2016-17 Cotton Bowl, Wisconsin vs. Western Michigan: Date, time, location, and everything to know

Also, head over here for the fully updated bowl season calendar as it fills in, from the New Orleans Bowl through the Rose Bowl. We’ll also add picks, scores, and more to that calendar over time.

The 2015 season’s Cotton Bowl — the one in December between Alabama and Michigan State, not the one in January between Michigan State and Baylor — was arguably the most important Cotton Bowl in a generation. The game hadn’t played host to a No. 2 team like Alabama since 1984, when No. 7 Georgia upset No. 2 Texas to help deny the Longhorns a national title.

This season’s 2017 Cotton Bowl will be historic for a different reason: it’s the first New Year’s Six bowl that was guaranteed to feature someone from the Group of 5. That turned out to be unbeaten Western Michigan, facing Wisconsin.

That left the Cotton — formally the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, and now entering the 20th season of using Classic in its name — with its first team not currently in a Power 5 conference to appear in the game since BYU did so in 1997.

Here is everything you need to know in preparation for this year’s Cotton Bowl:

Date and time: Jan. 2, 1 p.m.

TV channel: ESPN

Location: Arlington, Texas

Stadium: AT&T Stadium

Last year’s score: Alabama 38, Michigan State 0

Last year’s attendance: 82,812

Teams with the most all-time appearances: Texas, 22

Teams with the most all-time wins: Texas, 11

Wisconsin (10-3, 7-2 in Big Ten)

Wisconsin severely flew under the radar this offseason, and took everyone by surprise when it upset then-No. 5 LSU in Week 1 at Lambeau Field. After that win, the Badgers proceeded to win their next three, including a road win over Michigan State. Next came back-to-back losses to Michigan and Ohio State, but Wisconsin won the next six straight -- including games against Iowa, Nebraska, and Minnesota -- to clinch the Big Ten West.

Wisconsin got back to Indianapolis to play for a Big Ten title for the first time since 2014. It lost there to Penn State, which diminished a great season but only so much.

Wisconsin’s rotated between QBs Bart Houston and Alex Hornibrook, and the offense in general hasn’t been nearly as good as the top-five defense. But running backs Corey Clement and Dare Ogunbowale have had their moments, and with UW’s defense, they only need to be so good.

Badgers head coach Paul Chryst has been quite successful over his two seasons as Wisconsin’s head coach. His first season, the Badgers had 10 wins. This year, Wisconsin was already at the 10-win mark by the end of the regular season, having won the Big Ten West.

Western Michigan (13-0, 8-0 in MAC)

WMU is having its dream season, and now the Broncos have a chance to make that year perfect. They enter bowl season as the country’s only non-Alabama unbeaten, and they’ve become the mid-major darlings of the moment under quirky, boat-rowing head coach P.J Fleck. Fleck’s name has come up in numerous coach searches at other schools, most prominently Oregon of late. But WMU, anyway, has a big opportunity in front of it.

The Broncos’ strength is in their offense. Quarterback Zach Terrell and receiver Corey Davis lead one of the best units in the country, with running back Jarvion Franklin powering the ground game. WMU’s defense did well in the MAC, but how it’ll hold up now against a much bigger, more physically gifted opponent than it’s used to is an open question.

Either way, what a year. WMU went 1-11 in Fleck’s first year, 2013, and has turned the boat all the way around. The school hosted College GameDay a few weeks ago, and now the stage is only getting bigger, the lights only brighter. It’s a cool time to be a Bronco.