One dream left

Brian Griese has had a tumultous career at Michigan, but after finally putting his critics to rest this season, he has the chance to lead the Wolverines to the Rose Bowl

The end of an era is here. Michigan quarterback Brian Griese does not flinch, complain or dwell on the inevitable. With the same inner calm and maturity that he has displayed all season, Griese acknowledged the magnitude of today's matchup against Ohio State, arguably the biggest game in the last decade for Michigan football and certainly the biggest game of his career.

He knows the nation and his cynics and supporters will be watching. As the quarterback, the leader of the best, Michigan's success hinges, in part, on how he handles the pressure playing in his last home game with Michigan's postseason fate hanging in the balance. He doesn't think about the Big House - as Michigan Stadium is affectionately known - the crowd, the excitement or the memories. Right now, concentration supersedes emotion.

PAUL TALANIAN/Daily Brian Griese came to Ann Arbor without a scholarship in 1993. Now, almost five years later, the fifth-year senior has proved he has the ability to be Michigan's starting quarterback. Win or lose today, Griese will go down as one of the most accurate passers in Michigan history.

"It's going to be emotional, but it probably won't hit me until after the game," Griese said. "During the game, I try to keep people focused. Once the final whistle blows, it will hit me."

Today, Griese has the opportunity to beat Ohio State for the third straight year, and in the process, lead the Wolverines to the Rose Bowl, a dream of Griese's since he stepped onto campus as a wide-eyed freshman.

It only seems fitting that the fifth-year senior has a chance to end his fairy-tale career with a fairy-tale season.

Griese's football career has never been easy, but neither has Michigan football for the past four years. Things are different this season - for Griese and for the Wolverines.

It's ironic that Griese almost did not return for his fifth year of eligibility, with four straight four-loss seasons and a quarterback controversy looming with Scott Dreisbach on his mind. But a strong showing in last year's Outback Bowl in Tampa, Fla., factored into the decision of his life.

My performance in the Outback Bowl had everything to do with my decision," Griese said. "Adter that, I knew I wanted to come back."

Maybe something told him he had to come back.

At the start of the season, Michigan was not expected to be in the Rose Bowl contention on the last day of its season, but it happened. Griese was not expected to be the primary reason the Wolverines made it this far, but he has been.

Now Griese, a former non-scholarship player, is the leader of a Michigan team that is undefeated, ranked No. 1 in the country for the first time since 1990 and has a chance to go to Pasadena for the first time since the 1992 season, if it can beat Ohio State today.

"It's true, I've been through a lot here, but I wouldn't change a thing," Griese said. "My job is to get the team in the end zone. I realize my role this year, and I've been more of a leader."

Griese's story can almost write itself.

Rewind to the very beginning, when he was a senior at Columbus high school in Miami. He decided to attend Michigan even though he was not offered a scholarship. He walked on but didn't play in 1993. In '94, he was the kick holder for former Michigan placekicker Remy Hamilton, but that's all the action he saw..

Fast forward to the 1995 season. Griese took over the starting quarterback role in the fifth game after Dresibach went down with an injury. Although the Wolverines finished with their third straight four-loss season, Griese led the Wolverines past Ohio State in the last game of the regular season, ending the Buckeyes' chance of going to the Rose Bowl and winning a national championship.

Now fast forward to 1996. Griese lost his starting spot to Dreisbach, a more athletic player, but one who was not not as fundamentally sound as Griese.

Griese patrolled the sidelines most of that season. He was a senior, a former starter on a nationally-recognized team and now his most exciting moments came as Michigan's pooch punter. Redemption came in the final game of the season against Ohuio State. Griese relieved Dreisbach at halftime and carried the Wolverines from a nien-point deficit to a 13-9 victory, spoiling the Buckeyes' undefeated season for the second consecutive season.

So what's Griese's secret against the Buckeyes?

"Secret? I don't know. The secret has been good weather," Griese joked.

All kidding aside, Griese has a chance to make it three-straight victories against the Buckeyes today and end his career against a team he has dominated.

This game "is so important, it's hard to explain," Michigan linebacker Sam Sword said. "To send our seniors out with an undefeated record would be a great honor."

Now fast forward again and stop at the present. This is where the story ends.

Griese has traveled an interesting road to get to where he is now, and the only secret to his success this season has been hard work, dedication and a commitment to fundamentals.

Griese is not the prototypical quarterback with a strong arm, quick feet and a bag of hidden weapons. He does not have a strong arm, he isn't very quick and he tends to keep the game plan simple. His strengths is to keep things simple: simple pass patterns, smarts, quick thinking and poise in the pocket.

It has worked perfectly so far.

Griese is living proof that success also follows quarterbacks who don't have big names and who aren't flashy or high-powered machines. He is currently ranked 19th in the country in passing efficiency, just two spots behind Tennessee's Peyton Manning, the front-runner for the Heisman Trophy. There are just four quarterbacks in the history of Michigan football who have passed for more than 300 yards in a game - Griese is third on that list with 323 yards against Penn State in 1995.

He is 12th on Michigan's single-season passing yards list with 1,577 in 1995. He already has 1,895 passing yards in the '97 season, courtesy of short, methodical pass patterns aided by a few key blocks. With two games remaining, Griese has the potential to move into the list's top-five.

"Brian Griese is doing a great job running that football team," Ohio State coach John Cooper said.

It is strangely appropriate that Griese will cap off his career against the Buckeyes, but the tables are turned this season. This season, Ohio State has a chance to play spoiler to Michigan's perfect season. A Michigan victory will give the Wolverines the Rose Bowl berth they covet and hand Griese a memorable season. A loss will likely erase his fairy-tale story.

"We understand what we did to them last year," Griese said of Michigan's 13-9 victory. "Every guy remembers that, and we're committed to not letting that happen to us.

"I had always dreamed of the Rose Bowl, but I never thought it would come to this," Griese said. "I haven't had a problem relaxing. You only get to live once and go through this type of experience."

SARA STILLMAN/Daily In a controversial decision - but one that will not be second-guessed - Lloyd Carr gave Brian Griese the starting quarterback job the first game of the season.

11-21-97