ROSE BOWL / DAILY REPORT : MICHIGAN : Wolverine Memories Are Not So Rosy

The 34-14 loss to Washington last New Year’s Day has had a lasting effect on many Michigan players.

Dwayne Ware, a senior cornerback, was beaten on a touchdown pass from Mark Brunell to Mario Bailey for the Huskies’ last score. It so upset him that he watched films of the play “five or six times a day, usually just before I went to bed,” until summer.

“I was lazy on the play,” Ware recalled. “It was a play-action and I was caught off guard. I thought it was going to the left and before I could react, Bailey had the ball on the right side. My performance last year wasn’t good enough. I’m looking for much better Friday.”

After watching the film, did he dream about the missed assignment? “No, I dreamed about making a better play.”

Doug Skene, a senior offensive lineman, says he has one enduring memory of the game.

“There were four or five minutes to play and I think we were headed north, toward the mountains,” Skene said. “It was getting really dark and I looked up at the scoreboard and it said, ‘Washington 34, Michigan 14,’ and I just wanted to get off the field. I was wishing they could stop it, like they do in boxing when one guy’s out on his feet.”

One factor that won’t bother the Wolverines is playing before a crowd of more than 100,000 in the Rose Bowl.

Michigan has played 109 consecutive home games in front of 100,000 plus. The last time fewer than 100,000 showed up at Michigan Stadium was Oct. 25, 1975 when only 93,357 came out to watch the Wolverines play Indiana.

Friday’s game will be Michigan’s 24th bowl appearance--its 16th in Pasadena. The Wolverines’ Rose Bowl record is 6-9.