Alvarez is the only Big Ten Conference coach to win consecutive Rose Bowls. Prior to his first return as interim coach, his 3–0 Rose Bowl record as a full-time coach had placed him third on the list of undefeated Rose Bowl records, behind USC's Howard Jones (5–0) and John Robinson (4–0). On December 5, 2012, the day after the 2012 Big Ten Championship Game, Badgers head coach Bret Bielema announced he would be leaving to take the Arkansas head coaching position and revealed to the media that Alvarez would be the interim coach for the Badgers in the 2013 Rose Bowl. The Badgers lost that game to the Stanford Cardinal 20–14, dropping Alvarez's Rose Bowl record to 3–1.