It was a win, then a tie, then a loss.

As Larry Gustafson knelt at the 34-yard line waiting for Mike Lantry's strong left foot to finish off Ohio State's desperate Buckeyes, victory seemed imminent.

But as Lantry's field goal attempt went a few feet wide to the right, an anti-climatic, immensely satisfying, yet agonizing frustrating 10-10 verdict flickered in the scoreboard lights.

Then came the shocker.

Disregarding the edict of all who witnessed Saturday's titanic struggle, the Big Ten athletic directors voted to send Ohio State, not Michigan to the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day.

Sunday's decision came as a cold slap in the face to the Wolverines, not to mention the howling Michigan partisans (an NCAA record 105,233) who watched their team come from the brink of disaster to within inches of a win over the nation's number one ranked football team.

But how the six prestige-minded politicos voted Sunday in no way diminishes the fact that one hellauva football game unfolded beneath the threatening skies over Michigan Stadium on November 24, 1973.

Neither will it diminish the fact that Michigan dominated the top-ranked Buckeyes in three of the game's four quarters, or that Ohio State gained not a single first down in the opening quarter and not a single yard in the final six minutes.

Despite all that, things looked dark indeed for the Maize and Blue at halftime. Behind the incomparable running of tailback Archie Griffin, the Buckeyes powered their way to a 10-0 lockerroom lead. Griffin set up Blair Conway's 31-yard field goal with a 38-yard sprint, then single-handedly pounded the Wolverine defense into near oblivion, gaining 41 of Ohio's 55 yards in its disheartening touchdown drive.

But the aroused Wolverines stormed back. Led by the punishing running of fullback Ed Shuttlesworth, and the superb play of the offensive line, they drove from the Michigan 33 to the Ohio State 12 as the third quarter waned. But the Bucks stiffened and a 30-yard Lantry field goal had to suffice.

The Michigan defense held Ohio in check on the next series and Ohio State's punt gave the Wolverines possession on their own 49. From there it took only seven plays to knot it up. Dennis Franklin passed to tight end Paul Seal, who high-stepped his way down to the 19-yard line. Then on fourth and inches from the Ohio 10, Franklin faked the dive to Shuttlesworth, slipped inside right end and danced untouched into the endzone.

Lantry added the point after and the stage was set for a pressure packed, heart rending, nailbiting, agonizing finish. Ohio State took the kickoff and drove to the Michigan 44 before having to punt. Dave Brown called for a fair catch at the 12-yard line and the last minutes belonged solely to Michigan.

Mixing his plays beautifully, Franklin engineered a drive that had the Wolverines headed for victory before disaster struck. Under heavy pressure, Franklin fired a short pass to Shuttlesworth for a first down at the Ohio state 48. But in the process, the cool Michigan signal caller was hammered to the turf by end Van DeCree, suffering a broken collarbone - the injury that probably kept his team out of the Rose Bowl.

Larry Cips replaced Franklin, but the drive stalled, necessitating a 58-yard field goal try that sailed less than a foot to the left of the uprights.

With 1:01 remaining, Woody Hayes gambled for victory, opting to fill the air with footballs. He went with the supposedly pass oriented Greg Hare at quarterback. But Michigan cornerback Tom Drake picked off Hare's first off-balance toss to give Michigan a second chance at the Buckeye 33.

However, an unfortunate timeout call and a hurried pass out of bounds left the Wolverines at the 27-yard line with 28 seconds and no timeouts remaining. Bo Schembechler elected to go for the field goal on third down and it missed.

Of course everything that happened on the field became secondary when the decision to send Ohio State to Pasadena was announced. But one Woody Hayes post-game statement casts doubt on that decision. As to why he had gambled with desperation passes in the final minutes, Woody said: "We knew we had to win this one to go."