ROSE BOWL / DAILY REPORT : WASHINGTON : Defense Remains the Husky Question

Washington put only one player--senior linebacker Dave Hoffmann--on the Pacific 10’s first-team all-defensive team. Husky Coach Don James said his defense causes him the most concern.

“I just don’t think we’ve played as consistently as we did last year,” James said. “We’ve started over with a bunch of new people, so I guess it’s only natural.”

Washington gave up an average of 310 yards a game and finished eighth in the Pac-10 in total defense.

“We’ve given up a lot of yards, so it’s hard to say what we will do (against Michigan),” James said.

Tuesday’s practice at Occidental College was scrubbed because of a soggy field. The players got taped and put on their uniforms before being bussed to East L.A. College, which has artificial turf.

Because both schools returned some 12,000 tickets, Rose Bowl officials are not sure if the game will sell out all 101,366 seats. The last time Rose Bowl attendance dipped below 100,000 was in 1964 when Illinois defeated Washington, 17-7.