Rose Bowl
1978
Washington 27
Michigan 20
PASADENA,
Calif. (AP) - No longer is it a deep, dark secret. The guessing game is
over. Once and for all, it is safe to say the Washington Huskies can
play football just about as well as you'd like to see it played.
Led by the running and passing of senior quarterback Warren Moon and two game-saving interceptions in the final two minutes, the Huskies upset the fourth ranked Michigan Wolverines 27-20 in the 64th Rose Bowl game Monday.
It was a game the 13th-ranked Huskies never thought they would be in, a game the Wolverines expected they would be, and a game that was a dream-come-true for Moon.
"When we were 1-3, our fans, the rest of the fans in the Pacific 8 Conference and the whole country had given up on us," said Moon, who ran for two touchdowns and passed for a third score to become the game's most valuable player.
"It just goes back to the faith and confidence we had in ourselves all along," continued Moon. "We proved today to ourselves and everybody in the nation that we can play competitive football with anybody. That was my dream and the team's dream- to win the Rose Bowl."
But it took interceptions deep in Washington territory by linebacker Michael Jackson with 1:21 to play and by cornerback Nesby Glasgow with 32 seconds left to preserve the victory in the Huskies' first Rose Bowl appearance in 14 years.
The loss was the fourth in eight years here for Michigan under Coach Bo Schembechler.
"Our defense just didn't play very well in the first half and that hurt. That probably disappointed me more than anything," said Schembechler, whose Big Ten conference Wolverines were rated a 13-point favorite to beat the Huskies of the Pac-8.
"But give a lot of credit to Washington. They played fantastic that first half," added Schembechler, whose team trailed 17-0 at halftime. "They played as well as any team we've played out here. We just got too far behind."
James Admitted he had never seen his team play better than it did Monday.
"We didn't play perfectly, but we played as well as I think we can," said James, whose team was all but forgotten after losing three of its first four games this season, but then regrouped to win six of its seven conference contests.
The 6-foot-2 Moon, playing before a crowd of 105,312, scored on a 2-yard run in the first period and a 1-yard run in the second quarter and passed 28 yards to Spider Gaines in the third period for Washington's final touchdown and a 24-0 lead.
The turning point, James said, was Moon's pass to Gaines that capped a 97- yard drive after the Huskies had stopped Michigan on a fourth down play at the Washington 3-yard line.
"That was a great defensive stand. That was something that really gave our team a lift," said James.
Moon's first TD capped a nine-play march that began on the Michigan 49, where the ball was ruled dead when punter John Anderson dropped to his knee to field a low snap from center.
Washington made it 10-0 with 10:33 left in the second period on Steve Robbins' 30- yard field goal. Moon's 62-yard pass to Gaines on first down moved the Huskies to the Michigan 17 before they settled for Robbins' kick.
Moon, who completed 12 of 23 passes for 188 yards with two interceptions, made it 17-0 with his short run late in the first half.
"I didn't think the 17 points would hold up," said James. "I said coming in that we'd need 3 1/2 touchdowns to win, and I wasn’t too far off.”
"The biggest question going in was could we stop their option- could we grab (fullback Russell Davis) up the middle and slow him down and then stop (quarterback Rick) Leach running outside. We had a lot of respect for Leach and he threw the hall very well late in the game."
It was Leach, who completed 14 of 27 passes for 239 yards, who scared the daylights out of the Huskies in the final period.
"We never quit. We came back like champions. I'm still proud," said Leach who has started all 36 of Michigan's games at quarterback the past three seasons.
With
a first-and-goal late in the game, Leach lofted a pass intended for
freshman tailback Stanley Edwards that first hit Edwards in the hands,
then bounced up on his helmet and shoulder and rolled down his back.
"It was just one of those weird plays that happens in a game," said Jackson, who grabbed the ball in mid-air to seemingly thwart Michigan's last comeback bid.
But the Wolverines got another chance after a punt, only to see Glasgow intercept another Leach pass, that one at the Washington 7-yard line intended for Ralph Clayton.
Leach's 76-yard scoring bomb to Curt Stephenson with 4:31 left in the third period finally got the Wolverines on the scoreboard. The pass play broke the Rose Bowl record of 70 yards from Bob Dethman to Gene Gray of Oregon State against Duke in the 1942 game.
Robbins added a 28-yard field goal for Washington before Davis scored on a 2-yard run early in the fourth period for Michigan and Leach hit Edwards with a 32-yard TD pass with 3:44 to play.
“We felt we had to come in and gamble to win this football game and we did," said James. "I was worried we wouldn't be able to run the ball, but our offensive line just did a tremendous job. I really thought before the game that Michigan was a better team than we were. But I have a lot more respect for my team right now than before."
"I'm impressed with this Michigan team, being down so badly and coming back and almost winning," said Schembechler.
"We're a young team with the whole backfield back. We'll be back."
Washington finished with an 8-4 mark, Michigan wound up 10-2
Leach is pressured.
Attendance- 105,312
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
UW- Moon 2 run (Robbins kick)
Second Quarter
UW- FG 30 Robbins
UW- Moon 1 run (Robbins kick)
Third Quarter
UW- Gaines 28 pass from Moon (Robbins kick)
UM- Stephenson 76 pass from Leach (Willner kick)
UW- FG 18 Robbins
Fourth Quarter
UM- Davis 2 run (Willner kick)
UM- Edwards 32 pass from Leach (kick failed)
Individual Statistics
Rushing
UM- R. Davis 18-79, Edwards 15-74
UW- Steele 13-77, Gipson 15-48, Rowland 8-32
Passing
UM- Leach 14-27-239
UW- Moon 12-23-188, Wilson 1-1-46
Receiving
UM- Clayton 5-84, R. Davis
3-26, Edwards 2-41, R. White 2-8, Stephenson 1-76
UW- Gaines 4-122, Greenwood 3-28, Gipson 2-24, Stevens 1-46
