Badgers downplay speed discrepancy vs. Florida St.

ORLANDO, Fla. - If the Champs Sports Bowl were a horse race, Florida State thinks it would be easy to handicap.

"It's kind of the thorough-breds against Clydesdales," said Florida State defensive end Everette Brown, leaving no doubt he's sure it's the Seminoles with the pure speed in today's matchup against Wisconsin.

The Badgers aren't buying the stereotype.

"Which one are we?" Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema asked, sounding miffed. "We have speed, too."

Badgers linebacker DeAndre Levy simply laughed at the comparison. "It's all good," he said. "We'll just send them to the glue factory."

There's more to this matchup than debating brawn vs. speed in a game that means plenty to both teams.

Wisconsin wants to finish strong after an 8-5 season that saw the Badgers drop from a No. 8 national ranking to out of the AP Top 25 after losing their first four Big Ten games.

Meanwhile, Florida State is trying to win nine games for the first time in four seasons.

FSU's passing attack ranks 87th in the nation with a 192-yard-per-game average. QB Chruistian Ponder is 89th in pass efficiency, completing 55 percent of his passes with 13 INTs and 12 TDs.

Wisconsin junior Dustin Sherer didn't throw his first TD pass until mid-October, a month after replacing injured starter Allen Evridge. He's completed 55 percent of his passes, with 5 TDs and 5 INTs.