THE ROSE BOWL : ARIZONA STATE 22, MICHIGAN 15 : Notes : Son Plays Out His Father’s Dream

Bo Schembechler’s continuing Rose Bowl nightmare turned into the fulfillment of a dream for Arizona State quarterback Jeff Van Raaphorst and his father.

Van Raaphorst, whose father was denied a chance to play in the Rose Bowl 25 years ago, turned the Sun Devils’ first trip to Pasadena on New Year’s Day into a 22-15 victory over Michigan with a pair of touchdown passes.

“It’s a dream come true,” said Van Raaphorst, who rallied the Sun Devils from a 15-3 second-quarter deficit. “My father never got a chance to do it, and I’m just glad I was able to. This is for him.”

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

Jeff Van Raaphorst said he decided to attend a Pacific 10 Conference school in hopes of fulfilling his father’s shattered dream. Dick was in the stands to watch his son guide the Sun Devils to victory.

Arizona State played the way it did all season--error free. The Sun Devils, who had just 15 turnovers in 11 previous games, didn’t give the ball away to Michigan even once.

The Sun Devils confined their bobbles to a span of a few seconds before they came on the field.

“In the locker room before the game, I dropped my radio, and Coach (John) Cooper dropped his Coke,” quarterback Jeff Van Raaphorst said. “We both looked at each other and laughed and said, ‘Hey, that better not happen in the game.’ ”

Not only did Arizona State have no turnovers, the Sun Devils allowed no sacks, and they piled up precious possession time.

Arizona State had the ball for 12:17 of the third period to just 2:43 for the Wolverines. For the game, the Sun Devils had it for more than 35 minutes.

In the second half, Cooper told Van Raaphorst to go with a faster-paced attack, and it worked.

“We tried to get in and out of the huddle a lot quicker,” Cooper said. “In the first half we were much slower in lining up. We weren’t waiting for them to line up before we did. We tried to go up tempo.”

It also helped that the Sun Devils held Michigan to 76 yards total offense in the second half.

“We were ready for the game. We had good practices,” said John Elliott, the Wolverines’ 307-pound offensive tackle. “Then, for some reason, we started goofing things up in the second half. There was no reason for it. It was very unusual for us.”

Michigan had a 15-6 lead near the end of the second quarter, but Van Raaphorst found Bruce Hill for a four-yard scoring pass that capped an 11-play march.

From the start of that drive, until Hill’s one-yard scoring grab that made it 19-15 with 9:25 left in the third quarter, Arizona State ran off 24 plays to 1 for the Wolverines. That one play was an interception of a pass by Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh.

Michigan had just one first down in the third period, and star tailback Jamie Morris carried the ball only twice in the quarter.

Sophomore placekicker Kent Bostrom tied a Rose Bowl record with three field goals. He booted a 37-yarder in the first quarter, a 27-yarder in the second and a 25-yarder in the third.

“It’s was a big thrill, but I wish I made the first one,” said Bostrom, who was wide right on a 47-yarder midway through the first quarter.

“I tried to put that miss out of my mind and come back strong. I’m just glad I got the opportunities and Coach Cooper had the confidence in me.”

Cooper was almost beside himself after the game. His players carried him off the field and he never came back down to earth.

“I’m on cloud nine. I don’t even want to sit down,” the 49-year-old coach told reporters in a crowded post-game news conference. “It’s the greatest win I’ve ever been associated with, my greatest thrill as a head coach. It’s the biggest win I’ve ever had.”

Sixteen people were booked by the Pasadena Police Dept. in game-related arrests, Lt. Robert Huff said.

Included were three juveniles who unsuccessfully tried to strong-arm a spectator going to the game right at kickoff time. They were booked on suspicion of robbery, while all other arrests were for drunkenness.