Bruins to Face Noisy Crowd

The members of the Wisconsin marching band performed outdoors Thursday.

In shorts. With the temperature in the 40s.

That enthusiasm is reflected in the close to 10,000 Wisconsin fans who flocked to Texas for today’s Sun Bowl. Can’t blame them, certainly, when the high temperature in Madison on Thursday was 16 and the forecast calls for snow today. The Badger fans are happy to be here, and they’ll be more than happy to badger UCLA today.

“It’s almost like a home-field advantage for them,” UCLA Coach Bob Toledo said.

The Bruins lost a critical fumble against Wisconsin in the 1999 Rose Bowl when, as Toledo put it, “all the people wearing red” shouted so loudly that tailback DeShaun Foster did not hear the audible called by quarterback Cade McNown.

The Bruins are concerned about similar situations today. The Badgers need not be concerned about the noise from UCLA fans, since the UCLA fans here will be few and far between.

As a condition of accepting the Sun Bowl bid, the Bruins agreed to buy 8,000 tickets. They distributed 2,000, spokesman Marc Dellins said Thursday, though that figure includes more than 600 provided free to players, who got six tickets each. The Bruins also distributed unsold tickets to the Boys and Girls Clubs of El Paso. Even with a Pacific 10 Conference subsidy, UCLA lost about $100,000 on unsold tickets.

While most UCLA fans stayed home, the Bruins will generate support from friends and families of fullback Ed Ieremia-Stansbury and linebacker Tony White, each of whom grew up in El Paso. Many UCLA players did not need their tickets and passed them along to the hometown duo. Ieremia-Stansbury said he left 152 tickets; White said he left 85.

Sun Bowl ticket manager Ellen Hughes said 49,000 tickets had been sold as of Thursday afternoon.

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Sometimes Toledo straddles the line between political correctness and brutal honesty. So, when asked at a news conference Thursday whether he anticipated a high-scoring game, Toledo responded instantly, and with a wide grin: “Have you seen our defense?”

For all the Bruins’ concern about their defense the Badgers are just as concerned about their defense. The Bruins have given up 411.7 yards a game, just slightly worse than the Badgers’ average of 391.8 yards allowed.

In the 1999 Rose Bowl, the Bruins scored 31 points, the most yielded that season by a Wisconsin defense that held seven opponents to seven points or fewer. Wisconsin Coach Barry Alvarez scoffs at the notion the Badgers can win by containing the Bruins’ star receiver, Freddie Mitchell.

“I don’t think you can put that much emphasis on one guy with all the weapons they have,” Alvarez said. “The skill players are as fine a group as we’ve seen all year.

“Most of those players are the ones that put 31 points on the board against us, and that was the best defense we’ve had in my 11 years at Wisconsin.”

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UCLA defensive tackle Rodney Leisle had a touch of flu Thursday but is expected to start. Defensive tackles Anthony Fletcher and Ken Kocher, both stung by injuries this season, will play behind Leisle and Steve Morgan. . . . Foster needs 70 rushing yards today to become the first Bruin to rush for 1,000 yards since Skip Hicks in 1997.

* Time: 11 a.m., PST

* Site: Sun Bowl Stadium, El Paso

* TV: Channel 2.

* Radio: KXTA (1150).

* When UCLA has the ball: CBS will no doubt dedicate one camera to the marquee matchup between UCLA receiver Freddie Mitchell and Wisconsin cornerback Jamar Fletcher. The contest will be fun to watch--and fun to listen to, if CBS can find any PG-rated trash talk to air--but will not be decisive. Fletcher held Michigan’s star receiver, David Terrell, to one catch in a game the Badgers still lost. While Mitchell and Fletcher joust, the Bruins believe 6-foot-5 receiver Brian Poli-Dixon can dominate 5-10 cornerback Mike Echols. But Fletcher has six interceptions and Echols five, and the Badgers’ total of 20 interceptions ranks sixth nationally. Those big plays can’t entirely negate a pass defense that ranks ninth in the Big Ten, so look for UCLA quarterback Cory Paus to aim for a variety of targets, including receiver Drew Bennett, fullback Ed Ieremia-Stansbury and tight ends Gabe Crecion, Bryan Fletcher and Mike Seidman. The Bruins have averaged 34 points with Paus; the Badgers gave up that many points once this season, in a double-overtime loss to Northwestern. The Bruins are 3-0 this season when tailback DeShaun Foster runs for more than 100 yards.

* When Wisconsin has the ball: No mystery here: Tailback Michael Bennett ranks third nationally in rushing, averaging 160 yards a game. The Bruins’ rushing defense ranks last in the Pac-10, and four of their last five opponents have rushed for more than 200 yards. Wisconsin quarterback Brooks Bollinger rushed for 404 yards this season, most of any Badger besides Bennett, and his ability to roll out and run the option could give the UCLA defense fits. The Bruins have used 10 starters along the defensive line this season, and this week’s starters include three freshmen and a sophomore making his first college start. Wisconsin Coach Barry Alvarez said strong-armed freshman quarterback Jim Sorgi will play behind Bollinger, so if the Bruins crowd the line of scrimmage to contain Bennett, Alvarez could let Sorgi play bombs away. Wisconsin senior Chris Chambers, a top NFL prospect, needs nine catches and 138 yards to tie school receiving records set by NFL star Al Toon. Wisconsin’s Kevin Stemke won the Ray Guy Award as the nation’s top punter, and the Badgers’ net punting average of 42.9 yards led the NCAA.

* Key to the game: Can the UCLA defense give Paus and Co. the chance to outscore the Badgers? In their four regulation losses, the Bruins have run an average of 26 fewer plays than their opponents. That’s because the Bruins are the worst team in the Pac-10 at stopping opponents on third down. Bennett has carried at least 28 times in six games this season, and the Badgers figure to run Bennett until the Bruins do something about it.

* Fast fact: The most points scored in the Sun Bowl: 47, by Texas El Paso in 1955. The Miners won, 47-20, over a Florida State team that included a running back named Burt Reynolds.

* Line: Wisconsin by 5.

HOW THEY COMPARE

UCLA and Wisconsin

30.3 Scoring 25.6

31.6 Points allowed 20.4

264.0 Passing 164.8

98.7 Rushing 198.4

362.7 Total offense 363.2

225.7 Passing defense 238.1

186.0 Rushing defense 153.7

411.7 Total defense 391.8