Alvarez Previews the Capital One Bowl
December 15, 2005 | Football
Head Football Coach Barry Alvarez previewed Wisconsin's upcoming appearance in the Capital One Bowl in a live video Web stream on December 16. An archive of this free bowl preview and a transcript of the video are available for review on the Bowl Central page at uwbadgers.com.
Wisconsin (9-3, 5-3 Big Ten) recently returned to practice in preparation for its game against the Auburn Tigers (9-2, 7-1 SEC East). Alvarez updated the fans on the team's progress and shared his thoughts as he prepares for the final game in his 16-year coaching career at Wisconsin.
Just a short distance from Disney World and many other fan-friendly attractions, this is Wisconsin's first visit to the Orlando venue. Tickets and travel packages are still available for last-minute purchasers. For complete details, click on the Bowl Central icon on uwbadgers.com.
MATT LEPAY: Welcome to the Capital One Bowl preview here on uwbadgers.com. I'm Matt Lepay, and I think you know this guy [points], athletics director and head football coach Barry Alvarez.
Preparations underway now. You're getting some work on the field, Barry, in preparation for the bowl game. Before we talk about that, you have four All-Americans. Joe Thomas, Brian Calhoun, Ken DeBauche and Brandon Williams are all well-deserving of the recognition.
BARRY ALVAREZ: It's gratifying. As we started the year, not one of them was mentioned. I would imagine if you go back and look at the preseason publications and the preseason All-America lists, none of those guys was listed.
It's about what they did during the season. All four of those guys had excellent years. In their own way, they all stood out and were really productive for us.
LEPAY: As you mentioned, you're starting to do some work on the field. How much actual prep work specific to Auburn are you doing, or is it more fundamental stuff'
ALVAREZ: We used last weekend'Friday, Saturday and Sunday'just to knock the rust off, get back into the groove, get a feeling for the game again (and) make a little contact. Yesterday, we started with the scouting report of Auburn, and we started introducing our game plan. We'll do the same thing through this weekend, through the 23rd, before we let them go home for break.
LEPAY: Kind of a grinding season'you didn 't get the bye until right before the Hawaii game. Outside of the serious injuries, I would imagine this time is critical for these other guys with the bumps and bruises to get healthy and get back out there.
ALVAREZ: They needed time, they really did; it was a grinder year. We really tried to cut back and tried to do as much as we could down the stretch, yet, it was difficult for us. It's been good, other than the guys that have had major surgery. I think most of the guys are bouncing around pretty well.
LEPAY: Well to say the least, it's a difficult draw with the Auburn Tiger. They seemingly lost some key players from a year ago, but boy, you talk about reloading'that would really seem to describe what they 're all about.
ALVAREZ: The thing I noticed when we played them two years ago (is that) I thought they were very talented, which they were. You take a look at their team; you always want to evaluate what a team looks like. I was very impressed with the athletes that they have and the size of them. You watch how they ran and how they move ' very athletic, very good football players. Tommy (Tuberville) does a good job. They coach them very well.
LEPAY: You mentioned some of those key players. Cadillac Williams, Ronnie Brown, a couple of outstanding running backs now in the NFL. Kenny Irons has stepped in and ran for 1,200 yards. I'm guessing, Barry, you appreciate how Auburn plays. It likes to run the football.
ALVAREZ: Al Borges is their offensive coordinator. We saw Al a couple of times; he was with (Bob) Toledo at UCLA, then we saw him at Indiana. I've always had a great deal of respect for him. He's going to run the football. He's going to mix it up, but he likes to play a physical brand of brand and likes to start with the run.
LEPAY: When they throw Brandon Cox at quarterback, he had a shaky opener and threw four interceptions in that game, but he got a lot better. I would imagine, as you look at the tapes, (he) has gotten a lot of better as the year 's gone along.
ALVAREZ: He's a first-year starter. Early in the season you could see that. Every week you saw improvement, you saw him understand the system more, knowing where to go with the football. He was impressive as he went through the season. Very impressive to watch.
LEPAY: You mentioned the offensive coordinator that you're familiar with, but you probably know something about the defensive coordinator as well: David Gibbs.
ALVAREZ: Gibbs was at Minnesota, probably as a coordinator for 2-3 years. Very young, impressive coach. He's a riser in our profession. He's a guy who went into the NFL and came back to college coaching. He likes the pressure, he's always had the M.O. of being a pressure coach. He likes to play man-to-man defense. I think the guys he's coaching right now are a little better than the ones he had at Minnesota when we played them [laughs].
