Varsity is the free Official Digital Magazine of Wisconsin Athletics, covering Badgers football, basketball, hockey and more each week.
Issue link: https://catalog.e-digitaleditions.com/i/95874
Records go out the window for title game BEHIND THE DESK BARRY ALVAREZ • UW DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICS I felt gutted after the Penn State game. There were so many ebbs and flows. We started with such momentum, and we just went into an offensive lull. Our defense was on the field too long because we couldn't pick up a first down. But seeing our kids battle back again on that last possession ― just like they had the week before against Ohio State ― I thought the momentum had swung to us going into overtime. Afterward, I was with a group of people and we discussed the game for several hours. Then we put it behind us, and we started thinking about the Big Ten championship in Indianapolis. It's easier for me to let it go now as an athletic director because I don't have nearly as much invested as the players and coaches. If you've never coached, you have no idea what it's really like. You have to go back and relive the game and make corrections. You have to see the good and the bad, and you've got a week to get your players back ― you've got a week to get them refocused. It's easy to be critical of calls when you have the benefit of hind- sight. But our coaches study ten- dencies all week and are trying to put our players in the best possible position to have success. During my 16 seasons as a head coach, we played in five overtimes. And I was in the Mayo Clinic recov- ering from knee surgery for one of them. 18 » VARSITY NOVEMBER 29, 2012 It's unbelievable to me that we've had three overtimes in our last four games. But I see a very resilient group of players. Think about what they've already gone through: An O-line coaching change. Three different starting quarterbacks. And a ton of injuries to key players. They've gone through all of this adversity, yet they've responded. They've shown their resiliency by coming out every week and com- peting. It's not like we've been blown out by anybody. The key now is making the play- ers feel as fresh as possible. You want to let them get their bodies back. You want them fresh mental- ly. And you want them to feel good about themselves. I think you'll see a team that will come out Saturday and play really hard. That's something that we've seen out of this group all season long ― they've competed ― including at tough places to play like Penn State and Nebraska. To be honest, it hasn't quite sunk in yet that we're playing my alma mater again though my media re- quests have all of a sudden jumped off the charts with my friends back in Nebraska. The matchup this year may not be as glamorous with Ohio State being undefeated and not eligible to play in the game. But everyone knew the rules going into the sea- son. We don't have to apologize for being in Indianapolis. The bottom line? This is where you want to be ― playing for a Big Ten championship and the Rose Bowl. It doesn't matter what your record is going into the game, you'd have the same things at stake. I haven't changed my thinking on having a league title game. I like it because we're pertinent as a con- ference; we're still playing football this weekend. I really liked the way the rest of the league supported last season's game. I saw administrators, I saw coaches and I saw fans from around the Big Ten enjoying what they saw in Indy. Michigan State was ready to play, and so were we. It turned out to be a great foot- ball game. I expect the same thing Saturday.