Arizona State Rallies to Win Rose Bowl : Van Raaphorst Leads 22-15 Victory Over Michigan

Jeff Van Raaphorst, fulfilling the dream his father had been denied, threw for 193 yards and two touchdowns Thursday to give seventh-ranked Arizona State a 22-15 victory over No. 4 Michigan and continue the Pacific 10’s domination of the Rose Bowl.

The victory was the sixth straight for the Pac-10 champion over the Big Ten champion in the Rose Bowl.

The West Coast teams now have won 12 of the last 13 New Year’s Day classics--including seven of eight against Bo Schembechler-coached Michigan teams.

Van Raaphorst rallied the Sun Devils from a 15-3 second-quarter deficit in their first-ever Rose Bowl and first bowl game under Coach John Cooper.

He threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Bruce Hill to make it 15-13 just 29 seconds before halftime, then connected with Hill on a 1-yard scoring toss to give the Sun Devils a 19-15 lead 5:35 into the third quarter.

Ken Bostrom kicked field goals of 37, 27 and 25 yards for the Sun Devils, who closed out their season with a 10-1-1 record. Michigan finished 11-2.

The Sun Devils came up with a couple of big defensive plays after Michigan drove to the ASU 30 midway through the final quarter. Linebacker Greg Clark tackled Jamie Morris for an 11-yard loss, then end Shawn Patterson sacked quarterback Jim Harbaugh and the Wolverines were forced to punt.

Van Raaphorst, a 6-foot 2-inch, 206-pound senior, had chosen a Pac-10 school because he wanted to play in the Rose Bowl--for his father.

Dick Van Raaphorst was an All-Big Ten kicker for conference champion Ohio State in 1961. But the OSU faculty, wanting to show that football was not overemphasized at the school, voted to prohibit the Buckeyes from participating in the Rose Bowl.

As his father watched from the stands Thursday, Van Raaphorst, given fine protection by his offensive line, completed 16 of 30 throws in shredding the Michigan secondary.

After Michigan built its early lead on an 18-yard touchdown run by Morris, a two-point conversion and a 1-yard TD quarterback sneak by Harbaugh, the Arizona State defense stiffened.

Harbaugh, the Big Ten passing leader who finished econd tonny Testaverde in the Heisman balloting, was limited to 13-of-23 passing for 172 yards and was intercepted three times by Arizona State.

Arizona State, meanwhile, didn’t commit a turnover.

Darryl Harris gained 109 yards on 23 rushes for the Sun Devils, who began to dominate the line of scrimmage after falling behind.

A Rose Bowl crowd of 103,168 watched the game, the first football meeting ever between the schools.

After stopping the Wolverines earlier in the fourth quarter, the Sun Devil defense ended Michigan’s final hope when rover Robby Boyd intercepted Harbaugh at the ASU 44 with 1:01 left to play.

Arizona State’s go-ahead touchdown came when the Sun Devils drove 80 yards with the second-half kickoff. The score came on second-and-goal, as Van Raaphorst slid out of the pocket and, under pressure, threw deep into the end zone to Hill, who made a leaping catch.

Bostrom kicked his 25-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter and the ASU defense did the rest.

After falling behind 15-3, the Sun Devils closed the gap on Bostrom’s 27-yard field goal 5 1/2 minutes before halftime and Van Raaphorst’s touchdown pass to Hill in the final minute of the half.

That pass came on third-and-goal and climaxed a 60-yard Arizona State drive.

The Wolverines put together an impressive series after taking the opening kickoff, marching 66 yards in nine plays to take an 8-0 lead.

Morris capped the drive with his 18-yard scoring burst, when he squirmed loose from a couple of Sun Devil defenders at the 10 and finally was dragged down just as he crossed the goal line.

The Wolverines surprised the Sun Devils on the extra point, as kicker Gerald White took the snap and threw to Mike Gillette for two points.

Bostrom, who had missed a 47-yard field goal on the Sun Devils’ first possession, hit a 37-yarder early in the second period to make it 8-3.

The Wolverines came right back to score their second touchdown, with Harbaugh scoring on a 2-yard quarterback sneak to end a 58-yard drive.

The Sun Devils appeared to have stopped that drive when they recovered a Michigan fumble at the ASU 3. But the Sun Devils were called for a face-mask penalty on the play, and the Wolverines kept the ball.

After Arizona State scored just before halftime, Michigan got another chance in the waning seconds as Mike Schuh’s line drive kickoff was caught near midfield by the Wolverines’ Todd Schulte. However, Sun Devil cornerback Eric Allen intercepted a Harbaugh throw on the next play and ASU ran out the clock.

Arizona State’s Aaron Cox had 101 receiving yards on 6 catches.

The Wolverines’ Morris, brother of New York Giants All-Pro Joe Morris, was held to 47 yards on 16 carries but caught 4 passes for 47 more yards.