The Rose Report
THE WORD
“Michigan has not seen five guys that can run like these receivers after they catch the ball or seen that kind of arm on a quarterback. Washington State has not shown that it can protect the quarterback late in the game. Michigan will be sure to exploit that. You have a high-risk offense going against the best defense in the country. The team that gets greedy the quickest will get hurt the most.”
Keith Jackson, ABC-TV play-by-play announcer
“Since I’ve been at Michigan - 18 years - I think Ryan Leaf is the best quarterback we’ve played against. Offensively, we’ve never played a team in my memory that averaged 42 points a game. We’ve never faced a team as prolific as this. No one has stopped their offense and I don’t think anyone can stop their offense… . Our defense is not going to win this game by itself.”
Lloyd Carr, Michigan coach
“They’ll score some points, but not 35-40 points. They haven’t played a defense like ours.”
Brian Griese, Michigan quarterback
LOOK BACK
During the first 103 years of its football history, Washington State played in only two Rose Bowls games, yet one man - a non-Cougar - was involved in both.
Wallace Wade was a member of the Brown team that lost to WSU 14-0 in the 1916 Rose Bowl and the coach of the Alabama team that blanked the Cougars 24-0 in 1931.
QUICK COUG
Rian Lindell
Age: 20
Position: Kicker
Hometown: Vancouver, Wash.
Hobbies: Wiffle ball. Favorite band: The Beatles.
Favorite game: PGA Tour ‘98 on Sony PlayStation (best round: 4-under-par at Bay Hill).
Secret that people would be surprised to know: The 6-foot-3 Lindell weighs 240 pounds, up from 229 to start the season. “It was a long Thanksgiving break,” he explained.
FANS FOREVER JJ McLallen
JJ McLallen, a senior majoring in music at Washington State, made a crucial error in judgment earlier this year and now he’s paying for it by eating out of hubcaps.
“I used to be in the Cougars marching band,” writes McLallen, “until I got caught up in trying to actually graduate. Boy am I kicking myself!”
As a member of the band, he would have used a jet plane to get to Pasadena. As a loyal Cougar without connections, he will instead drive to Pasadena with two friends and bring along a campstove and a hubcap to cook with so they don’t have to east fast food the entire trip.
The McLallen Troupe will also bring bicycles and ride into Pasadena on New Year’s eve and camp on Colorado Street.
“We’ll wake up bright and early, or whenever the first marching band passes, to watch the parade. Then we will ride the bikes back to the Rose Bowl to cheer on the Cougs.”
2 graphics: 1. Key Matchup: Jeff Banks vs. Charles Woodson 2. Gamebreakers