USC 32, Michigan 18
USC went three and out on their first possession of the second half. But Michigan’s offense gave momentum right back to the Trojans. The Wolverines ran a poorly designed play action screen pass. The play action was successful as it drew the entire left side of the USC defensive line to Mike Hart. The other rushers went in a beeline towards Henne. He threw the football in Hart’s general direction and into the arms of USC’s Lawrence Jackson. As a result of the turnover the Trojans had the ball at the Michigan 38 yard line and took only 4 plays to score on a John David Booty to Chris McFoy 2 yard touchdown pass to put USC up 10-3.
After Michigan went three and out on their next possession, USC came back with another scoring drive. The series featured a decent amount of play-action, but the play went in the other direction unlike the pass that was intercepted on Michigan’s first drive of the half. The big play on this drive was a 35 yard pass to Steve Smith that took USC to the Michigan 22 yard line. On the next play Booty hit Dwayne Jarrett for a 22 yard touchdown pass. With the score USC went up 16-3 as they missed the PAT.
Michigan’s offense had a second chance to respond but instead pours gasoline onto the fire. SC gets their 6th sack of the game and Chad Henne fumbles the football. The Trojans recover on the Michigan 33 yard line. Michigan’s defense holds the Trojans to 8 yards on the first three plays. Facing 4th and 2 at the Michigan 24, USC called a quarterback draw and converts for a first down. Southern Cal can smell blood and they are going for the knockout punch. But Michigan’s defense got a stop and the Trojans were forced to kick a 26 yard field goal. At the end of the 3rd quarter USC is up 19-3.
Michigan’s offense had been completely ineffective or worse for the first three quarters of the game. Up to that point they only had one decent drive, going 54 yards for their lone score. The two turnovers also resulted in 10 USC points. If not for the turnovers the game would still be close at 10-3 at the start of the 4th quarter. With the team down by 16 points the offense finally started to open up in order to try and get back into the game.
On the next drive Chad Henne went 6 for 6, throwing for 64 yards. The drive culminates with an 11 yard touchdown pass to Adrian Arrington. The key play on the drive was a 23 yard pass to Ty Ecker that had 11 yards tacked onto the end of the play after USC was called for a late hit on Chad Henne. As bad as Michigan’s offense had been for 3 quarters, they gave Michigan a chance to finally get back into the game at the 14:00 mark of the 4th quarter. Mike Hart ran in the 2 point conversion which drew Michigan to within 8 points of USC.
With the score now 19-11, USC did what Michigan’s offense didn’t do once in the 3rd quarter: they responded to a scoring drive with a scoring drive of their own. The big play was a 62 yard touchdown pass to Dwayne Jarrett. Jarrett had a monster game, catching 11 passes for 204 yards and 2 touchdowns. To negate Michigan’s pass rush USC typically had 2-3 receivers go out on routes and had 7 guys typically stay in to block. They also rolled the pocket from time to time. Both were effective at limiting the pressure Michigan put on Booty.
Down 25-11 after another missed extra point, Michigan drove all the way down to the SC 22 yard line. But Michigan couldn’t convert a 4th and 11 and turned the ball over on downs. The Trojans officially put the game away with another TD drive. The drive was capped by a 7 yard touchdown pass to Steve Smith to put Southern Cal up 32-11. Michigan would get one final touchdown on a 41 yard touchdown pass to Steve Breaston, making the final score look more respectable. But there is no question Michigan was completely outplayed in this game. The defense was solid for three quarters and the offense looked good for one quarter. That just won’t cut it against a team like USC that has been arguably the best team in the country over the past four years.
Adrian Arrington Chad Henne Dwayne Jarrett John David Booty Michigan Football Rose Bowl Steve Breaston USC Trojans