Leaving His Mark : Washington’s Brunell Finishes His Career by Rewriting the Record Book in Pasadena

Passing and running in a fashion that would have made his idol, Roger Staubach, proud, Mark Brunell played the best game of his collegiate career and put himself in the Rose Bowl record book in five places Friday to finish a season in which he was a second-string quarterback for the first five games.

But Brunell was the picture of disappointment after Washington’s 38-31 loss to Michigan in the 79th Rose Bowl.

“It’s frustrating for us because we wanted that three in a row,” the senior from Santa Maria said, referring to the Huskies’ quest to become the first team to win the Rose Bowl three consecutive times. “Michigan is a good football club. We give a lot of credit to those guys. They played great the whole game. Those are the breaks. We have to learn from that and move on.”

Brunell completed 18 of 30 passes for two touchdowns and a personal-best 308 yards.

In three Rose Bowls, including 1991 in which he was player of the game when he completed 14 of 22 passes for 163 yards and two touchdowns in the Huskies’ 46-34 victory over Iowa; and last year, in which he threw a touchdown pass as a reserve, Brunell claimed two of former Michigan quarterback Rick Leach’s records--passing yardage, 560 (Leach had 452 from 1977-79); and total offense, 618 yards, 105 more than Leach.

Brunell’s 39 completions put him two ahead of former USC quarterback Rodney Peete. The seven touchdowns Brunell accounted for topped the six USC quarterback Jim Hardy had in the 1944 and 1945 games, and Brunell’s five touchdown passes tied Hardy.

“Mark gave it his all,” said freshman wide receiver Jason Shelley, who caught three passes for 100 yards, including a 64-yard touchdown in the second quarter. “He ran the ball. He threw the ball. He did everything you can ask of him.”

But Brunell was not able to bring the Huskies back. He threw two incomplete passes to bring up a fourth and 11 on the Michigan 26 with less the four minutes to play. Brunell scrambled for nine yards on fourth down but was stopped by Dwayne Ware two yards short of a first down.

“You can only do that (scramble) so much,” Brunell said. “I think I pretty much tapped that out at the end. Guys were expecting me to run. There was a lane. I just came up a couple of yards short.”

When Washington got the ball back at the Michigan 44 with 1:03 to play, after David Kilpatrick’s block of Chris Stapleton’s punt, Brunell threw four incomplete passes.

“I got my hands on the (the first pass),” Shelley said. “I know I should have caught the ball. It hit me in the pads.”

Playing without a knee brace for the first time since undergoing surgery in 1991 to repair a ligament in his right knee, Brunell made a Staubach-like 18-yard scramble for a first down on a third and six as Washington drove for its first touchdown. It was the longest run for the Huskies in an afternoon in which their rushing game was limited to 105 yards, their third-lowest total of the season. Brunell also ran for two other first downs.

“Michigan did a great job on (its) coverage and left a few lanes open, and I was lucky enough to capitalize on it,” said Brunell, who finished with 32 yards in 10 carries, which included a 15-yard sack.

Brunell had a hot hand from the start, completing his first five passes. His best pass came in the second quarter to Shelley, the second-longest completion of his collegiate career.

“That ball was at least 70 yards in the air,” said tight end Mark Bruener, who made a team-high four catches for 85 yards, including an 18-yard second quarter touchdown. “That shows what kind of athlete he is and how strong an arm he has.”

Replays make it appear that the ball came loose before Shelley crossed the goal line. Washington Coach Don James jokingly praised the officials for the call, but admitted he did not have a clear view.

Brunell’s injury left him as the backup to Billy Joe Hobert as Washington won the United Press International and CNN/USA Today’s versions of the national championship in 1991.

Brunell remained a reserve until the sixth game of this season. Any controversy over the quarterback position ended in early November after Hobert was declared ineligible for accepting $50,000 in loans during the spring.

“Mark was put in a difficult situation, but Mark is ready for any situation you put him in,” Bruener said. “He’s an exceptional person as well as athlete. He handled the adversity we faced exceptionally well. That just shows what kind of good character and class he has.”