NCAA Football Recap (Washington St-Michigan)
Posted: Thur January 1, 1998 at 10:57 p.m. EST
Michigan staked its claim to its first national
championship in 49 years by rallying behind Brian Griese and
Heisman Trophy winner Charles Woodson for a 21-16 victory over
Washington State in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena,
California.
The Wolverines (12-0) closed out their first perfect season
since winning the national title in 1948 but may have left a
small opening for Nebraska, which also is unbeaten
and faces number three Tennessee in the Orange Bowl on Friday.
"I have no doubt we should be national champions," Griese said.
"We played the toughest schedule in the country. We came to the
Rose Bowl and beat Washington State. I ask you is there
anything more we can do."
"We're national champions, there's no doubt," Woodson said. "We
just played hard every week and we found ourselves in the Rose
Bowl and we won that, too."
Ranked atop both polls, Michigan figures to claim at least a
share of the championship. Although the coaches' and media
polls split the national championship twice this decade, no
number-one team has won its bowl game and lost its top ranking
in the history of the media poll.
"It's a team that answered every question and accepted every
challenge and they did it all year long," Michigan coach Lloyd
Carr said. "Now they'll have the opportunity to have an
experience and an achievement that they can remember the rest of
their lives."
"Michigan is number one," Washington State coach Mike Price
said. "They're getting my vote."
Griese and Woodson rescued the Wolverines, who trailed 13-7 in
the third quarter. Griese responded with two long touchdown
passes and Woodson made key plays on both defense and offense.
With Michigan clinging to a five-point lead and Washington State
quarterback Ryan Leaf pleading for another possession, Griese
and Woodson combined to convert four straight third downs and
kill nearly all of the final 7:25. A pooch punt left Leaf and
the Cougars on their own 7 with 29 seconds remaining and their
desperation drive died at the Michigan 26.
"We fought to the last second of that game with 100 percent
effort," Price said. "I'm really proud of the football team and
the program. Only the scoreboard is a negative that can take
anything away from it."
Playing his final college game, Griese completed 18-of-30 passes
for 251 yards and three TDs and was named Most Valuable Player.
Two of the touchdowns went to Tai Streets, who had four catches
for 127 yards.
"To win the MVP is something I never expected," Griese said.
It's something as a kid you dream about. I never wanted to be
in the limelight or the all-American quarterback. I just wanted
to be part of the team."
"Today he showed what a truly great quarterback he is," Carr
said. "I said all along that he was underrated. I wouldn't
trade Brian Griese for any quarterback in the country. I
guarantee if I was a coach in the NFL, I would take Brian Griese
in a heartbeat."
Leaf finished 17-of-35 for 331 yards and one touchdown, but he
was picked off in the end zone in the first half by Woodson, the
two-way star who made two huge offensive plays down the stretch.
"I think you saw a better quarterback on the field today in the
blue than you did in the red and gray," said Leaf, a junior who
will hold a news conference at 11 a.m. EST Friday to announce
whether or not he is returning to school.
The first Rose Bowl appearance in 67 years was a disappointing
one for the Cougars (10-2), who had almost no chance to win the
national title but nearly ruined Michigan's season. However,
the Wolverines held on and became the first team since USC in
1973 to enter the Rose Bowl as a consensus number-one team and
win the game.
It was the last Rose Bowl to match the champions of the Pac-10
and Big Ten Conferences as the game will join the Bowl Alliance
next season. The leagues finished 26-26 against each other in
"The Grandaddy Of Them All."
After a spotty first half, Leaf's first snap of the second half
came from his own 1 after a Michigan punt. He fumbled, but was
able to recover and promptly drove the Cougars 99 yards in nine
plays for the go-ahead score.
He hit Shawn McWashington for 19 yards and Kevin McKenzie for 30
to move the ball to the Michigan 38. After Jason Clayton ran
four yards, Leaf hit McKenzie for 20 more before receiver Shawn
Tims took a reverse 14 yards to make it 13-7 with 8:33 remaining
in the third quarter.
