Title bout

By <br>By Kyle O'Neill
Daily Sports Editor  On  December 10th, 2003

The Rose Bowl: the real national championship game to produce
the real No. 1 team. Or at least, that is how Southern Cal. (No. 1
in both polls and No. 3 in the Bowl Championship Series) is
advertising the game.

But what if No. 4 Michigan wins the Trojan- and media-anointed
National Title II?

“They are one in both polls, and we are going to treat
this as a championship game,” Michigan quarterback John
Navarre said.

Southern Cal. has been treating this game like a title game as
well, but while the Wolverines are looking at just their opponent,
the Trojans are making it apparent their goal is to win the
Associated Press title first.

“If we win that football game, we feel like we’ll be
the No. 1 team in the country, regardless of what the other bowl is
called,” Southern Cal. coach Pete Carroll said.

Carroll also hinted on ABC’s BCS selection special that
his team would be a national champion after the Rose Bowl was
completed.

“They are going to have a lot of motivation coming from
coach Carroll,” Michigan tight end Andy Mignery said.
“They are going to come out, and in their minds, they are
playing for the national title too.”

But when Jan. 1, 2004, comes around, the Wolverines will have
just one thing on their mind: the Rose Bowl.

“Once you get out there and hit heads for the first play,
you aren’t thinking about that you aren’t in the
national championship game,” Michigan defensive lineman Grant
Bowman said. “There is a lot of stuff surrounding who is
number one and who should be playing for the national championship,
but once you step on the field, you have to play
football.”

Despite what the game’s result will mean, this is the
first time in three years that there will be a Big Ten-Pac-10
matchup in the Rose Bowl — a tradition that neither team has
overlooked. This will also be the first time any current Michigan
player has been to Pasadena for a Jan. 1 bowl game.

“When you grow up in the West, this is the game,”
Carroll said. “That (matchup of Southern Cal.-Michigan) is
what we hoped could happen.”

With two of the richest traditions in college football, this
game seemed to be a blessing in disguise for a postseason marred by
current and future controversy.

“I think it is really neat,” Bowman said. “We
don’t get to control it, so we are going to play who we are
going to play. For me personally, I always watched the Rose Bowl
growing up and it was the Big Ten versus the Pac-10. It always
seems like a really great tradition — it is as it should
be.

“The Rose Bowl is where Michigan should be. We
haven’t been there since I have been in school. To be able to
end my career out there, I don’t think there is a better way
to do it.”

Part of that career-ending experience will include a few fun
spots as well: Universal Studios and a trip to “The Tonight
Show with Jay Leno.”

“Those extras are very nice,” Bowman said.

But the show on the field should be much more exciting than
misprints in newspaper ads and “Jay-walking.”

The comparison of wide receivers Braylon Edwards and Mike
Williams will be on the tongues of many talking about the game.

“A lot of people perceive it as Mike Williams vs. Braylon
Edwards, but to be honest, I could care less,” Edwards said.
“If we get a win, and I have zero catches and he has 200
yards, I am cool with it.”

Michigan’s defense will be doing everything it can to make
sure Williams doesn’t have 200 yards.

“You want to bring your best because you want to do the
best for your team,” Michigan defensive back Jeremy LeSueur
said. “You have to take it personal. You have to do your job
and make it happen. You want to step up your game and perform well
against that other player.”

Printed from www.michigandaily.com on Sat, 26 May 2012 19:04:37 -0400