Rose Bowl

Michigan vs. USC

January 1, 5PM, Pasadena

ABC

Gonna go out on a limb here and say that nobody from the BCS committee was invited over to Michigan coach Lloyd Carr’s hotel room to bring in the new year. As the head man for the football team with arguably the biggest gripe about not getting into the title game, Carr and his Wolverines (11-1, with impressive wins over Notre Dame, Wisconsin and Minnesota) have lots of folks to be upset with. To really drive home their point about being overlooked though, QB Chad Henne, running sensation Mike Hart and the stifling Michigan rush D needs to beat up on a USC squad many also thought could give Ohio State fits. Had the Trojans (10-2) gotten past their cross-town rival UCLA, this BCS mess would be even more problematic. But they didn’t, so the young Trojans are forced to “settle” for the Rose Bowl and, sadly, a 28-21 defeat to the country’s second best team.

Interesting Fact: The Wolverines faced seven teams that went to bowls this year. They won all but the Ohio State game.