Back on top: Michigan goes long to stop Cougars

Griese throws for 3 TDs in Rose Bowl

PASADENA, Calif. - Preseason critics said that the 'M' in Michigan stood for "mediocrity."

Twelve stunning performances later, those naysayers can have but one word for which 'M' represents: magnificence.

The top-ranked Wolverines captured their first national championship in 49 years with a 21-16 victory New Year's Day over No. 8 Washington State in the 84th Rose Bowl before an Ann Arbor-esque crowd of 101,219.

"I'm really proud of this team," Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said after the game. "They answered every question asked of them, and they embraced the pressure of being number one. This team has tremendous heart and character, and that's what got us here."

WARREN ZINN/Daily Michigan's Tai Streets, injured for much of the season, overcame a pair of dislocated fingers and hauled in a pair of long touchdown passes, including this 53-yarder in the second quarter to put Michigan on the scoreboard.

The Wolverines, however, are not undisputed champs. The Associated Press poll deemed Michigan the nation's top team, but the USA Today/ESPNM coaches poll told a different story. Previously No. 2 Nebraska, by way of an overpowering 42-17 victory in the Orange Bowl over No. 3 Tennessee on Jan. 2, leapfrogged the Wolverines in the other major poll to take the top spot, thus spawning the third split national championship this decade.

Although Carr said he was "disappointed" with the outcome of the coaches' vote, in Pasadena, he basked in Michigan's greatest glory in nearly a half-century. As the Wolverines pointed their index fingers to the sky triumphantly and hugged one another tearfully, for many of them the realization of a Michigan man's greatest dream was a humbling experience, even for a team that was ranked 14th in the nation.

"There's no way I can comprehend what we've done," said Michigan quarterback Brian Griese after the game. "This is something that I can't describe now. Maybe tomorrow."

The dream could not have been more magical for anyone other than Griese, whose 18 for 30 passing for 251 yards and three long touchdowns earned him the game's most valuable player honors. Griese, the former walk-on who graduated last May, was set to attend graduate school and give up on what had been a turbulent collegiate career.

But at the urging of his father, NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Bob Griese Brian returned for his final year of eligibility. Now the younger Griese, who all season shied from the spotlight despite playing the most scrutinized position on the field, relished the moment and realized how close it came to remaining just a dream.

"I have been through so much," he said, "and to win the game and the national championship is my ultimate goal and the team's. To be named MVP for any kid is a dream come true. I was happy to contribute to the team. I never wanted to be in the limelight or to be an all-star."

The Cougars, possessing the nation's second-deadliest offense, almost denied Griese his dream in the game's closing moments. With nine seconds and no timeouts remaining, Washington State quarterback Ryan Leaf engineered a drive downfield that was nearly as improbable as Michigan's season.

After a pair of incompletions, Leaf hit Nian Taylor on a 46-yard bomb, on which Taylor seemed to shove Michigan's Charles Woodson out of the way to snag the pass. A delay of game penalty on the Cougars followed, and then Leaf fired a bullet eight yards downfield to Love Jefferson, who lateraled the ball to a streaking Jason Clayton, who brought it all the way down to the Michigan 16.

The clock stopped temporarily with two seconds remaining, so that the officials could move the chains. Once the two teams lined up, Leaf took the snap and spiked the ball hoping to stop the clock with one second left, leaving time for the Cougars to get set for one more play.

It never happened. Time ran out and chaos ensued - confusion from the Washington State sideline and the elation from Michigan's.

"I think everyone knows you can down the ball in less than two seconds," Washington State coach Mike Price said. "I thought when we had two seconds, it went one Mississippi ... two Mississippi."

As slowly as Price had hoped those two seconds would tick was how sluggishly Michigan's offense operated in the first half; the normally run-happy Wolverines managed just 21 yards on the ground and did not convert on any of their five third-down opportunities in the first half. But as typical of the entire season, the offense received a shot in the arm early in the second quarter from its top-ranked defense. Heisman Trophy winner Charles Woodson leaped in front of Washington State's Kevin McKenzie and picked off a potential touchdown pass in the left corner of the end zone that could have given the Cougars a 14-0 lead.

"If they had scored it really would have hurt us," Woodson said. "I played him to run a shadow route, then Ryan Leaf threw me a nice wobbly pass."

Two possessions after the interception, Griese began work on his MVP resume. Responding to those who claimed he had insufficient arm strength, Griese lofted a beauty down the right sideline that Tai Streets caught in stride a full step ahead of his man and galloped into the end zone for a 53-yard touchdown, sending the teams into the lockerrooms at halftime tied at seven.

Washington State's offense, the nation's second-best, proved its mettle when it first got its hands on the ball in the third quarter. Unfazed by starting at their own one-yard line, the Cougars drove the length of the field, culminating in a Shawn Tims 14-yard reverse run to the right pylon of the end zone.

Michigan's James Hall, however, blocked the extra point attempt by hurdling the snapper and once again, sparking the offense, which struck right back the next series.

Proving that their first connection was not a fluke, Griese threw another dime to Streets, this one for 58 yards, to put Michigan ahead for the first time, 14-13. On the day, Streets caught four passes for 127 yards, erasing any doubts about the health of his brittle fingers, which plagued him most of the regular season.

Then Michigan put the clamp down on defense and regained its bread and butter on offense - tight ball control - to seal the victory. The Wolverines' next drive that went 77 yards in 5:25 capped a play that has worked magic all season - the bootleg rollout to the right to tight end Jerame Tuman. Griese floated one to his favorite target, who was a good five yards from the nearest Cougar, for a 23-yard score and a 21-13 lead.

"Man, I thought that ball would never come down," Tuman said. "But it was a perfect pass."

After a Washington State field goal cut the lead to five, Michigan purged almost half of the fourth quarter clock, holding the ball for 6:56. The Wolverines converted nine consecutive third-down opportunities during one stretch of the second half, four of which came on this important drive. The most crucial was on a third and 11 from their own 18, when Griese was flushed out of the pocket and dove to the first down marker at the 29, keeping the drive alive by a matter of inches.

With 39 seconds remaining and the ball at the Washington State 30, Carr opted to play it conservative and not chance missing a long field. A Jay Feely pooch punt pinned the Cougars at their own seven, setting up the dramatic finish that ultimately went for naught for Washington State.

WARREN ZINN/Daily Michigan coach Lloyd Carr addressed his players after their Rose Bowl victory, saying, "You guys just won the national championship." The Wolverines were crowned national champions in the Associated Press poll, but slipped to second in the USA Today/ESPN coaches poll behind Orange-Bowl champion Nebraska.

01-07-98