Woodson’s Star Shines Bit Brighter Interception, Thrilling Victory Give Heisman Winner Edge In Matchup

Washington State quarterback Ryan Leaf was trying to do the right thing. He just got the wrong result.

WSU was threatening to take a double-digit lead early in the second quarter when the Rose Bowl’s pregame subplot - Leaf vs. Michigan cornerback Charles Woodson - took center stage.

Leaf rolled to his left and threw a wobbly pass that was intercepted by Woodson in the end zone. Ironically, WSU, leading 7-0 at the time, wanted to pick off Woodson on the play.

“That was a real critical play,” WSU coach Mike Price said. “We wanted to motion a guy down inside and pick Woodson off with motion, but the clock was running down and Ryan didn’t get the play in in quite enough time to use the motion.”

As the play began to break down, Leaf attempted to limit the damage.

“I tried to throw it out of bounds so we could at least get three points out of it,” Leaf said. “But it kind of slipped out of my hand. I made the mistake of throwing a bad ball. He’s a good player and if you make a mistake he’ll beat you on it.”

Neither Leaf nor Woodson had standout days, by their lofty standards. Leaf, plagued by five first-half drops and a persistent Michigan pass rush, completed 17 of 35 for 331 yards - 73 coming on WSU’s final possession - and one TD. He was sacked four times.

Woodson, the multi-dimensional Heisman Trophy winner, was barely a two-way threat.

In addition to his interception, Woodson made a pivotal third-down conversion late in the fourth quarter to keep a clock-sapping Michigan drive alive. He caught a pass behind the line of scrimmage and was intending to throw downfield to Chris Howard. When WSU’s coverage nullified Howard, Woodson raced down the sideline for 8 yards.

That was about Woodson’s only offensive contribution. Likewise, he was contained on punt returns, gaining 18 yards on three attempts.

Though he didn’t make a lot of plays, he picked opportune times to make the ones he did.

“There’s no way to comprehend what we’ve done right now,” Woodson said. “I can’t put into words how I feel right now.”

WSU rarely challenged Woodson. He covered slot receivers most of the time and blitzed on occasion. On WSU’s opening possession, he twice blitzed and pressured Leaf into incompletions.

“There was a plan going in to throw the ball away from him, no question about that,” WSU coach Mike Price said. “But you don’t know where he’s going to be half the time. He’s going to make plays.”

Woodson said he would announce whether he will declare himself eligible for the NFL draft or return for his senior year within a week.

He celebrated the victory with an emotional embrace of his father.

“I am going to enjoy the win and go to the Hula Bowl,” said Woodson, who exchanged a pre-game handshake with Leaf minutes before kickoff. “I didn’t get a chance to talk to Ryan. I was out celebrating with the fans.”

He’d earned that right.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color photo