It's official, Pasadena and the Texas Christian University Horned Frogs lay ahead for the 11-1 Badgers. While TCU was left out of the BCS Championship game, the Mountain West champions are about as formidable a foe as Wisconsin could face.
TCU comes in with a 25-game regular season win streak, the nation's longest, as well as the nation's top scoring and total defense. Thus, the matchup between the Horned Frog defense and the Badgers' fourth-ranked scoring offense will be the focus as New Year's Day approaches.
""I haven't seen any of their games live, but I think at this point we all know statistically wise,"" senior quarterback Scott Tolzien said. ""It will be exciting to prepare against the best.""
The spotlight on the power of Wisconsin's offense and TCU's defense doesn't bother a Badger defensive unit that has become used to sliding under the radar all season.
""All year our offense has been shining, and we like it that way,"" senior linebacker Culmer St. Jean said. ""They put up great numbers, and we just like doing the work ... It's a big game, a big stage, and we approach every team the same and we want to just go out there running with a full head of steam.""
While TCU is currently a non-automatic qualifier team, the Horned Frog program has gained enough acclaim on the national stage, not to mention a No. 3 BCS ranking, that Wisconsin will most likely come into the Rose Bowl as underdogs.
""I never really used the [word] underdog,"" Wisconsin head coach Bret Bielema said. ""I think this is a way for our program to get a lot of respect. To go out and win a BCS game, anytime you're able to that, as much as I love the seniors that are in this room, we have a lot of good players coming back and hopefully it's a great way to send our program into 2011.""
Already having taken down another undefeated power this season in Ohio State, the Badgers now have four weeks of preparation before they try and duplicate the feat against TCU. After seven straight wins, one more foe stands in the way of a magical finish to an already fantastic season for this Wisconsin team.
""We're not going to play in a bowl game, we're going to win a bowl game…"" Tolzien added. ""No one remembers who lost these games.""
