To The Victors, Go The Roses Michigan Wraps Up Big Ten, 11-0 Season, Rose Bowl Berth

With a rose in his hand and a Big Ten championship hat on his head, Charles Woodson walked through the tunnel at Michigan Stadium and into the locker room.

After a rousing team rendition of “The Victors,” Woodson entered the interview area, sat up on the podium and held the rose aloft: “Can you all smell that?”

Woodson produced one of the sweetest performances in the history of the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry on Saturday, leading the top-ranked Wolverines to a 20-14 victory over the fourth-ranked Buckeyes.

Michigan (11-0, 8-0 Big Ten) has its first perfect season since 1971 and first Rose Bowl berth since 1993.

It puts the Wolverines in position to win their first national title since 1948, when they play No. 11 Washington State (10-1) in Pasadena on Jan. 1.

Also, Florida State dropped from the title chase with a 32-29 loss to Florida, leaving Michigan and Nebraska (10-0) as the nation’s only unbeaten teams. The Huskers still need wins over Colorado and Texas A&M to move into the Orange Bowl.

“For us, it’s a dream season,” Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said. “We never played when we didn’t play hard. The chemistry has been tremendous among these kids.”

For Ohio State (10-2, 6-2) and coach John Cooper, it was another devastating defeat. The past two seasons, the Wolverines spoiled Buckeyes’ bids for perfect seasons and national title shots. Cooper’s record fell to 1-8-1 against Michigan.

Woodson stated his Heisman Trophy case with a 37-yard catch to set up Michigan’s first TD, then returned a punt 78 yards for a score just 2:39 later for a 13-0 lead and capped the day with an end-zone interception.

Ohio State (10-2, 6-2) did not go down without a fight. After Michigan took a 20-0 lead, Joe Germaine threw a 56-yard TD pass to David Boston, who beat Woodson on the play, with 4:50 left in the third quarter and Pepe Pearson scored on a 2-yard run with 13:08 remaining to make it 20-14.

But the Wolverines’ top-rated defense held off the Buckeyes, with Germaine throwing an incomplete pass on fourth-and-10 from the Buckeyes’ 16 with 42 seconds left.

“After we sang ‘Hail to the Victors’, I just wanted to go back on the field, like an encore,” said quarterback Brian Griese, who joined dozens of teammates in doing just that. “I wanted to shake every fan’s hand in the stands. I couldn’t, but I’d say I got about 50 percent.”

Next for Michigan: vs. Washington State in Rose Bowl, Jan. 1.

Next for Ohio State: Bowl to be announced.