After achieving an 8-4 overall record and 6-3 mark in Pac-12 play, Arizona State will travel to Las Vegas for a postseason matchup against Wisconsin (8-4, 6-3 Big Ten) in the SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl. The bowl game will be played on Thursday, Dec. 30, at Allegiant Stadium, the home of the Las Vegas Raiders. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 pm PT (8:30 Arizona time) and will be televised on ESPN.
The Badgers finished second in the Big Ten West under longtime head coach Paul Chryst. Since he was hired in 2014, Chryst has led Wisconsin to a 64-23 record in seven seasons as well as three Big Ten Championship berths. He has been voted Big Ten Coach of the Year twice in that span.
The Las Vegas Bowl will be Wisconsin’s 20th consecutive bowl game appearance. Chryst holds a 6-2 record in bowl games over his 10-year coaching career and is 5-1 since arriving in Madison. Wisconsin’s last postseason appearance was the 2020 Duke’s Mayo Bowl, a 42-28 victory over Wake Forest.
Wisconsin is headlined by sophomore quarterback Graham Mertz, who completed 58.7% of his passes for 1,821 yards, nine touchdowns, and ten interceptions. Mertz also rushed for four scores. He started all 12 games for the Badgers but struggled toward the end of the season, throwing just two touchdowns against six picks as the Badgers dropped three of their last four games.
Mertz’s top target through the air is senior wide receiver Danny Davis III. Davis notched 32 catches for 478 yards and two touchdowns over eight games for the Badgers. Another threat is senior tight end Jake Ferguson, who has been a consistent contributor over his four years with the team. Ferguson finished with a team-high 43 catches for 417 yards and scored twice this season.
On the ground, freshman running back Braelon Allen saw the majority of work in the backfield. The 6-2, 238-pound tailback saw 157 carries this season, which he turned into 1,109 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns, averaging an impressive 7.1 yards per carry. Allen eclipsed the century mark in seven games this season and recorded double-digit rushing attempts in all but two of his appearances for the Badgers.
Wisconsin ranks 13th nationally in rushing offense (second in the conference), 86th in scoring offense (ninth), and 118th in passing offense (13th in the conference), 86th in scoring offense (10th), and second in rushing offense (13th). The Badgers also rank 88th in red-zone offense, scoring 26 touchdowns and 13 field goals on 48 trips.
Wisconsin fields one of the most formidable defenses in college football, ranking first in yards allowed per game with 240.8. The Badgers allowed 24 touchdowns to its opponents (fifth-best in the nation) and 4.17 yards per play (second-best only behind Georgia). Wisconsin’s 33.0 sacks are tied with five other teams for 35th nationally, and the unit’s 15 picks are tied with ten other teams for 10th nationally, including ASU.
The last Las Vegas Bowl appearance for ASU was in 2018, Herm Edwards' first season in Tempe, which resulted in a 31-20 loss to Fresno State.
ASU has earned a bowl berth under Edwards in each of the full seasons played. In 2019 the Sun Devils beat Florida State 20-14 in the Sun Bowl.
The Las Vegas Bowl will be just the fourth time the Badgers and Sun Devils have faced off against each other. ASU currently has the edge with a 1-3 historical record. The last game between the two teams was in 2013, which resulted in a 32-30 ASU victory.
ASU, who is expected to begin bowl practices on December 14th, will not have the services of its star running back, Rachaad White, who will forego the bowl game in preparations for the NFL draft. White rushed for 1,000 yards and scored 15 touchdowns in the regular season. It is possible that other players will not partake in this postseason contest for that same reason or others.
