first down play? He came back up and made the tackle at the line of scrimmage. that showed a lot of what he will need to do at the next level.
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