The extra point was blocked, however, and Griese struck right
back. After mixing four runs by Chris Howard with a pair of
short passes to Russell Shaw, Griese found Streets behind the
secondary with a play-action pass for a 58-yard TD and a 14-13
lead with 5:07 left.
Michigan forced a punt and Griese directed a 14-play drive that
covered 77 yards and carried into the fourth quarter. Jerame
Tuman hauled in a 23-yard play-action TD pass that gave the
Wolverines an eight-point bulge with 11:21 to go.
Facing a 3rd-and-18 from his own 12, Leaf hit McKenzie for 19
yards and DeJuan Gilmore for 42 down the right sideline to the
Michigan 27. But a sack and an incompletion forced Washington
State to settle for Rian Lindell's 48-yard field goal with 7:25
to play.
The Cougars forced a 3rd-and-11 and had Griese trapped behind
the line of scrimmage, but the quarterback escaped and scrambled
for the first down at the Michigan 29.
On 3rd-and-7, Griese threw a lateral to Woodson, who hesitated
as if to pass, then raced eight yards to keep the drive alive.
Three plays later, Griese hit Shaw for 13 yards on 3rd-and-6. On
another 3rd-and-7, Griese found Woodson for seven yards to the
WSU 33.
"You don't know where he's going to be half the time," Price
said. "He's gonna make plays wherever he is. He wound up
getting a crucial first down."
The Cougars finally stopped the Wolverines, but were fooled by
Jay Feely's punt from field-goal formation that rolled out of
bounds on the 7. Leaf completed a 46-yard bomb to James Taylor
to the Michigan 47 with nine seconds left.
"It was tough to sit on the sidelines and watch them keep making
plays," Leaf said. "They were class people, all of them. They
played Big Ten football in that fourth quarter and just drove it
down the field."
After a penalty for delay of game, Leaf threw to Love Jefferson,
who lateraled to Clayton for a total gain of 26 yards to the
Michigan 26. The clock was stopped with two seconds left as the
chains were moved, but Leaf's spike attempt to get one more play
came too late.
"It shouldn't take two seconds to down the ball," Price said.
"We still would have had to go out there amd made the play. It
would have been nice to go back out there and get the chance."
Howard had 19 carries for 70 yards. Shaw caught six passes for
49 yards. Woodson finished with two carries for six yards and
one reception for seven yards.
Jackson caught five passes for 89 yards and McKenzie added five
for 88. The Cougars were hurt by an injury to leading rusher
Michael Black, who had seven carries for 24 yards but left with
a strained right calf in the second quarter.
"We did miss Michael Black a little," Price said. "I think
Michigan will agree with that. That poor kid was just crushed,
sitting there in the locker room."
Midway through the first quarter, Washington State downed a punt
at the 1 and stopped Michigan without a first down, regaining
possession at the Wolverines 47. Leaf threw an 11-yard pass to
Jackson and scrambled nine yards on 3rd-and-6 before finding
McKenzie at the goal line with a 15-yard strike and a 7-0 lead
with 3:07 remaining.
Michigan drove to the WSU 37 on its next possession but again
was forced to punt. Leaf marched the Cougars to the 14, but on
third down, he rolled left and was picked off in the end zone by
Woodson.
"Obviously, you don't want to be down 14-0," Carr said. "That
play was big."
"If they would have scored, it would have hurt us, but if that
would have happened, we would have just had to keep poise and
stay confident," Woodson said.
The teams traded punts and Woodson's 15-yard return put Michigan
at its own 34. After a 15-yard interference penalty against Ray
Jackson, Woodson lost two yards on a run but Griese found
Streets streaking down the right sideline for a 53-yard TD pass
that tied it with 7:08 left in the first half.
Defenses dominated for the remainder of the period. Leaf was
just 8-of-20 for 106 yards, two sacks and an interception in the
first half, while Michigan's running game was held to 21 yards
on 15 carries.
© 1998 Sportsticker Enterprises, LP
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