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CAPITAL ONE ORANGE BOWL: MIAMI VS WISCONSIN

December 29, 2017

Paul Chryst

Miami Gardens, Florida

PAUL CHRYST: Well, certainly appreciate all the Orange Bowl has done for us while being down here, and I think our players and coaches' families, everyone has had a great trip, and appreciate that. I'm proud of the way the guys have also handled the football part of it. I've liked the preparation we had up in Madison and certainly the practices down here, and looking forward to playing.

Q. What did your team get out of that experience with FAU and sort of opening the doors to them? I know you got a few Floridians on that team, but from things that FAU has said and from things I've read about what your kids were saying that week, it seemed like it had an effect on your team, as well. Can you explain those few days of having them there and when they were unable to get back here was like for you guys?
PAUL CHRYST: I think our players enjoyed being around -- some of them had known each other, but there was a number of them that didn't. I think it was -- the whole -- the way it came about was pretty neat. I know Coach Alvarez and I had talked and what's the right thing to do and how can you make it as good as you can for them, and certainly -- we had a little bit of an understanding, at least for me personally, of what the players from down here, what they were going through with maybe their families and certainly you can times that by whatever for all -- the coaches and those players were going through.

I think any time you're around other people and you get a chance to learn, you're appreciative of what you've got. It was just college kids being good to other college kids. It was pretty cool.

Q. You said it was college kids being good to other kids, but at the same time, college football, everybody sort of pretends like they know everything else about everybody's program, but there's a lot of secrecy, and I know Lane said he was blown away how you guys opened up the meeting rooms. Was there any hesitancy on your part or this is just what you do when another team is in that situation?
PAUL CHRYST: I think, yeah, it is what you do, and we don't have a ton of secrets.

Q. Mark Richt was asked this question, as well; the Hurricanes coming into this game with a loss, same with you guys. A little more motivation knowing how well both of your seasons have gone, but you kind of want to end the season on a high note?
PAUL CHRYST: Well, I think no doubt, every team that plays in a bowl game, they want to win their last game. I think for a lot of reasons. You know, it's the last game for us that this group will be together. We'll have guys go on.

So you're proud of what they've done, and I think our team is proud of what they've done, and yet they know we're not finished yet, and we certainly know that it won't be easy going up against a really good Miami team. They're well-coached, talented. But I think every team, we're no different. You want to finish it out the best that you can, and you'd like to win it.

Q. The Big Ten kids, Big Ten programs, just because of the tradition of the game, nobody -- you don't talk about the Orange Bowl in August when you make team goals. Obviously it's rare for a Big Ten team to be here. How long did it take your kids to understand the significance of this game, the history of this game, and get locked in on what this game means as opposed to a Rose Bowl or something like that that's more traditional for a Big Ten team to shoot at for January?
PAUL CHRYST: Yeah, I do know this: When I found out that we were playing in the Orange Bowl, I called my wife to let her know, and she goes, yeah, I know. When the plane landed, they announced it, and our kids were excited. She said, how were the kids. I said, they were fired up.

I think certainly myself growing up, you finish New Year's night watching the Orange Bowl. There's great tradition to it. Yeah, to your point, I think it's older people know what the ties were, but our players, it didn't take them -- we didn't have to have a long talk about the history of the Orange Bowl. They know about the Orange Bowl, and they know that it's a big deal, and they're excited about it. We were excited right when we found out, and certainly I'd say even more excited as it's gone on.

Q. Obviously Wisconsin's style of play, physicality, is kind of a trademark. Miami has talked about how they want to run the football and play that style, too. Based on what you've seen on tape, what are you expecting from this matchup?
PAUL CHRYST: Well, we're expecting it to be a really good football game. We're going up against -- I think what Mark and their staff has done in the last two years has been impressive, and certainly they're a talented team. So when you face a talented, well-coached football team, we haven't cornered the market on trying to play the game in a physical manner and trying to run the football and playing good defense. You know, we haven't cornered that. We expect it to be a heck of a challenge.

Q. The last game you played in a Big Ten Championship, you guys were playing because you were fighting to get into the College Football Playoff. Knowing now that there is not a National Championship on the line, how do you feel about this game? Do you feel differently? What are the thought processes going into a game like this when you know you're not playing for a national title?
PAUL CHRYST: You know, every time we get a chance to play, we want to play our best, and obviously you want to win the game. You want to score more points than your opponent. We were playing that game to win the Big Ten Championship game, period. We're playing this one to try to earn the right to be called Orange Bowl champions. That's all this game is about, and it's a ton. Our guys are ready for it. They're excited for it.

We know what the talk was outside, but what we were playing for all year long was the right to give ourselves the best chance we can to be the best team we can be. As you go through that, different things come into play, but that game we were playing for one thing, and that was to be the Big Ten champions. We didn't win. We didn't do that. And fortunately we've got another opportunity for that team, this team, our team to play, and that's against a really good Miami team, and if we score one or more points than them, then we've earned the right to be Orange Bowl champions. That's something to really be proud of.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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