4B - The Michigan Daily -- Wednesday, January 7, 1998
GAME STATI$TICS'
WASHINGTON STATE
PASSING
Cougars' lament:
6l
Player
Leaf
Totals
C-A
17-35
17-35
RUSHING
Player
Black
Gilmore
Tims
Leaf
Clayton
Totals
Aft
8
1
10
2
28
RECEIVING
Player
Jackson
McKenzie
Mc Washington
Tims
Taylor
Gilmore
Jefferson
Clayton
Totals
PUNTING
Player
Banks
No.
5
5
2
2
1
1
1
0
17
Yds
24
20
14
6
3
67
Yd
89
78
43
9
46
8
18
33:
Yds
331
331
SAvg
34
2.5
14.0
0.6
1.5
2.4
s Avg
4 17.8
3 15.6
1 20.5
4.5
346.0
242.0
8.0
1 19.5
TD
1
1
L9
8
14t
14
4
14t
Lg
35
20
22
5
46
42
8
0
46
Int
1
1
TD
0
0
1
0
0
1
TD
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
Michigan's final drive, clock management
leave Washington State wondering 'what if?'
Wait just a second
6
No. Yds Avg Lg
6 242 40.3 46
KICKOFF RETURNS
Player No. Yds
Totals 0 0
PUNT RETURNS
Player No.
Tims 1
Totals 1
DEFENSE
Player
Gleason
Moore, B.
Stewart
Nelson
Thompson
Boose
Bender
Jackson
Doyle
Moronkola
Salausa
Price
Philley
Emerson
Moore, K.
Solo
9
8
5
5
4
4
4
4
3
1
1
1
0
0
Yds
2
2
Ast
0
1
3
3
1
2
1
0
0
1
0
0
0
1
YdsI
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
A
A%
2.
2.
T
9
9
8
8
6
6
5
4
4
1
1
1
V9 Lg TD
0 0 0
LgTD
.0 2 0
.0 2 0
Ot Sacks
0
1
0
0
0
5 0 ,
0
0
4~ 0.
I4 0
1. 0
0
0
1 0
1 0
Bik-up TD
2 0
20
1 0
1 0
1 0
1 0
8 0
By Alan Goldonbach
Daily Sports Editor
PASADENA, Calif. - Consider, for a moment,
the Michigan offense as a slow drip, boring and
monotonous, yet consistent, and Washington State's
a busted water main, uncontrollable, unpredictable
and potentially fatal.
The two contrasting styles made for a river-ting
... er, riveting finale in the Rose Bowl.
With an eight-point lead and the ball with 7:25
left on the clock, Michigan embarked on a drive
from its own 19-yard line that allowed the clock
drip, drip, drip away, like torture for the Washington
State offense, boiling on its sideline.
Michigan was able to milk 6:56 off the clock,
relying heavily on tremendous execution on third
downs. The Wolverines converted four such oppor-
tunities on the drive, a sharp turn from the first half,
when they failed to hit paydirt on five third downs.
"We really had to keep the Washington State
offense off the field," Michigan tailback Chris
Howard said. "We had to eat as much clock as pos-
sible."
The first such opportunity on this drive, howev-
er, proved to be the most crucial. With 11 yards
needed to move the chains, Michigan quarterback
Brian (riese, operating out of the shotgun position,
could not find an open target. So the stone-footed
senior took off, making 11 yards seem like 11
miles. But when he smelled the first-down marker,
Griese dove and made it by a matter of inches.
Had Griese not made the first down, Washington
State quarterback Ryan Leaf would have had the
ball with excellent field position and nearly six
minutes left, plenty of time to meticulously march
over the tiring Michigan secondary for the winning
score. But Leaf and his corps of talented targets
would have to wait.
Three plays later and seven yards away from the
red marker, Charles Woodson kept Michigan alive
taking a wide lateral pass at the left sideline, faked
a pass downfield to Chris Howard and surged ahead
eight yards.
"That's Big Ten football," Leaf said of the lengthy
drive. "They grinded it out when they needed to."
A 13-yard completion to Russell Shaw on third
and six, followed by a seven-yard strike to Woodson
three plays later, where he bowled over the
Cougars' Duane Stewart at the first-down marker,
and Michigan appeared more feline than
Wolverine, earning one new life after another. In
fact, these two third-down conversions capped a
streak of nine consecutive by Michigan in the sec-
ond half.
