Like the rest of his University of Wisconsin football teammates, junior guard John Moffitt is used to going home for Thanksgiving.

 That's not the case for many players this week, since the Badgers have one more regular-season game to play at Hawaii on Dec. 5.

 Players are practicing on Wednesday, then have two days off for Thanksgiving, before returning on Saturday. That generally means players whose homes are a driving distance away from Madison are probably able to get home, while others, like Moffitt, who is from Guilford, Conn., will not.

 Moffitt said it will be the first Thanksgiving since he has been at UW that he won't be going home.

 Instead, Moffitt will be spending Thanksgiving at the home of quarterback Scott Tolzien, who is from Rolling Meadows, Ill., in suburban Chicago.

 "I enjoy being around the guys," Moffitt said. "I'm going to Tolzien's house. The guys are just like family, too. It's good to be around the guys. It's not like we're around strangers."

 The Badgers have made sure everybody has some place to go for Thanksgiving. UW coach Bret Bielema even offered up his home, but, apparently, no player took him up on it.

 "I know coach B opened up his house for people, which I thought was really gracious," Moffitt said. "We'll all make sure guys have places to go. To me, that's what Thanksgiving is about, it's being with friends or family."

 Tolzien said four teammates will spend Thanksgiving with his family, with his dad, Mike, cooking the turkey. It's yet another sign, Tolzien said, of the closeness of this team.

 "It goes back to the whole cohesive team," Tolzien said. "It's pretty neat the way guys have opened up their homes for other guys -- black, white, offense, defense, senior, freshman, whatever the case may be. It's pretty cool the way guys have come together."

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