Orange Bowl 2017: Latest Miami vs. Wisconsin Odds, Predictions and More

Had either Miami (Florida) or Wisconsin won their respective conference championships last week, they'd be preparing for different opponents in different bowl games—ones associated with the College Football Playoff.

Instead, they're three weeks away from a contest that, while still a big one, will lack the same sizzle of a semifinal after each fell short the last time they played.

By the time they kick off at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday, Dec. 30, though, expect any disappointment that came from those losses to have gone away.

"We're playing in one of the best bowl games against a great team," Wisconsin coach Paul Chryst said, per Jesse Temple of LandOf10.com. "That's enough to get your kids excited. That's a challenge, but it's one they've earned the right to have."

No. 6 Wisconsin (12-1) opened as a 5.5-point favorite over No. 10 Miami (11-1), per OddsShark, despite the game being in Hard Rock Stadium where the Hurricanes play their games. The line has since climbed to 6.5 points across the board, likely reflecting what early bettors think about how Miami looked in losing 38-3 to Clemson in the ACC title game.

That one game shouldn't take away from what Miami accomplished in 2017 under second-year coach Mark Richt, who was named the Walter Camp Coach of the Year.

Defense drove Miami throughout the season, allowing 19.9 points per game and 4.74 yards per play. Much of the attention was paid toward the "turnover chain" given to the player who recorded an interception or recovered a fumble, but just as important to the defensive strength was how the front seven managed to get to the quarterback.

We can't have a discussion about defense without bringing up Wisconsin. The Badgers yielded only 4.24 yards per play and 253.2 yards per game—the latter tops in FBS. The 27 points that Ohio State scored in the Big Ten championship were the most this season against Wisconsin, which gave up 13.2 on average.

Having such ironclad defenses in action could make this one of the lowest-scoring bowl games of the year, explaining the over/under of 45, per OddsShark. If there's someone on the offensive side who could break the stalemate, it's Wisconsin running back Jonathan Taylor.

The true freshman has run for 1,847 yards and 13 touchdowns, averaging 6.77 yards per carry. But he was held to a career-low 41 yards and just 2.7 yards per carry against Ohio State.

AJ Mast/Associated Press

Miami allows 3.53 yards per carry, and only three opposing players have topped the 100-yard mark against it this season.

Prediction

Miami has three weeks to get its offense back on track after managing only 17 points in its last two games. It will need every practice possible to figure out how to generate offense against Wisconsin.

The Hurricanes have their pride at stake playing this game at home, though Wisconsin won't be lacking for fan support as its sizable fanbase will make the trek south for the game.

If Miami can minimize the damage Wisconsin's Taylor does on the ground, it will cause the Badgers to turn to quarterback Alex Hornibrook, who has thrown 15 interceptions on just 284 attempts. That would play right into the 'Canes hands as they have picked off 17 passes.

How many times will we see that famed turnover chain? Enough to help the "home" team come out on top.

Miami 23, Wisconsin 20

Statistics are provided by CFBStats unless otherwise noted. Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.