"I felt strongly that we had to use a lot of time,"
Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said. "Just imagine if
we hadn't have gotten those first downs."
Michigan didn't have to imagine because it
PASS DEFENSE
Player Int
Stewart 0
Bender 0
Moore, B. 0
Thompson 1
Boose 0
Moronkola 0
Totals 1
Lg
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
WARREN ZINN/Daily
Washington State quarterback Ryan Leaf said he felt helpless watching Michigan's offense eat almost
seven minutes off the clock in the fourth quarter.
Black ', prsy cast aow
MIqover Cougars' running o,. n
Bitter in defeat, players say Arizo na State a tougher foe
MICHIGAN
PASSING
Player'
Griese
Totals
RUSHING
Player
Howard
Thomas
Floyd
Griese
Woodson
Williams, C.
Totals
RECEIVING
Player
Shaw
Streets
Tuman
Howard
Thomas
Woodson
Campbell
Williams, C.
Totals
C-A
18.30
1&30
Yt
2E
26
Att
19
7
5
7
2
1
41
No.
6
4
2
2
1
1
1
1
18
Yds
70
20
17
13
6
2
128
Yds
49
127
33
13
14
7
7
1
251
1
ds TD
'51 3
51 3
Avg Lg
3.7 28
2.9 9
3.4 11
1.9 11
3.0 8
2.0 2
3.1 28
Avg Lg
8.2 13
31.8 58t
16.5 23t
6.5 16
14.0 0
7.0 7
7.0 7
1.0 1
13.9 58t
'nt
1
1
TD
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
TD
0
2
1
0
14
0
0
0
3
L9
38
23
38
TD
0
0
TD
0
0
PUNTING
Player
Vinson
Feely
Totals
No.
5
1
6
Yds
160
23
183
ti
M
Avg
32.0
23.0
30.5
Lg
20
20
KICKOFF RETURNS
Player
Thomas
Totals
No. Yds Avg
2 38 19.0
2 38 19.0
PUNT RETURNS
Player No.
Woodson 3
Totals 3
DEFENSE
Player
Jones
Hendricks
Ray
Weathers
Hall
Gold
Williams, J.
Whitley
Patmon
Feazell
Wilson
Shea
Peterson
Woodson
Solo
6
5
4
4
2
3
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
Yds
18
18
Ast
4
2
1
1
3
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
Yds
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Avg Lg
6.0 15
6.0 15
Tt
10
7
5
5
5
3
2
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
Sacks
2
0
0
0
1
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
By Alan Goldenbach
Daily Sports Editor
PASADENA, Calif. -- With Michael Black on
the sideline, the Washington State running game
was in the dark.
The Pac-10's second-leading rusher was forced
out of the game on the Cougars' third drive of the
first quarter with an injury to his calf. He could
only watch the second and third quarters as the
pain was too much for him to handle.,
But with the outcome still up in the air in the
fourth quarter, Black's gut told him to give it one
last shot. On the Cougars' first play of the fourth
quarter, he took a handoff into the line and was
stopped for no gain.
"I tried to come back,"
Black said, "but I didn't have
any nerves in my leg that
responded. I couldn't run."
74 Although Washington State's
offense is primarily pass-ori-
ented, Black still led a rushing
attack that averaged 157 yards
per game during the season.
With Black out, the Cougars'
backfield blacked out too, mustering only 67 yards
and placing an even greater load on the talented arm
of quarterback Ryan Leaf.
"When you lose the best offensive player, it's
tough," Leaf said of Black, who also caught 15
passes out of the backfield during the season.
Without a legitimate threat next to him in the
backfield, Leaf had a much more difficult time
handling the nation's best defense. Michigan con-
tinued to blitz relentlessly and showed confidence
in just a five-man defensive front.
"Everybody in Washington knows he makes a
difference," Washington State wide receiver Kevin
McKenzie said. "Without a running game, you
can't have a passing game."
CAST THESE VOTES FOR NEBRASKA: Perhaps a
few were sore losers. Maybe they were caught up
in the moment of having a Rose Bowl victory right
there in their grasp. Or they might have been just
telling the truth.
Regardless of their reason, several Washington
State players didn't have a whole lot of high praise
for Michigan.
"Michigan is not the best team we've faced,"
wide receiver Nian Taylor said. "Arizona State's
defense is better than Michigan's. Michigan just
got a couple of lucky plays on us."
In case that seems like a shot in the dark, the Sun
Devils handed the Cougars their only other loss of
the season, a 44-31 decision Nov. 1 in Tempe.
