Orange Bowl: Wisconsin goes against type to dump Miami; Mark Richt gets away with one

3. Biggest Problem With Miami's Offense Rear Its Head Again

The Hurricanes were bad on third down this season, ranking 124th in the nation at just 29.4 percent (only two Power 5 teams, Kansas and Maryland were worse) and it was a continued problem against the Badgers.

Miami was just 2 of 9 against a defense that came in allowing opponents to convert just 29.6 of their attempts, and it truly haunted them after the Badgers cut the Hurricanes' lead to 14-10 in the second quarter.

Miami missed on its next three third down attempts while the Badgers took a 24-14 lead and those two conversions both came on the same possession, which ended with a 41-yard Michael Badgley field goal.

Blame the three Rosier interceptions or bailing on that the Hurricanes largely bailed on a running game that averaged six yards a carry after they fell behind (after Wisconsin went up 24-14, five of Miami's next 25 plays were runs), but the offense simply couldn't sustain drives.

That was punctuated by those problems on third downs as just two of the Hurricanes' drives went longer than 46 yards, hence Wisconsin holding the ball for nearly twice as long (39:52 to 20:08).

Follow Cory McCartney on Twitter @coryjmccartney and Facebook. His books, 'Tales from the Atlanta Braves Dugout: A Collection of the Greatest Braves Stories Ever Told,' and 'The Heisman Trophy: The Story of an American Icon and Its Winners.' are now available.

Steve MitchellSteve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

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