Checking in on Wisconsin at Cotton Bowl week

It’s less than a week away from the 2017 Cotton Bowl, and the No. 8 Wisconsin Badgers are down in the Dallas-Forth Worth area practicing and preparing for the No. 15 Western Michigan Broncos.

UW (10-3) looks for its 11th win to cap off an impressive 2016 season against an undefeated WMU squad riding high with head coach P.J. Fleck at the helm.

Yes, the Badgers have been practicing, as their third installment down in Dallas took place on Thursday. That doesn’t mean they haven’t taken advantage of some of the festivities deep in the heart of Texas heading into their Jan. 2 showdown with the Broncos.

What... what’s going on in these pictures?

On Thursday, the Cotton Bowl and Goodyear displayed sculptures of Bucky Badger and a bronco made entirely out of tires. Pretty impressive to say the least. Former NFL and USC standout Keyshawn Johnson was on hand for the event.

The Wisconsin Football Twitter account has been a fun one to watch since the Badgers’ arrival in the Dallas area. Echoing the MTV Cribs era, senior wide receiver Robert Wheelwright took fans around on a video tour of their hangout area, which looked pretty amazing.

On Wednesday evening, both teams were at the Dallas Cowboys Comedy Jam at AT&T Stadium, which featured legendary comic Cedric the Entertainer.

On Tuesday, head coach Paul Chryst received a cowboy hat clap clap clap DEEP IN THE HEART OF TEXAS!

Former Wisconsin and current Dallas Cowboys center Travis Fredrick visited practice as well. The All-Pro and Pro Bowl offensive linemen spoke with UWBadgers.com’s Chris Hall about watching his alma mater from afar and his time in Madison.

The Badgers were also in attendance at the Houston Rockets-Dallas Mavericks basketball game on Tuesday night, and even provided some entertainment for the fans.

Former Wisconsin and current Houston Rockets forward Sam Dekker reunited with former roommate Dare Ogunbowale.

As close friend and outside linebacker Vince Biegel shed his glorious mullet last week, Leo Musso also debuted a new look on Tuesday.

Unfortunately, it appeared it was scrapped by Thursday.