Wide receiver Kevin McKenzie said that
Arizona State's "secondary is much better and
much faster" than Michigan's, which was ranked
ROSE BOIW L
Continued from Page lB
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
No. I in the nation statistically, even though the
Sun Devils allowed Washington State almost twice
as many points as the Wolverines did.
"Michigan is thoroughly impressed with the way
we played," Cougars defensive end Leon Bender
said. "If we play them again, the outcome wouldn't
be the same. I thought we were the better team on
the field."
And of course, what would a controversial end-
ing be without a conspiracy theory or two.
"If Michigan had been down, they might have
got those two seconds back," wide receiver Shawn
Tims said.
Ouch.
became a reality in the game's final minute. With 39
ticks on the clock and the ball at the Washington
State 30, Michigan lined up for an apparent 47-yard
field goal, but faked it and Jay Feely dropped a
pooch punt down on the Cougars' seven-yard line.
Ninety-three yards from victory with no time-
outs, Washington State seemed left for dead. But
Michigan could ill-afford to not recall another five
point lead some three years ago.
Remember 26-2? You know, 64 yards away, two
seconds on the clock? The Wolverines sure do.
Colorado, a name as evil to Michigan as Satan's
is to the Bible, was elbowing its way to the front of
the Wolverines' minds. As much as they tried to
block out the image, it almost seemed as if Kordell
Stewart and Michael Westbrook were back to haunt
Michigan, this time in crimson.
"You're talking to a guy who was on the field the
day Colorado threw that pass and broke Michigan
heart,' Carr said. "So I know anything can happen."
But for a moment it seemed anything would even
be a stretch for the Cougars. Incompletions on the
first two plays left 16 seconds on the clock.
Then Leaf uncorked a bomb down the right side-
line to Nian Taylor, who appeared to shove
Woodson out of the way before snagging the pass.
The official standing right next to the players actu-
ally removed the penalty flag from his back pocket,
but instead of dropping it, let it sit in his hand as he
saw Taylor come down with the reception.
Tlick, tick, tick.
Leaf and his offense ran downfield to line up.
Nine seconds remained. He fired a dart over the
middle to tight end Love Jefferson, whose lateral to
a streaking Jason Clayton brought the ball down to
the Michigan 16-yard line.
Tick, tick, tick.
Two seconds remained and Leaf looked to stop
the clock with one second left by spiking the ball..
But after the teams lined up and the clock started.
Leaf cocked his head up and looked up at refere.
Dick Burleson for the go-ahead. That glitch proba-
bly cost the Cougars the one second that would have
set up as dramatic a finish as one could hope.
Leaf took the snap and one quick step before
spiking the ball. But when he looked up at the
clock, it showed a trio of zeroes. Time had run out
on the Cougars.
"With two seconds left," Leaf said, "you don't
want to put the ball in the hands of the referee. But
I don't blame them at all."
Carr, on the other hand, was probably the fir
person on the field from either sideline.
"Even when we ran onto the field, I wasn't sure
what was going to happen," Carr said. "I was hop-
ing that if there was any doubt in (the officials')
minds, they would forget about it because there
would be too many people to kick off the field."
o9
49
Michigan coach
Lloyd Carr
addressed his
players after
their Rose BoW
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/ESP
coaches poll
behind Orange-
Bowl champion
Nebraska.
WARREN ZINN/Dail
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 pla*
that has worked magic all season - the bootleg roll-
out 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
PASS DEFENSE
Player int
Woodson 1
Copenhaver 0
Weathers 0
Williams, J. 0
Feazell 0
Peterson 0
Totals 1
Team Stats N
First Downs
Rushes/Yards
Passing Yards
Offensive Plays
Total Offense
Return Yards
Comp/Att/Int 1
Punts/Avg
Sacks/Yds
Fumbles/Lost
Penalties/Yards
Time of Poss
Lg
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Brk-up TD
4 0
2 0
1 0
1 0
1 0
10
10 0
Michigan
22
41/128
251
71
379
56
18/30/1
6/30.5
4/28
0/0
4/40
32:14
Wash. State
18
28/67
331
63
398
2
17/35/1
6/40.3
1/15
0/0
4/43
27:46
SCORING SUMMARY
First Quarter
Washington State - McKenzie 15-yard
pass from Leaf
(Lindell kick), 3:17
Second Quarter
Michigan - Streets 53-yard pass from
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
Woodson said. "1 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.