Best 4th Quarters: Michigan vs. Washington State (1998 Rose Bowl)

The 1998 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game, part of the 1997–98 college bowl season, played on January 1 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. The 84th Rose Bowl Game, it featured top-ranked Michigan beating Washington State 21–16, and Wolverine quarterback Brian Griese was named the Rose Bowl Player of the Game. The next Rose Bowl was part of the newly-formed Bowl Championship Series (BCS). This was also the final year that the game was not branded with corporate sponsorship.

Michigan earned the right to play in the 84th Rose Bowl game by going through the entire regular season undefeated. With a dominating defense led by Heisman Trophy-winning cornerback Charles Woodson and All-American defensive end Glen Steele and a resourceful offense led by quarterback Brian Griese, the Wolverines went 11-0, yielding only 144 points. Lloyd Carr was in his third season as the head coach. They defeated preseason top 5 Colorado, 27-3 in the season opener on September 13. Michigan defeated Notre Dame, 21-14 on September 27. Two-time Big Ten champion Northwestern was a 23-6 victim on October 11. The Iowa game on October 18 was the closest call as the Wolverines trailed 21-7 at halftime before rallying to win 28-24. Michigan stormed into Spartan Stadium on October 25 and subdued the Michigan State Spartans 23-7. On November 22, it was #1 (Michigan) vs. #4 (Ohio State) for the right to represent the Big Ten in the Rose Bowl. Thanks to an interception returned for a touchdown and a Charles Woodson 77-yard punt return for a touchdown, Michigan defeated Ohio State 20-14 to finish 11-0, 8-0. The Wolverines entered the Rose Bowl ranked #1 in the AP and coaches' poll.

With the 21-16 Rose Bowl win over Washington State, the Wolverines would claim the Associated Press (AP) national championship, as well as the Grantland Rice Award (Football Writers Association of America) and MacArthur Bowl (National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame trophy). Washington State hadn't played in the Rose Bowl Game since it lost to Alabama in the 1931 edition—a 67-year absence.

But the Cougars, led by high-profile quarterback Ryan Leaf, ended that streak mainly to their very first game of the 1997 season. In the opener, the Cougars stormed out to a big lead over the UCLA Bruins and held them off with a goal-line stand in the closing minutes to win 37–34. WSU followed that with a 28–21 win over the USC Trojans, the Cougars' first win in the Los Angeles Coliseum in many years. The Cougars also survived an overtime thriller against the Arizona Wildcats, winning 35–34 when Arizona chose to go for a two-point conversion attempt and failed. WSU's perfect season was ruined in a 44–31 loss at Arizona State, but the Cougars cemented their Rose Bowl bid with a 41–35 victory over the rival Washington Huskies, their first Apple Cup win in Seattle in a dozen years.

On New Year's Eve, Cougar head coach Mike Price was bedridden with the flu. While Leaf was their best player (he'd declare himself for the 1998 NFL Draft on January 2), they also received important contributions from their wide receiving corps, better known as the Fab Five: Kevin McKenzie, Shawn McWashington, Shawn Tims, Chris Jackson and Nian Taylor. WSU also had a tremendous running back in Michael Black and a future NFL offensive lineman in Cory Withrow. On the defensive side, linemen Dorian Boose and Leon Bender both became NFL draftees in April, though Bender died in late May. Linebacker Steve Gleason and safety Lamont Thompson also went on to play in the NFL.

The next year, the Rose Bowl game would become part of the Bowl Championship Series. This would give a greater chance of the number one and number two teams meeting. Michigan was named the college football national champion for the 1997 football season in the AP poll. In the coaches poll, undefeated Nebraska (which defeated #3 Tennessee 42–17 in the Orange Bowl) was voted #1; Michigan had entered the Rose Bowl first in both polls, and were favored to beat the Cougars by seven points. This was the last Rose Bowl game with an attendance of over 100,000. The stadium was modified following the game to widen the playing field for soccer and remove lower seats that were blocked by players on the sidelines.

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