INSIDE COLLEGE FOOTBALL
The Good, the Bad and the Both
by Ivan Maisel
Posted: Wed December 3, 1997
 These were the season's biggest surprises.
1. Washington State. It's been 67 years since the Cougars' last
Rose Bowl appearance—so long ago that they played Alabama in
that 1931 game. (The Big Ten and Pac-10 wouldn't tie up the Rose
Bowl berths until 16 years later.) Behind Ryan Leaf's arm and
the running of Michael Black, Washington State went 10-1 and
clinched the trip to Pasadena by winning at Washington. You
can't beat that.
2. Colorado. A consensus preseason top-10 pick, the Buffaloes
finished 5-6, their first losing record in 13 years. The running
game never materialized, and quarterback John Hessler's
confidence flickered like a lightbulb during a thunderstorm. The
Hessler who led Colorado to two fourth-quarter touchdowns within
60 seconds against Nebraska last Friday is the Hessler coach
Rick Neuheisel thought he'd have all year.
3. Michigan State. Surprise I: a 5-0 start that propelled the
Spartans to No. 12 in the polls. Surprise II: a four-game losing
streak during which breakdowns by the special teams resulted in
disastrous losses to Northwestern and Purdue. Surprise III: a
49-14 pounding of Penn State last Saturday. That, combined with
an easy victory over Illinois on Nov. 22, left Spartans fans
with a bad case of the what-might-have-beens.
Issue date: December 8, 1997
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