Varsity is the free Official Digital Magazine of Wisconsin Athletics, covering Badgers football, basketball, hockey and more each week.
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BEHIND THE DESK B A R RY A LVA R EZ • UW DIREC TOR OF AT H L ET IC S Looking back, and ahead, on Miami trip T hey had a reunion of the last Notre Dame team to win a national championship the night before the BCS championship game in Miami. The place was packed. I would guess 25 to 30 players showed up from the unbeaten '88 team. It was really fun to get back together again. I got a chance to visit with Lou Holtz, Tony Rice and the Three Amigos. Those were my three linebackers: Frank Stams, Wes Pritchett and Michael Stonebreaker. As a defense, we didn't put up with nonsense from anybody. And it all started with them. If it was a big game, an intense, four-quarter game, those guys weren't going to let you get beat. Lou used to call them toe-to-toe heavyweight fights where you're going to find out who's going to flinch. Our guys didn't flinch. Neither did Alabama on Monday night. Oh, man, that was brutal. That was a no-contest from the beginning. Oregon would have been a more interesting matchup with their speed and how they play. I don't think Notre Dame played very well. They didn't run the ball and they didn't tackle. They picked the wrong possible time to play poorly. Alabama is a very well-coached, and that's on both sides of the ball and special teams. They're very sound and efficient in everything they do. 14 » VARSITY JANUA RY 10, 2013 They're not real flashy. But they're tough and they've got a helluva group of athletes out there running around. Nick Saban really recruits well. They've won three of the last four years, which is unbelievable in this day and age with as many guys as Saban loses to the NFL. It all starts with recruiting, too. The reaction to Gary Andersen was very positive in Miami. That I sent [Wilson] a text the other day and wished him luck in his game and I got one right back. It read, ''Coach, loved seeing you on the sidelines. Wished I could have played for you.'' You don't know how good that makes me feel. was from the guys at ESPN who follow such things to the guys from the West who are more familiar with Gary. All of the football people who were down there raved about the hire. Everybody appreciates that he's a no-nonsense guy who has a presence. I kept hearing that over and over again. I also kept hearing about Russell Wilson. What he's doing is what I anticipated. I told that to anyone who would listen. I remember talking to Bill Polian, the former Colts executive who is now working for ESPN, at last year's national championship game. He was telling me that he thought Russell could have a great career in Canada. I said, 'Bill, he can have a great career in this league. He's special.'' It's been fun to watch Russell and J.J. Watt and some of our other guys in the playoffs. If it weren't for them, I don't know how much I would watch. What has been neat for me is that I still stay in contact with Russell. I sent him a text the other day and wished him luck in his game and I got one right back. It read, ''Coach, loved seeing you on the sidelines. Wished I could have played for you.'' You don't know how good that makes me feel. Russell is doing in the NFL what he was doing here for us at Wisconsin. He's converting third down after third down. He's so accurate and he anticipates so well and his feet always keep him alive. You've got those big palookas playing defensive end, and they're trying to contain him and he's running around ― giving ground ― but his eyes are always downfield. Just think about all the people who wrote him off because of his height.