ROSE BOWL / DAILY REPORT : WISCONSIN : Alvarez Dismisses Underdog Label

As far as Wisconsin Coach Barry Alvarez is concerned, being cast as the underdog in the Rose Bowl is no more than a figment of someone’s imagination.

Referring Wednesday to UCLA being a seven-point favorite Saturday, Alvarez said: “I don’t think it makes any difference whether we’re underdogs or not. I get a kick out of that. Most of the people out here haven’t seen us play. Somebody had us minus-20 the other day. You just hope he isn’t right.

“Actually, people found reasons why we were going to lose all year. That’s old hat by now.”

Lamark Shackerford, Wisconsin’s All-Big Ten nose guard, looks upon the situation as a plus.

“It’s been the same thing all season,” he said. “Now we’re underdogs even though we have a better record of 9-1-1 to UCLA’s 8-3. We like it that way.”

Interestingly, the Badgers absorbed their only defeat when they were solid favorites, losing to Minnesota, 28-21.

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Alvarez had hoped that backup tight end Matt Nyquist would be ready for the game after rehabilitating a broken leg, but his optimism has waned.

“Matt isn’t running well at all,” Alvarez said. “We’ll probably go with Kevin Lyles and work in Cayetano Castro when we use an extra tight end.”

Lyles is a converted quarterback, Castro a 300-pound tackle.

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For Badger safety Reggie Holt, playing in the Rose Bowl was the last thing he anticipated when he was recruited out of Miami four years ago. Holt is a member of a vanishing breed, a holdover from the last recruiting class of Alvarez’s predecessor, Don Morton.

“The younger guys get tired of hearing how tough it was (1-10 in both 1989 and ‘90) before they got here,” Holt said. “This makes it all worthwhile. It’s the highlight of my career.”

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The hysteria among Wisconsin fans over the Badgers’ first Rose Bowl appearance in 31 years has created a far greater ticket crunch than usual.

Said Jim Muldoon, assistant commissioner of the Pacific 10 Conference: “This is the toughest ticket since Iowa in ’82. I usually come here with 30 or 40 tickets. This time they’re long gone.”

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Shackerford faced an interesting decision in his senior season of high school. “I wasn’t what you’d call highly recruited,” he said. “I had two Division I offers--Wisconsin or Kansas State.”

It was kind of like choosing between Christmas in Cleveland or New Year’s in Newark. Wisconsin was coming off a 2-9 season and had just hired Alvarez. Kansas State wasn’t much better.

The Badgers are glad he chose them. Shackerford was a third-team All-American and first-team All-Big Ten this season.

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Alvarez will celebrate his 48th birthday today. . . . The Badgers will be the home team Saturday and will occupy the Rose Bowl locker rooms normally reserved for UCLA during the regular season. The Bruins will be in the visitors’ quarters and wear their white travel jerseys. . . . Dodger Manager Tommy Lasorda visited the Wisconsin training camp at Citrus College and gave the Badgers a pep talk, informing them that on 20 such previous occasions, teams Lasorda talked to had an 18-2 record.