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| Tyrone Willingham knows that beating Wisconsin will mean stopping Ron Dayne |
Dayne, Wisconsin's 253-pound bulldozer, rewrote Ricky Williams' record by rushing for 6,397 yards, 118 more than the Heisman Trophy winner from Texas did in his college career.
"I think his teammates rally around him, give him all their physical and moral support," Willingham said of Wisconsin's hard-running back. While 22nd-ranked Stanford will be concerned with derailing Dayne in the Rose Bowl this New Year's Day, fourth-ranked Wisconsin will have to contend with Stanford's big-strike passing attack, directed by quarterback Todd Husak. "It reminds me of last time in the Rose Bowl. UCLA runs more bootlegs and rollouts, but both the offenses are home run hitters in the passing game," said Badgers coach Barry Alvarez, who took part with Willingham in a Rose Bowl coaches' conference call Sunday. Alvarez believes Stanford has one of the finest wide receivers in the nation. "Troy Walters is, if not the best, one of the best in the country, a home run threat at all times. Everybody knows he has the potential to hit home runs, but he still does it," the Wisconsin coach said. The Badgers (9-2,7-1 Big Ten) are making their third holiday trip to Pasadena in six years after ending a 30-year stretch without playing in the Rose Bowl. They beat UCLA both times in the 1990s, including a 38-31 win last January. Stanford (8-3, 7-1 Pac-10) is ending a similar drought -- the Rose Bowl is the school's first in 28 years. "There is a tremendous amount of excitement from everybody at Stanford," Willingham said. "I think it's well-documented that we have one of the finest overall sports programs in the country, and everyone feels excited that football is joining the school's other champions. "I think that feeling is heightened by the fact that we are fortunate enough to have alumni across the country in every sector." Alvarez said that, while Wisconsin's going to the Rose Bowl hasn't exactly become old hat with the fans, "There is probably not as much excitement as there was in 1994, when everybody was surprised, after we had gone 30 years without going to the game; I think everybody was shocked. "But last year people were excited, and they're excited this year. The atmosphere we had when we played Iowa, when Ron Dayne broke the NCAA rushing record and we clinched the Rose Bowl, I've never been in an atmosphere that was more electric and exciting," Alvarez said. "A lot of that had to do with our clinching it." The Cardinal and Badgers had similar seasons this year. Stanford's campaign began with a 69-17 humbling by Texas, and the Cardinal later was beaten by San Jose State and Washington. But Stanford won when it counted most, going 7-1 in the Pacific-10. Wisconsin stumbled early, shocked 17-12 by Cincinnati and losing to Michigan the next game to fall to 2-2. The Badgers then reeled off seven straight wins. "Stanford reminds me a lot of our football team," Alvarez said. "They struggled early like we did, but were able to fight through adversity and got stronger." Said Willingham: "It has been a very exciting season, with a difficult start but a very exciting finish."
