Red-Leather Day

Stanford ran the first reverse of the Rose Bowl the day before the game Friday. Star receiver Troy Walters was preparing to try to play today against Wisconsin, despite having been declared out Wednesday because of a dislocated right wrist.

“I always held open a window that a miracle would take place,” Stanford Coach Tyrone Willingham said. “We’ll keep working and see if we can get something done there because that would be a great addition for us.

“I’m still hoping he’ll be able to play.”

Willingham was a bit coy about Walters, partly because of uncertainty as doctors continue to try to prepare his wrist for the game, but a Stanford source confirmed that Walters will try to play.

Asked what he would say if asked to use the “questionable” or “doubtful” terminology required by the NFL, Willingham responded quickly: “I would say, ‘Thank God I’m not in the NFL.’ ”

No. 22 Stanford (8-3) is trying to pull off an upset of fourth-ranked Wisconsin (9-2) that would seem as unlikely as the return of Walters, with the nation’s 110th-ranked defense given little chance of holding down Heisman Trophy winner Ron Dayne and the Badgers.

But Wisconsin need look no farther for a cautionary tale than its own 38-31 upset of No. 6 UCLA in the Rose Bowl last year.

“We know what they’re going through,” linebacker Chris Ghidorzi said. “We were disrespected, and they don’t deserve to be disrespected at all.”

Defensive end John Favret remembers how it felt.

“We came in here last year pretty upset at how everybody treated us,” he said. “I think UCLA maybe took us for granted. I know Stanford will come out fired up.”

Badger Coach Barry Alvarez--who will decide today whether to return to the sideline after coaching the last five games from the press box because of knee replacement surgery--remembers the advantages of not being favored last year.

“Many times when you are an underdog--taking shots from the media, people are criticizing you--it makes you stay focused and be a little more determined, so you go into the game with a purpose,” he said.

“Being disrespected and being called the worst team maybe ever to participate in the Rose Bowl, all that did was make our kids more determined.”

All the talk about Wisconsin’s offense running roughshod over Stanford’s defense--Dayne, now the NCAA’s all-time rushing leader, ran for 246 yards and four touchdowns against UCLA a year ago--has been noted and filed away, said Willingham, whose team has given up more than 31 points a game.

“Someone is sitting there every night, making a mark on the wall. You know, like marking off the calendar days as you get ready to play,” he said. “There’s somebody marking off those days, saying, ‘It won’t be that way.’ ”

Earlier in the week, Stanford’s prospects seemed especially dim because the Cardinal was expected to be without its two best players, Walters, the Biletnikoff Award winner as the nation’s top receiver, and defensive tackle Willie Howard, who had been expected to miss the game after injuring his knee in the final game of the season but now is expected to play.

Walters was teary-eyed about his injury the day after it happened, but by Thursday he allowed the possibility of getting into the game for a play--something he certainly wouldn’t do “if it was my leg”--though he laughed at the idea he could possibly field a punt.

But Willingham said he isn’t aiming simply to get Walters and Howard into the game for history’s sake.

“If it was just a ceremonial type of thing, I would only let them do the coin flip,” he said.

To play, Walters probably will need a special cast to immobilize and protect his wrist.

“As of yesterday, it was basically a splint, a soft cast,” Willingham said, emphasizing the “yesterday” and suggesting the cast would be changed.

As for announcing that Walters was unequivocally out of the game earlier in the week, Willingham said, “At the time, that was the best information we had. . . . There’s an ongoing process to determine where he’s at and what he can do that will continue today and into tomorrow.”

With Walters fit, Stanford averaged 37.2 points a game--slightly more than Wisconsin’s 35.6--with an offense geared to Walters and quarterback Todd Husak, balanced by a running game led by Brian Allen.

But Walters wasn’t Husak’s only big-play option. Receivers DeRonnie Pitts, Dave Davis, Tafiti Uso and Ryan Wells all had receptions that went for more than 40 yards.

Still, Wisconsin’s defense gave up a stingy 13.2 points a game, and Alvarez says the old theory that Big Ten teams can’t handle wide-open Pacific 10 offenses is no longer true.

“If you live in California, on the West Coast, there’s a misconception about the brand of football played in the Big Ten,” he said. “Purdue probably throws and catches the ball as well as anybody in the country. Take a team like Michigan. . . . Michigan probably throws better than they run the ball now.

“We have prepared against good throwing teams all year.”

Both teams arrived at the Rose Bowl after some inauspicious moments earlier in the season.

Stanford lost to Texas, 69-17, in its first game, and later to San Jose State.

Wisconsin started 2-2, losing successivegames to Cincinnati and Michigan before winning its final seven after versatile freshman Brooks Bollinger took over at quarterback to lead a comeback against Ohio State.

“We’ve been humbled this season already,” Alvarez said.

But Stanford has been the maligned team here, from the first day of the season right up to the Rose Bowl.

“That lack of respect isn’t new to us,” said Husak, who called the 13 1/2-point spread “ridiculous.”

“After the Texas game and the San Jose State game, we know what it’s like to play as underdogs,” Husak said. “We know how to respond to that type of pressure.

“We could have folded a number of times this season. It’s one more obstacle. We’ll be up for it.”

Wisconsin cornerback Jamar Fletcher said the Badgers won’t fall into the overconfidence trap.

“Yeah, you hear it, people say, ‘You’re just going to smash Stanford. It’s not going to be any contest,’ ” Fletcher said. “We know better. We really don’t listen.”

Still, upsets happen. Take last year, for example.

“I don’t know why it seems to happen,” Willingham said. “I just hope it happens one more time.”

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STATS AND STARTERS/Page 4

GET YOUR PROGRAMS

Are those geniuses at Stanford trying to outsmart everyone by keeping status of key players up in air? Page 5

UP OR DOWN?

Wisconsin’s Alvarez hasn’t decided whether his knee will be strong enough for him to be on the sideline. Page 5