LEPAY: Auburn is one of the better defenses in the country. They just don't give up a lot of yards, they just don't give up a lot of points.
Barry, the folks in Orlando have made it no secret for years how much they have wanted the Wisconsin Badgers down there.
ALVAREZ: They have. I've known (executive director) Tom Mickle for a number of years. We've been right there. Either we 've won too many games and gone to the Rose Bowl, or like last year come up one shy. This is a game I've always wanted to play. This game has a tremendous reputation. I don't think any other venue has more to offer than Orlando. It 's really overwhelming when you're trying to decide what to do with your team for a week. You don't want to wear them out, yet you want them to see everything. We're having a hard time deciding what we want to do.
LEPAY: I can imagine. It's more than just Disney World, there are a lot of other things going on down there. You're right, it seems like there's a 1,000 things to do down there.
ALVAREZ: There are. The (Milwaukee) Bucks are playing there on the 26th. I think we're going to give our guys the option to watch the Bucks play.
On the 27th, there's the Champs Bowl. We have a function that night, but we won't be able to go to it.
I was really disappointed today. I get all the clippings from the Alabama papers just to keep up with what (Auburn) is doing. The headline down there is, `Capital One is disappointed with Wisconsin's ticket sales.' The fact that we've only sold 8,000, (and) they've sold 14,000 and have requested more. The director, Tom Mickle, was disappointed. He said when the season started, if he could have picked one team from the Big Ten, it would be Wisconsin, because they haven 't been here. He really felt there would be an outpouring of fans coming in, and I felt the same way. I emphasized that in the press conference. I really thought our fans would show up, and I think they will. I don't know how they'll get the tickets or where they'll buy them. We've always had a good turnout where we've been, but it's been a little disappointing with our ticket sales here.
LEPAY: I want to get you some information about those ticket sales. Obviously here on uwbadgers.com, punch Bowl Central and you can get your ticket information that way. And also, this being the holiday season, I want to run down some other points. Maybe if you can't go to the game, but you still want to do something to help others, let me let you know about a couple of opportunities.
You can purchase tickets for donation. Tickets purchased through this program will be donated to Florida's Army national guard, the 124th infantry regimen and their families who are located in Orlando. One-hundred thirty-two of its members are currently serving oversees. In addition to that, many of the soldiers currently in Orlando have recently gotten back from Iraq and from Afghanistan.
Tickets purchased through this program will also be donated to the economically challenged youth in the Orlando area. It's a real opportunity for you if you can't go but still want to help others. If you do that, patrons will receive credit with the Badger Fund for the value of the bowl tickets that are donated. So this will apply to your 2005 Badger Fund annual giving level.
It's a really good way to boost your priority points. Again, complete bowl details at Bowl Central here at uwbadgers.com.
Barry, your bowl record has obviously been terrific here. It 's about working when it's time and using the bowl as a reward.
ALVAREZ: It is a reward for a good season. Wherever we go, I want to make sure our players experience whatever that community has to offer, whatever the bowl has to offer. I ask that when we practice and when we meet, I want your full attention.
We've got a good plan as far as what to get done here. We don't beat them up, we don't go forever. We get what we have to done. We 're in the middle of finals right now, we're always going to miss at least a handful; we've jumped our practices around.
Let's get it done on the field. When we get down there, when we've practiced, (then) we'll take advantage of everything, but remember you go there for one thing, one reason, and that's to win the game.
LEPAY: Final thought here. It's been a terrific year. Again you go back to the preseason publications, and no one had the Badgers winning nine games, much less playing in a January bowl. What has stood out the most about this team'
ALVAREZ: I think the resilience ' we 've had a number of key injuries, (especially on the) defensive line, that 's where we were really riddled. The Minnesota game, we were already down a couple of guys, and then you lose three more during the game, yet they find a way to win.
Matt Bernstein, one of the better fullbacks in the country, we haven 't had him since the (Michigan) game. We've had guys step up in different phases of the game and do whatever they've had to do to win.
This is an outfit that plays four quarters, and whoever shows up, shows up to play. It's very rewarding for a coach when you have a group of guys who are resilient, that will keep battling and follow the plan you give them.
