In Any Event, All Signs Point To Rose Bowl

When No. 1 Michigan plays No. 8 Washington State in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1, the result will be memorable no matter what the outcome.

The Wolverines (11-0) are looking for their first national title since 1948 and the Big Ten is looking for its first national champ since Ohio State in ‘68. In any case, the Rose Bowl gets a No. 1 team for the first time since the end of the ‘79 season.

The Cougars (10-1), who have been playing football since 1894, are in their first Rose Bowl in 67 years and only their seventh bowl overall.

“This is the Rose Bowl, so we’re going to enjoy every minute we have down here,” Cougars quarterback Ryan Leaf said.

Michigan’s take is simple: “We came out here to win a championship,” said Brian Griese, Leaf’s counterpart.

The pressure’s on Michigan. In particular, Heisman Trophy winning cornerback Charles Woodson, the first primarily defensive player to win the award.

“They’ve got a great passing attack, one we haven’t seen all season,” Woodson said. “We’re going to get some action back there.”

Leaf, a 6-foot-5 junior who may be playing his last college game, completed 210 of 375 passes for 3,637 yards and 33 touchdowns.

His corps of receivers, the “Fab Five” if you will, is led by Kevin McKenzie (50-833, 10 TDs) and Chris Jackson (49-916, 11 TDs). And there’s also running back Michael Black, who managed 1,157 yards.

Washington State, with a 42.5 points per game average, is second to Nebraska in scoring, while Michigan is tops in the nation in three defensive categories - total defense (206.9 yards), points (8.9) and pass efficiency.

But the game could boil down to this: the Cougars’ defense (25 points and 330 yards per game) vs. the Wolverines’ offense (27.4 points and 388.4 yards per game).

In Miami, No. 2 Nebraska and No. 3 Tennessee, which meet in the Orange Bowl on Jan. 2, have become big Washington State fans. A win by the Cougars means Huskers (12-0) vs. Vols (11-1) becomes a national title game in coach Tom Osborne’s finale for Nebraska.

The bowl season begins in earnest on Christmas, with Michigan State playing Washington in the Aloha Bowl.

In between, there are intriguing coaching matchups: Florida (Steve Spurrier) vs. Penn State (Joe Paterno) in the Citrus and Ohio State (John Cooper, 2-6 in bowls for the Buckeyes) vs. Florida State (Bobby Bowden, 14-3-1 for the Seminoles) in the Sugar.

The picks:

Dec. 25

Aloha Bowl (Honolulu), Michigan State (plus 4-1/2) vs. Washington: Huskies lost three straight to close season, but top stars are healthy. … WASHINGTON 35-28.

Dec. 26

Motor City Bowl (Pontiac, Mich.), Marshall (plus 2-1/2) vs. Mississippi Thundering Herd step out of MAC and into SEC… . MISSISSIPPI 31-24.

Dec. 27

Insight.com Bowl (Tucson, Ariz.), Arizona (minus 10) vs. New Mexico: Arizona has a star in the making - quarterback Ortege Jenkins… . ARIZONA 41-21.

Dec. 28

Independence Bowl (Shreveport, La.), Notre Dame (plus 6-1/2) vs. LSU: Ron Powlus plays his last game for Irish - really… . LSU 27-17.

Dec. 29

Humanitarian Bowl (Boise), Utah State (minus 2-1/2) vs. Cincinnati: Bearcats in postseason after 47-year absence… . UTAH STATE 28-24.

Carquest Bowl (Miami), Georgia Tech (minus 3) vs. West Virginia: If Amos Zereoue is not 100 percent, neither are the Mountaineers… . GEORGIA TECH 27-20.

Holiday Bowl (San Diego,) Missouri (plus 4) vs. Colorado State: Quarterback showcase - Tigers’ Corby Jones vs. Rams’ Moses Moreno… . MISSOURI 42-37.

Dec. 30 Alamo Bowl (San Antonio), Oklahoma State (plus 4) vs. Purdue: Plan on points galore… . PURDUE 38-30.

Dec. 31

Sun Bowl (El Paso, Texas), Arizona State (plus 4-1/2) vs. Iowa: Neither team thrilled to be there… . IOWA 28-21.

Liberty Bowl (Memphis, Tenn.), Pittsburgh (plus 8-1/2) vs. Southern Mississippi: Panthers lucky to be there, Golden Eagles aren’t… . SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI 35-20.

Fiesta Bowl (Tempe, Ariz.), Kansas State (minus 3-1/2) vs. Syracuse: Orangemen have won their last seven postseason games… . SYRACUSE 35-25.

Jan. 1

Outback Bowl (Tampa, Fla.), Wisconsin (plus 8-1/2) vs. Georgia: Bulldogs collar one-dimensional Badgers… . GEORGIA 31-21.

Gator Bowl (Jacksonville, Fla.), North Carolina (minus 11-1/2) vs. Virginia Tech: Looks like a mismatch, but Tar Heels in coaching transition… . NORTH CAROLINA 27-21.

Citrus Bowl (Orlando, Fla.), Penn State (plus 11) vs. Florida: No Jurevicius, no Enis. What’s wrong at Penn State? … FLORIDA 35-21.

Cotton Bowl (Dallas), Texas A&M (plus 12) vs. UCLA: Bruins’ QB Cade McNown set to become ‘98 Heisman front-runner… . UCLA 42-17.

Rose Bowl (Pasadena, Calif.), Michigan (minus 7-1/2) vs. Washington State: Griese could be the key for Wolverines… . MICHIGAN 27-21.

Sugar Bowl (New Orleans): Florida State (minus 6-1/2) vs. Ohio State: Tough to go against Bowden… . FLORIDA STATE 33-28.

Jan. 2

Peach Bowl (Atlanta), Clemson (plus 6-1/2) vs. Auburn: Dameyune Craig is the difference for Auburn’s Tigers… . AUBURN 28-24.

Orange Bowl (Miami), Nebraska (minus 14) vs. Tennessee: Osborne goes out a winner; Manning doesn’t… . NEBRASKA 35-24.

Games of Dec. 6: 3-2 (straight); 3-2 (spread) Season: 188-58 (straight); 127-111-1 (spread)