1981 Rose Bowl The 1981 Rose Bowl was the 67th Rose Bowl game and was played on January 1 , 1981 at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena , California . The game featured the Michigan Wolverines beating the Washington Huskies by a score of 23 – 6 . The game marked the first time Michigan Coach Bo Schembechler won a bowl game after seven prior bowl game losses . The matchup . The 1981 Rose Bowl matched the Big 10 and Pac - 10 Conference champions . Both teams , Michigan from the Big Ten , and Washington from the Pac - 10 , came into the game with identical 9 - 2 regular season records . Michigan had lost games against Notre Dame and South Carolina , and Washington had lost to Oregon and Navy . Washington came into the game having won the Pac - 10 title with a 20 - 10 upset victory over USC . Despite the identical records , Michigan was favored , due largely to the impressive play of its defense . The Michigan defense did not allow a touchdown in the last 18 quarters of the regular season and gave up only 10 first - quarter points and three touchdown passes all year . The streak included a shutout of a Purdue team led by quarterback Mark Herrmann and a victory over Ohio State in which the Buckeye offense led by Art Schlichter was held to three points . Washington Coach Don James noted , " Michigan is playing defense so much better than anybody else in the country right now . " Michigan ' s defense was led by co - captain and linebacker , Andy Cannavino , who led the team with 160 tackles ( 54 more than any other player on the team ) to become the second leading all - time tackler in the school ' s history . The defense also featured linebacker , Mel Owens , tackle , Mike Trgovac , and safety Keith Bostic . On offense , Michigan had All - American wide receiver , Anthony Carter , who broke the school ' s career record for touchdowns as a sophomore . Prior to the 1981 Rose Bowl , Schembechler called Carter " the most gifted athlete I ' ve ever been around . " Michigan also featured an offensive line that included All - American George Lilja and future NFL players , Ed Muransky , Kurt Becker , and Bubba Paris . Washington was led by senior quarterback and Pac - 10 Player of the Year , Tom Flick , who had passed for 2 , 178 yards in 1980 . Washington also had a superb placekicker , Chuck Nelson , who led the team in scoring with 85 points on 31 extra points and 18 field goals . Don James noted that the biggest difference between the two teams was Washington ' s reliance on the passing game , and Michigan ' s reliance on the run . Pre - game focus on Schembechler ' s bowl record . Michigan ' s long - time coach Bo Schembechler was the focus of much of the pre - game press coverage . Schembechler had gone winless in seven prior bowl games ( five Rose Bowls , one Orange Bowl , and one Gator Bowl ) . Bo ' s record led to jokes by the media , including one Gannett reporter who opened his pre - game story by noting : " It ' s bowl time , so they ' re playing Michigan ' s song again . No not The Victors , you know , Taps . " And a UPI story opened with this line : " Why doesn ' t Bo Schembechler eat cereal for breakfast ? He ' s afraid he ' d lose the bowl . " Michigan ' s players noted their desire to win the 1981 Rose Bowl for their coach . All - American center George Lilja noted , " We want to win for our coach as much as for ourselves . " Michigan ' s co - captain , Andy Cannavino joked , " If we win , maybe it ' ll look good on our resume when we go in to apply for a regular job . Maybe the boss will be sympathetic to the fact that we got Bo Schembechler his first Rose Bowl . " The press also noted that , even though Michigan ' s players wanted " desperately " to win for their coach , Schembechler himself " seems as laid back as a native Californian . " Schembechler refused to predict a victory but said , " The pressure is on us to win , but I guarantee you , our players will play their hearts out . " Game summary . Early in the game , Washington reached the Michigan one - yard line , but the Michigan defense stopped Washington ' s Toussiant Tyler on fourth down . One official initially signaled a touchdown , but changed the call after the other official reported " he clearly saw the ball was not in . " The first quarter ended with no score , and the highlights of the first quarter were Michigan ' s goal - line stand and a Rose Bowl record set by Michigan ' s Don Bracken with a 73 - yard punt . In the second quarter , Washington ' s placekicker Chuck Nelson kicked a 35 - yard field goal , but Michigan then took the lead with a six - yard touchdown run by Butch Woolfolk . Nelson added a 26 - yard field goal , and the half ended with Michigan leading 7 - 6 . Michigan drove the ball 83 - yard to start the second half , scoring on a 25 - yard field goal from placekicker Ali Haji - Sheikh . After the game , Schembechler said the opening drive of the second half was the " turning point . " He noted , " To take the kick and drive down the field on them , I think might have taken something out of them . " In the third quarter , Michigan ' s quarterback John Wangler completed a seven - yard touchdown pass to All - American wide receiver Anthony Carter , and Michigan led 17 - 6 . Michigan added another touchdown in the fourth quarter on a one - yard run by Stan Edwards . The Michigan defense shut down the Washington offense in the second half , not allowing the Huskies to score . The Wolverines outgained the Huskies 304 yards to 105 in the second half . Butch Woolfolk was named the Most Valuable Player of the 1981 Rose Bowl after rushing for 182 yards in 26 carries . Stan Edwards added 68 rushing yards , and Anthony Carter compiled 101 yards of total offense ( 33 rushing , 68 receiving ) . Despite allowing Washington to gain 374 total yards of offense in the game ( including 282 yards passing by Flick ) , Michigan extended its streak to 22 quarters without giving up a touchdown . Post - game press coverage . As had the pre - game coverage , much of the post - game coverage focused on Bo Schembechler , who had " broken the jinx " by winning his first bowl game after seven straight defeats . After the game , the Michigan players carried Schembechler off the field on their shoulders as the coached held his arms above his head in victory . In the post - game press conference , Schembechler said , " I stood here five times before a loser . Now I ' m smoking a cigar and smiling . . . . Right now , I ' m on top of the world . I feel great about everything . " Michigan finished the season ranked No . 4 in both the AP and UPI polls .