A Crown of Thorns for Wolverines

This was not the way Michigan had hoped to make it back to the Rose Bowl.

Not by finishing the regular season with a stunning 37-21 loss to rival Ohio State.

Not by having to wait three more hours until Iowa defeated Wisconsin, thereby sending the Wolverines to Pasadena via the backdoor.

When their Rose Bowl bid was finally assured Saturday night, the Michigan players were on a bus, headed home along U.S. 23.

If there was any celebration, it was probably muted.

“We’re just thinking about this game,” quarterback Chad Henne said moments after the Ohio State defeat. “A lot of guys are down.”

Cornerback Marlin Jackson added: “All we can do is try to put this out of our heads.”

It wasn’t supposed to happen this way. Michigan was on an eight-game roll and undefeated in Big Ten Conference play. Rose Bowl officials showed up at Ohio Stadium with enough roses for every player in maize and blue.

Ohio State, meanwhile, came into the game struggling at 6-4 and suffering even more off the field.

Tailback Lydell Ross was briefly suspended after an incident at a strip club. Then, in a magazine article, former star Maurice Clarrett accused Coach Jim Tressel of helping provide improper benefits two seasons ago.

So, even with a sold-out crowd of 105,456 awash in red, Saturday’s game had all the looks of a Michigan coronation.

And it started that way, the seventh-ranked Wolverines building a 14-7 lead by way of their two heralded freshmen, Henne and tailback Mike Hart.

“We had a chance to seize control of the game,” Coach Lloyd Carr said.

But there was a bad portent in the air for Michigan on this cool, cloudy afternoon. The Wolverines were getting beat at the line of scrimmage and, with the defense unable to penetrate, Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith found his rhythm.

Given room to maneuver, Smith completed several long passes and scrambled for first downs, guiding his team on a score-tying, 99-yard touchdown drive at the start of the second quarter.

“That was huge for us,” Smith said. “The first long drive, just knowing we could do this.”

By halftime, Ohio State led, 20-14, and things would only get worse for Michigan. Hart, who finished with 18 carries for a sparse 61 yards, could not find any holes and Henne, unlike his counterpart, was under heavy pressure.

It would be another freshman -- this one playing for Ohio State -- who broke the game open in the third quarter.

Fielding a punt deep in his own territory, Ted Ginn Jr. twisted out of two tackles and sprinted to an 82-yard touchdown return that made the score 27-14.

Carr and his players later called the play a backbreaker. Michigan never really threatened after that.

Smith finished with astounding numbers: 145 yards and a touchdown rushing, 241 and two touchdowns through the air. His coach, talking about recent difficulties the program had endured, said: “You feel like at least on this day, everything’s just right.”

In another corner of the stadium, Carr was left to talk about his “tremendous disappointment” at a news conference attended by green-jacketed representatives from the Capital One Bowl.

That’s where Michigan (9-2) might have played if Wisconsin had defeated Iowa later in the evening.

But with Iowa’s victory, the Wolverines won the conference tiebreaker and will return to Pasadena, where they lost to USC last season. They could face a rematch if the Trojans falter in either of their final two games, or perhaps play fourth-ranked California.

Rose Bowl officials, who headed back to the hotel with several minutes remaining in Saturday’s game, said the Michigan players will get their roses later.

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Sorting it out

The BCS top six and possible at-large schools still in the mix for a BCS bowl game:

*--* No. 1 USC (10-0)

*--*

Did not play

* Trojans would be best served by making statements against Notre Dame and UCLA to quell negative talk from out-of-region voters.

*--* No. 2 OKLAHOMA (11-0)

*--*

Defeated Baylor, 35-0 (D13)

* All that seemingly stands between the Sooners and the Orange Bowl is a patsy in the Big 12 title game.

*--* No. 3 AUBURN (11-0)

*--*

Defeated Alabama, 21-13 (D14)

* The Tigers didn’t do themselves any favors against Alabama, but a big win in the SEC title game could bring the groundswell back.

*--* No. 4 CALIFORNIA (9-1)

*--*

Defeated Stanford, 41-6 (D12)

* The Rose Bowl is practically assured, but a hurricane-delayed game to be played in the South still looms. Sound familiar, UCLA?

*--* No. 5 TEXAS (9-1)

*--*

Did not play

* Most likely team to be squeezed out of a BCS berth? Longhorns, please step forward. San Diego is nice this time of year though.

*--* No. 6 UTAH (11-0)

*--*

Defeated Brigham Young, 52-21 (D12)

* Utes appear set as the first non-BCS team to earn a BCS bid. Can there possibly still exist a scenario to keep them out?

*--* POSSIBLE AT-LARGE

*--*

* Michigan (9-2) -- Wolverines back into a spot in the Rose Bowl. Thanks, Iowa.

* Boston College (8-2) -- Eagles need only to defeat Syracuse to win Big East title.

* Virginia Tech (7-2) -- The Hokies control their destiny with two games left.

* Miami (8-2) -- A victory over Virginia Tech should be enough for the ACC crown.

* Boise State (10-0) -- Who’s to say this forgotten unbeaten doesn’t deserve its shot?

* Louisville (8-1) -- Nation’s No. 1 offense may be holding its breath in vain.