[media-credit name=’DEREK MONTGOMERY/Herald photo’ align=’alignright’ width=’336′][/media-credit]Get ready Orlando, here come the Badgers.

After weeks of speculation as to the Badgers' postseason destination, the University of Wisconsin officially accepted a bid to participate in the Capital One Bowl Jan. 2. The No. 21 Badgers will face off against the No. 7 Auburn Tigers in the Orlando, Fla., bowl game.

This marks the first time in head coach Barry Alvarez's 16-year campaign in Madison that UW has participated in the Capital One Bowl or its predecessor, the Citrus Bowl.

"I think it was a fairly easy selection process for us. We've been trying to get Wisconsin here for about 20 years, and finally Barry's won exactly the right number of games," Florida Citrus Sports Executive Director Tom Mickle said. "I think we're already headed toward a quick sellout of the game, so we couldn't be more pleased with the matchup."

With the bid to play in the Capital One Bowl accepted, Alvarez has now led the Badgers into action at every Big Ten-affiliated Bowl Game with the exception of the Motor City Bowl.

"Knowing where our program was when we got here, and the fact that we've played in that many bowl games I think is outstanding and I'm proud of that," Alvarez said.

The contest also brings to a close a very successful chapter in Wisconsin history, as it will be the last time Alvarez marches the sidelines for the Badgers.

"He's brought a lot to college football; we're going to miss what he's brought to college football. He's brought a lot to our sport, but it's going to be fun for us to challenge him in his last college game," Auburn head coach Tommy Tuberville said.

The Badgers will face the Tigers in the postseason for the second time in three seasons. The last time the two teams faced off, a Jim Sorgi-led Wisconsin squad fell to Auburn 28-14 in the Music City Bowl after the 2003 season.

Despite finishing the season ranked No. 7 in both The Associated Press and USA Today Polls, Auburn was snubbed by the BCS for an at-large berth thanks in part to a No. 9 ranking in the final BCS poll. Last year, Auburn was the odd man out of the national championship game despite an unblemished record, and finished the year No. 2 in the nation with a perfect 13-0 record.

"I've always had great respect for Tommy and the teams that he's put together and how well he's coached," Alvarez said. "We saw it first-hand what a quality team they had two years ago, a team that very easily and probably should have been in the championship game. This year, they certainly had every right to be a BCS team."

With No. 8 Georgia securing a spot in the Nokia Sugar Bowl by virtue of its 34-14 upset of No. 3 LSU, Auburn beat out SEC rivals LSU and Alabama for the right to participate in the conference's second-best Bowl game.

"We tried to stay open-minded in our selection. Georgia, LSU, Alabama and Auburn were on our board, they all had nine wins coming into this past weekend, … and it really [Sunday] probably came down to Auburn and LSU," Mickle said. "It just turned out that with the game [Saturday night] that we felt Auburn was a better selection."

While the right to play in such a prestigious Bowl is quite an honor, some believe that a lesser Bowl game would have been more advantageous for the Badgers to send Alvarez out on top. However, UW's head coach isn't buying into this train of thought.

"Anyone that would make that type of argument isn't much of a competitor," Alvarez said. "When you play in games of this magnitude, you're going to play against great teams. It's going to be a very difficult task but that's the type — this is what it's all about, pitting yourself against outstanding competition."