ROSE BOWL / DAILY REPORT : WISCONSIN : Having Fun Called No Cause for Alarm

A trip to Disneyland caused Wisconsin coaches to change their practice schedule at Citrus College.

“We moved things up so we could be down there in time for everyone to enjoy themselves,” Coach Barry Alvarez said. “These kids have earned the right to go places and see things. They deserve to have a good time. All we ask is that when they’re at meetings and practice that they work hard, concentrate and stay focused on what we have planned.

“We’ll do a lot of running around (going to Universal City, Disneyland, Lawry’s Beef Bowl and the Big Ten Champions dinner), but it won’t distract us from our goal, which is to win the Jan. 1 bowl game. Actually, we got a tuneup for the Rose Bowl when the team went to Japan (for the season finale against Michigan State).

“We spent a lot of time sightseeing in Tokyo, visiting shrines, going out to dinner and things not involved with football, but when the time came to focus on the game, we did it. The Michigan State game wasn’t a bowl, but its significance made it just as important. The trip was a wonderful experience for all of us. It showed we could have fun as visitors and still play our game, too.”

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Alvarez said that there is concern about chickenpox among the players after the daughter of defensive coordinator Dan McCarney came down with the illness.

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Wisconsin gained 5,116 yards this season to lead the Big Ten. In 1990 and ‘91, covering 22 games, the Badgers gained 5,621 total yards--only 505 more than the 11-game total this fall.

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The Big Ten keeps statistics in seven defensive categories, and the Badgers had the conference leader in three. Mike Thompson led in sacks with 10 for minus 83 yards; Jeff Messenger was tops in interceptions with six, which ranked him seventh nationally, and Yusef Burgess had a league-leading five fumbles caused.