Carr Heeds Rival Voices Wolverines Seem To Thrive In Warmer Weather

To the winners go the spoils, and, apparently, advice from the losers.

When planning his Rose Bowl itinerary, Michigan coach Lloyd Carr consulted with Joe Paterno of Penn State and John Cooper of Ohio State, veterans of recent trips to Pasadena.

Michigan defeated both teams en route to the Big 10 title and a Rose Bowl date with Washington State. Ohio State won the 1997 Rose Bowl over Arizona State and Penn State whipped Oregon three years ago in Pasadena.

“Both of those guys changed for this game from what they normally would do,” Carr said during a Tuesday conference call.

“Joe felt very confident that you should leave early, practice in warm weather and get a little more focused at a different site, then move up to where you’re going to be for the last week of the game.”

Michigan arrived in Southern California on Dec. 19. The No. 1-ranked Wolverines have held closed two-a-day practices at Saddleback Junior College in Mission Viejo. They plan to relocate practices closer to Pasadena on Friday.

Michigan practices have been closed all season, prompting some to give Carr the unflattering nickname “Paranoid Lloyd.”

But the Wolverines don’t seem to mind the two-a-days or the lack of spectators.

“Practices have been going good,” quarterback Brian Griese said. “It’s been a good place for us to go. The weather’s been great, much better than Ann Arbor.”

Several teams in recent history arrived later, roughly Christmas Day, to begin Rose Bowl preparations. The Wolverines headed West earlier because it allowed players to concentrate on final exams before departing, Carr said.

“We could take our finals without practicing at 7 at night or working practices around finals,” he said. “I feel very good about what we’ve done, regardless of the outcome.”

Title hungry

Washington State’s 67-year drought between Rose Bowl appearances has been well chronicled. Michigan will be playing in its 17th Rose Bowl, the first since 1992.

But Michigan would like to put an end to one long dry spell. The Wolverines haven’t won a national title since 1948. The last Big 10 team to finish No. 1 was Woody Hayes’ Ohio State Buckeyes, who defeated USC 27-16 in the ‘68 Rose Bowl.

Carr cited a challenging conference schedule as the primary reason for the lack of national titles.

“You are playing on the road in different environments, and it’s a very physical conference. It’s very difficult to get through unscathed,” Carr said.

“The other thing is when a Big 10 team plays in the Rose Bowl, it is an away game. You are playing in a stadium that almost always is a stadium that favors the Pac-10.

“And then, maybe we just haven’t been good enough. We’ve always been accused of being a slow conference from a speed standpoint.”

Numerically speaking

Carr heaped praise on WSU’s offense. He’d done his homework.

“Since I’ve been at Michigan, (WSU quarterback) Ryan Leaf is the best quarterback we’ve played against,” Carr said. “We’ve never played against a team that averaged 42 points a game to my knowledge. Seven into 42, that’s six touchdowns. That’s production.”

Carr wouldn’t divulge his defensive game plan. “You might be a Washington State grad, so I certainly can’t tell you what we’ll do,” he joked. “We’ll rush one guy and try to cover all their speed with the other 10.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo