1998 Rose Bowl The 1998 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 1 , 1998 at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena , California . It was the 84th Rose Bowl Game . The game featured Michigan beating Washington State by a score of 21 – 16 . The ending of the game is controversial . On Washington State ' s final drive , the Cougars got a first down at midfield even though Washington State WR Nian Taylor possibly interfered with Michigan CB Charles Woodson on a 3rd down pass play . On the next play , Washington State completed a hook - and - ladder first down inbounds , temporarily stopping the clock with two seconds remaining . When the first down markers were reset the clock was started back up . WSU immediately hiked and then spiked the football . The officials ruled that time had expired . Brian Griese was named the Rose Bowl Player of the Game . This was the last year that the Rose Bowl was not part of the Bowl Championship Series . This was also the last year that the game was not branded with corporate sponsorship . Teams . Michigan Wolverines . Michigan earned the right to play in the 84th Rose Bowl game by going through the entire conference season undefeated . With a dominating defense led by Heisman Trophy - winning cornerback Charles Woodson and All - American defensive end Glen Steele and a resourceful offense led by quarterback Brian Griese , the Wolverines went 11 - 0 , yielding only 144 points . Lloyd Carr was in his third season as the head coach . They defeated preseason top 5 Colorado , 27 - 3 in the season opener on September 13 . Michigan defeated Notre Dame , 21 - 14 on September 27 . Two - time Big Ten champion Northwestern was a 23 - 6 victim on October 11 . The Iowa game on October 18 was the closest call as the Wolverines trailed 21 - 7 at halftime before rallying to win 28 - 24 . Michigan stormed into Spartan Stadium on October 25 and subdued the Michigan State Spartans 23 - 7 . On November 22 , it was # 1 ( Michigan ) vs . # 4 ( Ohio State ) for the right to represent the Big Ten in the Rose Bowl . Thanks to an interception returned for a touchdown and a Charles Woodson 77 - yard punt return for a TD , Michigan defeated Ohio State 20 - 14 to finish 11 - 0 , 8 - 0 . The Wolverines entered the Rose Bowl ranked # 1 in the AP and coaches ' poll . With the 21 - 16 Rose Bowl win over Washington State , the Wolverines would claim the Associated Press ( AP ) national championship , as well as the Grantland Rice Award ( Football Writers Association of America ) and MacArthur Bowl ( National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame trophy ) . Washington State Cougars . Washington State hadn ' t played in the Rose Bowl Game since it lost to Alabama in the 1931 contest — a 67 - year absence . But the Cougars , who were led by a high - profile quarterback named Ryan Leaf , ended that streak thanks mainly to their very first game of the 1997 season . In the opener , the Cougars stormed out to a big lead over the UCLA Bruins and held them off with a goal - line stand in the closing minutes , winning 37 - 34 . WSU followed that with a 28 - 21 win over the USC Trojans , the Cougars ' first win in the Los Angeles Coliseum in many years . The Cougars also survived an overtime thriller against the Arizona Wildcats , winning 35 - 34 when Arizona chose to go for a two - point conversion attempt and failed . WSU ' s perfect season was ruined in a 44 - 31 loss at Arizona State , but the Cougars cemented their Rose Bowl bid with a 41 - 35 victory over the rival Washington Huskies in Seattle . The day before the game Washington State coach Mike Price was bedridden with the flu . While Leaf was their best player ( he ' d declare himself for the NFL Draft on Jan . 2 , 1998 ) , they also received important contributions from their wide receiving corps , better known as the Fab Five : Kevin McKenzie , Shawn McWashington , Shawn Tims , Chris Jackson and Nian Taylor . WSU also had a tremendous running back in Michael Black and a future NFL offensive lineman in Cory Withrow . On the defensive side , linemen Dorian Boose and Leon Bender both became NFL draftees the following spring , though Bender died before ever playing a pro game . Linebacker Steve Gleason and safety Lamont Thompson also went on to play in the NFL . Game summary . In the first quarter , Washington State downed a punt at the 1 and forced a punt without a first down . After regaining possession at the Wolverines 47 , Leaf connected with McKenzie on a 15 - yard play to take a 7 – 0 lead with 3 : 07 remaining . Michigan moved the ball to the Washington State 37 before punting . Leaf marched the Cougars to the Michigan 14 , but Woodson intercepted him in the end zone . The teams traded punts before Griese found Streets in stride on the right sideline for a 53 - yard TD pass to tie the game with 7 : 08 left in the first half . Leaf opened the second half with a 99 - yard drive for a go - ahead touchdown to take a 13 – 7 lead after the extra point was blocked . Key plays on the drive included a 19 - yard pass Shawn McWashington and a 30 - yard pass Kevin McKenzie to reach the Michigan 38 . One play later , Leaf connected with McKenzie for 20 more yards . Then Shawn Tims took a reverse play 14 yards for the score with 8 : 33 remaining in the third quarter . On the ensuing possession , Michigan mixed four runs by Howard with a pair of short passes to Shaw before Griese found Streets for a 58 - yard play - action pass TD to take a 14 – 13 lead with 5 : 07 left . After a punt by Washington State , Griese led a 14 - play 77 - yard drive that ended with a Tuman 23 - yard play - action TD pass with 11 : 21 to go for a 21 – 13 lead . In the fourth quarter Leaf converted a 3rd - and - 18 play from his own 12 by connecting with McKenzie for 19 yards . Then a 42 - yard pass to DeJuan Gilmore moved the ball to the Michigan 27 . Washington State settled for a Rian Lindell 48 - yard field goal with 7 : 25 to play to make the score 21 – 16 . Michigan started a drive that included four consecutive third down conversions and consumed most of the clock . The conversions were as follows : a 3rd - and - 11 Griese scrambled to the Michigan 29 ; a 3rd - and - 7 lateral to Woodson who faked a pass before running eight yards to keep the drive alive ; a 3rd - and - 6 13 - yard pass to Shaw ; and a 3rd - and - 7 pass to Woodson taking the ball to the Washington State 33 . A pooch punt by Feely from field goal formation left Washington State on its own 7 - yard - line with 29 seconds remaining . The game ended in confusion with Leaf being deemed too late in an attempt to spike the ball to stop the clock for a last play . The drive began at the Cougar 7 - yard - line with 16 seconds left to play . Leaf completed a 46 - yard pas to Nian Taylor to move the ball to the Michigan 47 . Washington State drew an illegal formation penalty with 9 seconds remaining , but executed a hook and lateral play for 26 - yards to the Michigan 26 , with a 8 - yard catch by Love Jefferson and an 18 - yard run by Jason Clayton who was tackled by Weathers and Jones . With 2 seconds to play the clock was stopped to move the chains . With no timeouts left , Leaf spiked the football , but although there appeared to be 1 second remaining on the clock , Dick Burleson , the referee from the Southeastern Conference crew , shook his head as Leaf contested the decision . Michigan ' s victory evened the series between the Pac - 10 and Big 10 in the Rose Bowl at 26 wins apiece . Aftermath . The next year , the Rose Bowl game would become part of the Bowl Championship Series . This would give a greater chance of the number one and number two teams meeting . Michigan was named the college football national champion for the 1997 football season in the AP poll . In the coaches poll , undefeated Nebraska was voted # 1 , jumping over Michigan who had entered the Rose Bowl # 1 . This was the last Rose Bowl game with an attendance of over 100 , 000 . The Rose Bowl Stadium was modified following the game to widen the playing field for soccer and remove lower seats that were blocked by players on the sidelines .