UW-Miami box score

I'm still glowing from last night's Badger win, what a way to end the season and get a strong start on 2010. Again, more on that later. Let's look at the box score for some stats that may not have been available immediately after the game.

-Time of possession edge for Bucky: 39:15 to 20:45. Love it. Great balanced play calling by Paul Chryst and above average execution allows that to happen.

-More on that: Miami had 71 tackles, Wisconsin had 41.

-Red zone efficiency: 4-for-4. Stellar all year.

-The temperature was indeed 50 degrees at gametime. It just baffles me that this is heater weather for any team, even one from Florida. Did you see those fat guys from UCLA walking around shirtless in 30-degree Washington, D.C., before their bowl game? Wish I hadn't, but you have to like their attitude. Miami didn't have it.

-Niles Brinkley led us with six tackles. I thought the late hit penalty he got whistled for was iffy, but it was close enough to not be horrible.

-On penalties: I thought the two Kraig Appleton got called for were iffy, but close enough to be horrible. Glad to see him out there a lot, he could conceivably take a big step forward next year, a la Nick Toon this year.

-What a way for O'Brien Schofield to go out: two sacks and a forced fumble. You could argue that Scott Tolzien's performance had more to do with us reversing last year's course with his efficient play, but it's hard to argue that any single player was more important to this year's success than Schofield. He made a ton of tackles behind the line of scrimmage and exhibited terrific leadership. We've got a ton coming back next year, but O'Beezy will be tough to replace.

-Although J.J. Watt seems like a great bet to do it. Two tackles for loss, a fumble recovery and two pass breakups. It would be great to see a full year of J.J. at full strength.

-Chris Borland: two tackles for loss and two QB hurries. No extra points. Jae McFadden and Culmer St. Jean had solid games, but with Borland, Blake Sorensen and Mike Taylor coming back I'm not worried about this unit at all. Especially excited about Taylor's return.

-Another note on Brad Nortman: three punts downed inside the 20, only six punt return yards for Miami.

Watching the rest of these bowl games will be much more enjoyable after last night's win. Hopefully the Big Ten goes on to have a solid showing.