Larry Stevens extended his right arm above a sea of teammates, band members and fans with a red rose in his fist.

Chris Perry slid a red rose on top of his right ear and secured it with a Big Ten championship hat.

Carl Diggs clenched his teeth on the stem of yet another rose.

Michigan's seniors - who had been part of good, not great teams - went out on top in their final game at home.

The No. 5 Wolverines beat No. 4 Ohio State 35-21 Saturday to claim their first outright conference title since 1997.

After Stevens navigated through a chest-to-chest, back-to-back mass of humanity to get off the field - with many chanting, "Lar-ry! Lar-ry!" - his smile stretched his cheeks.

"It's the best feeling in the world to watch the Buckeyes walk up this tunnel after we put them back down where they belong," Stevens shouted.

The legacy of Michigan's seniors was at stake Saturday.

They were in danger of keeping a storied program away from the Rose Bowl during a six-year period for the first time since 1965, and of losing three straight to Ohio State for the first time since the early 1960s.

A three-loss season for a team some expected to win a national championship would have lingered with them for the rest of their lives.

But Michigan's seniors, including John Navarre, don't have to worry about negative repercussions because they earned the right to be remembered as champions.

"I'm about to cry," fifth-year senior Norman Heuer said. "I've never been this happy in my life.

"There can't be a better feeling than beating Ohio State, especially when they're the defending national champions. This is such an amazing feeling."

Rose Bowl officials extended an invitation for the Wolverines to play in Pasadena, Calif., knowing they may not be able to accept it for another two weeks.

Michigan would love to start selling tickets and travel packages to the Rose Bowl, but the school may not be able to until it is mathematically eliminated from consideration for the Sugar Bowl, where the top two teams in the BSC standings will play.

That may not happen until Dec. 7.

Stevens will not agonize about the wait.

"It doesn't matter where we go," Stevens said just before walking into a boisterous locker room. "We beat Ohio State!"

Since The Game was moved to the last Saturday of the regular season schedule 68 years ago, it has had an effect on the Big Ten championship 42 times. The conference's outright champion was determined Saturday for the 19th time.

The Ohio State-Michigan game was voted the greatest rivalry - in any sport - of the 20th century in a fan poll conducted by ESPN.com.

In an era when BCS standings, off-the-field scandals and conference realignment dominate headlines, The Game is a reminder of what can be great about college sports.

Storied tradition. Intense emotion. High stakes. Talented players. Smart coaches.

"If you love passion and intense concentration and effort, it doesn't get any better than that," Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said.

Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany agreed.

Some clamor for the Big Ten to add a 12th team to create two divisions and a conference championship game, but Delany doesn't seem to want to.

"This game between these two great institutions is special because since 1935, it has been the last game of the regular season and it has almost always meant something," said Delany, who watched Saturday's game from the press box. "Expansion shouldn't be done just to get the revenue a championship game would create.

"College football already has the most significant regular season in sports and I think we could diminish it by changing it too much."