Schembechler Goes Out in (His) Style : Coach: Bo throws a fit in his final game on sidelines, then berates officials in his final postgame interview.

It seems only fitting that Bo Schembechler bowed out of coaching on what he perceived as an unbelievable call by an official.

And, it occurred, of course, at the Rose Bowl, where Bo has been been burned so often in the past, either by an official or an opponent.

Schembechler said his team didn’t deserve to beat USC Monday in the 76th Rose Bowl game and it didn’t, losing, 17-10.

Nonetheless, he was emphatic that a holding call assessed against his team on a successful run on a fake punt in the fourth quarter should not have been made.

That wasn’t the end of it, either.

Schembechler seemingly risked another heart attack as he fumed on the sidelines. He threw down his clipboard, got tangled in the wires of his headset and almost fell. And he was cited for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

The score was tied, 10-10, when Chris Stapleton went back in punt formation on fourth-and-two from the Michigan 46-yard line.

Stapleton fooled USC’s defenders and took off around left end for 24 yards. But the big play was nullified. Michigan linebacker Bobby Abrams was the apparent offender as he was called for holding on the play.

That was a 10-yard penalty. Then Schembechler, storming on the sidelines, drew another 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct as he screamed at the officials.

So Michigan had to punt again, losing field position, and the Trojans then drove 75 yards to the winning touchdown.

“The one thing I won’t miss in retirement is incompetent officials,” Schembechler said. “It’s the most unbelievable call I’ve ever seen and I got it in my last game. “

Schembechler had already announced his retirement as Michigan’s coach a few weeks ago.

Schembechler said that Abrams shoved an unidentified USC player which, in his opinion, was perfectly legal.

“The call the guy (line judge Charles Czubin) made to me was blocking below the waist,” Schembechler said. “Then, they tell me he went on to the referee (Jim Kemerling) and said it was a holding call.”

When asked which official threw the flag, Schembechler brightened and said:

“The most incompetent one. The call was ridiculous. If I see the film I’ll retract it. But every indication I had from people in the press box (his coaches) and people who saw it on television was that it was a ridiculous call.

“Maybe it was fate because we played so poorly that the Lord wanted the right team to win.”

Schembechler said he was aware that the call was made by a Pac-10 official.

“Yes, I do know that. And it happens every time. One of the things they should do in this game, in my judgment, is to have a neutral crew.

“This business of split crews doesn’t work out. Don’t get me wrong. The worst call I’ve ever had was by a Big Ten official out here. But this one ranks.”

Schembechler was referring to USC tailback Charles White’s phantom touchdown in the 1979 Rose Bowl game. White was credited with a touchdown even though television instant replay clearly showed that he lost the ball on the three-yard line on his dive into the end zone.

“Sure I was angry because I knew it was a bad call,” Schembechler said, referring again to the holding on the fake punt. “You’d be angry, too. We had a shot at that time.”

It wasn’t clearly evident on instant replay whether Abrams was guilty of holding.

Abrams said he didn’t hold and didn’t know that he was the culprit until informed by some of his teammates.

USC linebacker Bruce Luizzi, who was defending as an end on the play, said that he was definitely held, but he insisted that Michigan safety Tripp Welborne committed the infraction. “I said, ‘He’s holding me, he’s holding me,’ and the official dropped the flag,” Luizzi said.

Someone asked Schembechler if he contributed to his team’s defeat with his unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty.

“I contributed greatly,” Bo acknowledged, “but the call shouldn’t have been thrown on me. He (the referee) backed up his buddy.”

Schembechler made it clear, though, that Michigan didn’t deserve to win.

“We couldn’t seem to get anything going,” he said. “I’m surprised our defense gave up so much yardage. We were fortunate to be only seven down at halftime.”

Schembechler didn’t want to detract from USC, though, saying the Trojans deserved to win and were the best team Michigan has met other than Notre Dame.

Schembechler wasn’t through berating the officials.

“The game has passed up almost all amateur officials. The game is too fast, too complicated. They don’t have enough training. They’re not pros. They have other jobs. So you will get those things.

“You couldn’t go out and find another official to make that call.”

Then, Schembechler became sentimental. He is leaving Michigan as head coach after 21 years, but he’ll remain as athletic director.

“I knew it was the last time. I’ll be in sports again,” he said. “I won’t be on the field ever. I’m no longer a field coach. I’ll be in the background somewhere.”

“I’ll always be a Michigan man. Michigan is my school.”

As for the Rose Bowl, where he said goodby with a 2-8 record and some questionable calls by his reckoning, the historic stadium won’t be prominent in his memoirs.