[media-credit name=’Derek Montgomery’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]The Wisconsin men’s football team was officially extended an invitation to the 2005 Outback Bowl last Tuesday. The Badgers will square off with an as-yet-undetermined opponent from the South-Eastern Conference in the New Year’s Day event in Tampa, Fla.

“We are proud to welcome the 9-2 Badgers to the Outback Bowl,” Team Selection Chairman Bernie O’Brien said. “We are looking forward to matching them up with a highly ranked SEC opponent.”

Wisconsin enters the event in the midst of a two-game losing streak that has seen its ranking drop from No. 4 in the nation to No. 17 in the latest polling. A win against either Iowa or Michigan State would have ensured UW a spot in the Rose Bowl and a share of the Big Ten title.

“We’re definitely disappointed,” junior receiver Brandon Williams said after the Badgers fell to the Hawkeyes. “But we still have a lot to play for this season. We’ve still got a big game left.”

Wisconsin has twice appeared in the Outback Bowl, winning in 1995 and losing in 1998.

“It’s great to have Coach Alvarez and an outstanding Badger team back to Tampa for the third time,” said Outback Bowl Chairman Chuck Johnson. “The Badgers have been one of the top teams all season and will be an outstanding Big Ten representative in what we feel will be another great Outback Bowl match-up.”

The Badgers’ likely opponents in the Outback Bowl, coincidentally, will be the same team UW faced in its last trip to Tampa. The Outback Bowl is the third bowl to select a team from the SEC as a participant. With Tennessee and Auburn set to face off in the SEC championship game next weekend, Georgia figures to fall into that spot.

In 1998, the Bulldogs blew past the Badgers by a score of 33-6. Georgia was led by the play of quarterback Mike Bobo (who completed a record 19-straight passing attempts), tailback Robert Edwards (who ran for 68 yards and two scores in the first quarter) and receiver Hines Ward (who caught 12 passes for 122 yards).

The blowout didn’t sour UW head coach Barry Alvarez on the Outback experience.

“Our entire program is very excited about the opportunity to return to Tampa and play in the Outback Bowl,” Alvarez said. “We had a tremendous experience there the last time and we are looking forward to playing in the new stadium against an excellent South-Eastern Conference opponent. Tampa is a wonderful host city and the people there have really welcomed us. We’re looking forward to it.”

As recently as two weeks ago, Georgia occupied the No. 5 spot in national polling — one below Wisconsin. Both teams have fallen upon BCS hardship as of late, with Wisconsin ranked 20th and Georgia eighth.

UW will receive 11,000 tickets to the event, to be portioned out between (in order of priority) the athletic department, students, Badger Fund donors, season ticket holders and the general public. Student ticket holders can request tickets at www.uwbadgers.com. A lottery is set for Dec. 9, if needed.

Honor roll: When the all-Big Ten teams were announced last Tuesday, Wisconsin raked in an impressive share of the honors.

In spite of seeing limited action down the stretch in 2004, UW defensive end Erasmus James was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year by both the coaches and the media.

James was joined on the first-team all-Big Ten by offensive lineman Dan Buenning, defensive tackle Anttaj Hawthorne, cornerback Scott Starks (who was named to the first-team by the coaches and second-team by the media) and free safety Jim Leonhard. Leonhard also received recognition as a member of the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Football Team.

Tailback Anthony Davis was named a second-team all-Big Ten performer by the coaches and the media. Offensive guard Jonathan Clinkscale was recognized by the coaches.