Coming off one of the toughest Ohio State games in recent history, many questioned whether or not Michigan could withstand a USC team that led the Pac-10 in rushing
defense, total defense and was offensively led by Rodney Peete, the 1988 Heisman Trophy runner-up.
Michigan’s first possession was highlighted by a 21-yard completion from Demetrius Brown to John Kolesar on the fourth play of the drive. U-M controlled the ball for 7:51 on 13 plays until it was stopped by the Trojan defense. Mike Gillette was called in to cap the drive with a 49-yard field goal with 4:07 remaining in the quarter.
At the beginning of the second quarter, the Trojan offense came to life. USC moved from its own 46-yard line to the Wolverine 22. Each side turned the ball over, however,
before the Trojans scored the game’s first touchdown on a one-yard run by Peete. USC began its second TD drive with 7:06 remaining in the half, ending with Peete’s four-yard scoring run.
The opening minutes of the second half saw Brown’s 22-yard
scramble to the six, followed by his touchdown toss to Chris Calloway two plays later. U-M was unsuccessful on the two-point conversion, leaving the score at 14-9.
In the final minutes of the third quarter, the Michigan offense, led by running backs Tony Boles and Leroy Hoard, put together the longest drive of the game, amassing 64 of the 92 yards gained by U-M. A 23-yard pass from Brown to Derrick Walker put the Wolverines on the one-yard line,
and Hoard took it in for the score. Michigan again failed on the twopoint try, leaving the Trojans just one point behind with plenty of time left in the final quarter.
With 5:28 left to play in the game, the Wolverines sensed their third bowl victory in four years. On the very first play, Hoard exploded for a 61-yard run to the Trojan nine-yard
line. On fourth-and-goal, Hoard scored to give Michigan a sevenpoint lead that became eight after Gillette’s extra point with 1:57 remaining.
Peete then led the Trojans down the field in an attempt to tie the game, but linebacker John Milligan picked off an errant pass with 50 seconds remaining to secure a Wolverine win.
The victory gave Schembechler his second win in Pasadena and the Wolverines a 9-2-1 season record, finishing with a No. 4 national ranking by the Associated Press.
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SCORING
First Quarter
M Gillette, 49-yard field goal
Second Quarter
USC Peete, 1-yard run (Rodriguez kick)
USC Peete, 4-yard run (Rodriguez kick)
Third Quarter
M Calloway, 6-yard pass from Brown (Run failed)
Fourth Quarter
M Hoard, 1-yard run (Pass failed)
M Hoard, 1-yard run (Gillette kick)
Team Stats UM USC
First Downs 19 15
Net Yards Rushing 208 138
Net Yards Passing 144 158
Total Plays 72 60
Total Yards 352 296
PA/PC/Int 24/11/0 21/15/2
Punts-Avg 4/34.8 4/50.3
Return Yards 41 8
Fumbles/Lost 1/1 3/3
Penalties/Yards 4/20 4/30
Rushing— (M): Hoard 19-142; Boles 14-49;
D. Brown 11-1; Kolesar 1-16; Bunch 3-0;
(USC): Emanuel 16-55; Peete 9-42; Holt 9-33; Ervins 5-8
Passing— (M): Brown 24-11-144
(USC): Peete 21-15-158
Receiving— (M): D. Walker 3-54; Kolesar 3-49;
McMurtry 2-25; Boles 1-6; Calloway 1-6; Hoard 1-4
(USC): Affholter 5-56; Jackson 3-23; Wellman 2-47;
Holt 2-12; Galbraith 1-11; Emanuel 1-6; Ervins 1-3C
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