3 things to know for the Cotton Bowl

Need a brief primer before you attempt to watch all 40 bowl games this season? We’ve got you covered. Here are three things you need to know about the Cotton Bowl.

GOODYEAR COTTON BOWL CLASSIC
Western Michigan (13-0) vs. Wisconsin (10-3)
Jan. 2, 1 p.m. ET
ABC

— There are two undefeated teams remaining in college football: Alabama and Western Michigan. In the fourth year of P.J. Fleck’s tenure, the Broncos are 13-0 and looking to represent the Group of Five on a big stage. WMU began the year with two Big Ten road wins, setting the tone for its unbeaten trip through Mid-American Conference play. The Broncos capped off its unbeaten regular season by holding off Ohio 29-23 in the MAC title game to put themselves in position to play in a New Years Six bowl.

This is the last time we’ll get to see the Zach Terrell-Corey Davis connection for the Broncos. Both have had huge senior seasons. Terrell threw for 3,376 yards, 32 touchdowns and three interceptions while completing 70.8 percent of his passes. Davis, a potential first-round pick, has had a fantastic career. He enters the Cotton Bowl with 18 touchdown catches, second-most in the country, to go with his 91 receptions for 1,427 yards. The Broncos also have two really good running backs in Jarvion Franklin (1,300 yards, 12 TDs) and Jamauri Bogan (865 yards, 8 TDs).

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— For as good as Western Michigan’s offense has been all season, the Broncos haven’t faced a defense anywhere near the level of Wisconsin’s. The Badgers are second in the nation rushing defense (96.9 yards per game), fourth in scoring defense (15.5 points per game) and seventh in total defense (303 yards per game). The Badgers can also get after the quarterback, boasting a sack total of 32 on the year. T.J. Watt leads the team with 10.5 sacks and 14.5 tackles for loss. Watt, T.J. Edwards and Vince Biegel make up one of the best linebacker groups in the country.

If Wisconsin’s defense has a weakness, it’s in the secondary. The Badgers were solid for most of the year, but Penn State quarterback Trace McSorley torched them for 384 yards and four touchdowns in the Big Ten title game. Dealing with Terrell and Davis should be a big challenge.

— There’s no doubt the motivation level will be high for Western Michigan, but can Wisconsin match it? The Broncos want to finish the year with an undefeated record by picking up a win on a big stage. It would also cap off one of the best seasons for a Group of Five team in college football history and give the program just its second bowl win. Detractors of WMU will understandably point to the level of play in the MAC. A win over a team like Wisconsin would hush the doubters.

For Wisconsin, playing in the Cotton Bowl has to feel like a consolation. With a win over Penn State in the Big Ten title game, the Badgers had an outside shot at making the College Football Playoff. At the least, UW would have been playing in the Rose Bowl if it hadn’t blown a 28-7 lead against the Nittany Lions. Still, there weren’t high expectations for this team nationally when the season began, so a chance to finish with 11 wins should be enough to have the team fired up.

[Related: NFL draft prospects to watch in the bowl games]

Mascot fight prediction: I know nothing about the temperament of badgers but from a sheer size standpoint you’d be mistaken not to go with the bronco.

Real predictions:
Graham Watson: Wisconsin 42, Western Michigan 10
Nick Bromberg: Western Michigan 27, Wisconsin 17
Sam Cooper: Wisconsin 38, Western Michigan 20
Chris Herbert: Wisconsin 31, Western Michigan 13

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Sam Cooper is a writer for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!

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