MEN'S COLLEGE TEMPLE 76. BASKETBALL WISCONSIN 73, Toledo 68 NO. ILLINOIS 84, lowa 78, INDIANA 85, Evansville 73 MIAMI (Ohio) 80, Xavier 72 Fresno State 61 ST. JOHN'S 69, Colgate 53 TEXAS 85, Florida 82 Georgia 84, COLORADO 73 MONTANA 86, Whitman 46 WOMEN'S COLL BASKETBALL Texas Tech 82. UTEP 48 Washington 77, Gonzanga 67 COLLEGE HOCKEY Boston College 3, BOSTON UNIV. Brown 5, HARVARD 2 Wednesday December 10, 1997 17 THE HESMAN TROPHY Could Woodson be the bestif By Nicholas J. Cotsonika Daily Sports Writer few more seconds, and he would've done it. Right leg up. Right arm extended stiffly to ward off pursuers. Left arm tucking in its treasure ghtly, as if the ball were the Heisman Trophy he hopes to receive when the winner is announced Saturday. After his 78-yard punt return for a touchdown that sparked No. I Michigan to victory over Ohio State on Nov. 22, however, Charles Woodson couldn't strike the pose made famous by thex Heisman's statue. "I was Satu going to do it," he said, "but my teammates mobbed meath o fast" in the end,zone, and Trophy wl1 be present- .ad by work ity's e moment was gone. d t w kAthlety$ Had he been able to,Ib A Woodson would have looked Whem8 p.mnx strikingly similar to the most .Te is om CBs, ESPN recent Wolverine to win the 'FnalstsWahgoton Heisman, wide receiver Stat quarterback Desmond Howard. In 1991, Ryan teaf, Tennessee Howard punctuated his bid q'rtrak Peyton for the award by returning a Manning , MrshalsK punt 93 yards for a touch- wide r0c0iver andy 'own against the Buckeyes - M0SS ndMchiga" nd celebrated by pretending cOrnebtalk hatr1es he was frozen in bronze. But WOodSOn Woodson has had a harder Note: Michlgf n has time associating himself with ;hd tw ei sman wm u the Heisman than Howard . _ - Tomrm' ; did, even though he is the (40) and m self-proclaimed "best player w. ) in the country." A two-time All-America cornerback and the recipi- ent of this year's Walter Camp player of the year award, oodson might be Charles Would-son in Heisman rms, if you listen to what people have been saying all season: He would win it, but even his talent as a cor- nerback-wide receiver-punt returner hasn't produced enough impressive statistics. He would win it, but Tennessee quarterback Peyton Manning has.it locked up. He would win it, but the award never has been voted to a primarily defen- sive player. "There are so many people See WOODSON, page 19 06 . Charles Woodson could become the first primarily defensive player to win the Heisman Trophy. MARGARET MYERS/D0ily THE NATIONAL TITLE First since 1948 looms large for'M By Danielle Rumore Daily Sports Editor Redshirt freshman Steve Hutchinson has only been a member of the Michigan football team for two seasons, but he understands the importance of the Wolverines' first trip to the Rose Bowl since the 1992 season. Four straight four-loss seasons have kept the Wolverines out of the Rose Bowl since 1993. This sea- son's trip to Pasadena, where the top-ranked Wolverines (8-0 Big Ten, 11-0 overall) will face No. 7 Washington State (7-1 Pac-10, 10-1 overall), carries more weight than usual with a national title hanging in the balance. It Jy would be Michigan's first since 1948. "Right now, we're worried m about the Rose Bowl," Hutchinson said. "We don't W . want to send another senior W r class out without rings." The Wolverines have mmh t enjoyed a dream season with MichiOtn1thih wo the nation's top-ranked erstR x;9,6 defense paving the way to wt pla t their first perfect regular sea- son since 1971. A victory in Pasadena would give the Wolverines their first perfectW season since 1948 and at least 1 t r a share of the national title. The Rose Bowl this season