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With 13-0 season, MAC title in hand, Broncos look forward to Cotton Bowl

Posted at 11:01 PM, Dec 15, 2016
and last updated 2016-12-15 23:01:57-05

KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- It's been a whirlwind season for the Western Michigan Broncos filled with many first and a lot of national attention as the year has gone on.  They are 13-0 and back to business as they prepare to head to Dallas for the cotton bowl.

"I think the beginning portion of it is really just about us getting healthy," said senior quarterback Zach Terrell.  "A lot of us have played a lot of football and this is a tremendous opportunity for the young guys to get a lot of reps and now its really just getting back into it, diving into Wisconsin and we got our elite work in today and two days ago, so now it's full on against Wisconsin.  Everybody`s practicing and every body is getting back at it."

Back at it and preparing for one of the best defenses in college football.

"If you go back and look at their entire season the only people that ever scored over 17 points in regulation has been Penn State," explained coach PJ Fleck.  "Other than that they've held everyone to 17 points or under which is an incredible accomplishment.  Probably the best defense we've played against since we've been here the last four years.  They are very sound, they're very smart, very aggressive, they just don't make mistakes, you know, they force you to play almost a perfect game.  We've gotta be creative, we've gotta be able to find different ways to put points on the board and we'll definitely do that, but we`ve got an enormous challenge that`s for sure."

"They're very physical," added senior wide receiver Corey Davis.  "Their front seven is probably one of the best in the country and we understand that and its gonna take our best game to compete with these guys and that`s what we`re gonna do."

Appreciating the fact that they've made it this far.

"It`s insane, I mean you couldn't imagine it," said linebacker Robert Spillane.  "Even though that was our vision, like actually achieving our vision and our goals that we set forth last January around this time it's really giving me the chills right now thinking about all the work we've done to get to this point right now."

Western is hoping to go 3-0 in the Big Ten this year, but per usual at practice they are focused on going 1-0 against Wisconsin, one of the few times they've been an underdog all year.