WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Back when athletic director Barry Alvarez was coaching the University of Wisconsin football team, the bowl selection process was easy to decipher.
Often, the postseason picture would become crystal clear and a team would know its likely bowl destination even before the regular season ended.
"It used to be where you had a pretty good idea," UW coach Paul Chryst said as the bowl-eligible Badgers prepared to face Purdue in their next-to-last regular-season game Saturday. "Coach Alvarez was a master of (predicting). He was in on it and he knew. Now it seems like you don't really know until everyone finds out.