Michigan Arrives Early

Michigan Coach Lloyd Carr is not overly superstitious, but he knows how to stick with something that works. That’s why his Wolverine football team arrived in Southern California on Saturday, 12 days before they are to play USC in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1.

It’s a tradition Carr began for the 1998 Rose Bowl when the Wolverines defeated Washington State and took home a share of the national championship. Every year since, Carr has had his team take the week off before leaving the cold weather of Ann Arbor for a Jan. 1 bowl game.

“The main reason is because this allows our players to take their final exams without having to practice,” said Carr, whose Wolverine teams are 5-1 since he decided to break the school’s tradition of leaving Christmas Day for New Year’s Day bowl games. “When I became head coach, I interviewed the players and asked them what they liked the least about bowl trips. They indicated that it was when they tried to practice and take final exams at the same time.”

Michigan will be making its first Rose Bowl appearance since defeating the Cougars six years ago. The last five years, the Wolverines have played Jan. 1 bowl games in Florida. In 1999, 2001 and 2002, Michigan played in the Citrus Bowl in Orlando. In 2000, the Wolverines played in the Orange Bowl in Miami and last season, Michigan appeared in the Outback Bowl in Tampa.

Tennessee’s victory over Michigan in the 2002 Citrus Bowl is the only time the Wolverines have returned home with a loss under Carr’s arrive-early bowl style.

“It’s nice to be able to come down here and focus,” said Michigan co-captain Grant Bowman, a senior nose tackle. “We have a chance to get some good practices in and get acclimated to the weather. I think that the schedule we have is really great.”

Michigan, which is staying at a Dana Point hotel, held a one-hour practice late Saturday afternoon and will begin two-a-day workouts this morning at Saddleback College.

According to Carr, the Wolverines will conduct two-a-day workouts for the next three days with the morning workouts aimed for special teams. The team will move to a hotel in Beverly Hills on Wednesday for the start of Rose Bowl activities, practicing daily at the Coliseum.