Atkins Says Defense Ready for Challenge

After giving up 299 yards rushing to Miami’s Edgerrin James in the regular-season finale, UCLA realizes that it must do better in the Rose Bowl against Wisconsin’s Ron Dayne.

Dayne, a 235-pound junior tailback, is ninth in the nation with an average of 127.9 yards a game.

“We’re not scared [of Dayne],” safety Larry Atkins said.

“That’s what you want. You want to go against the best at whatever. He’s a really big back and has a lot of abilities. It’ll be good for us to go against someone like that. We’re not scared to play against him. We’re excited. We can’t wait to play him.”

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Senior linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo did not practice Saturday, but UCLA officials said they expect him to be ready for the Jan. 1 Rose Bowl.

Ayanbadejo suffered a medial collateral sprain of his left knee in the first quarter of the Bruins’ loss to Miami.

Next Up for UCLA

What: Rose Bowl UCLA (10-1) vs Wisconsin (10-1)

Where: Rose Bowl

When: Jan. 1

Time: 1:30 p.m.

TV: Channel 7

Radio: KXTA (1150)