Big Numbers Don’t Translate Too Well

The Chad Henne-to-Braylon Edwards connection was working beautifully -- so beautifully that the two seemed unstoppable and bound for Rose Bowl glory.

Yet three touchdown passes by the freshman to the senior, and another from Henne to Steve Breaston, were not enough to make Pasadena their paradise.

Instead it became their purgatory -- again.

“We played good, but it’s still disappointing because we lost, so it’s tough,” said Henne, after Texas used a late drive and a partially blocked field goal to pull out a wild 38-37 win Saturday in front of 93,468 in the 91st Rose Bowl game. “We’ll just move on and try to improve.”

Indeed, disappointment seemed to be dripping from all of the Wolverines after the setback -- their second Rose Bowl defeat in as many years, the other a 28-14 setback to USC.

But for Henne, Edwards and Breaston, there was a bittersweet taste to go along with it, as all three enjoyed record performances.

Henne, who completed 18 of 34 passes for 227 yards, tied a Rose Bowl record and set a career mark with his four touchdown passes.

The first, a 39-yard pass to Edwards, tied the score, 7-7, early in the first quarter. The next was an eight-yard touchdown pass to Edwards, making it 14-14. That reception gave the senior receiver a Big Ten Conference- and school-record 38 touchdown catches, breaking the mark previously held by Anthony Carter.

Edwards, who also scored on a nine-yard pass from Henne that gave the Wolverines a 28-21 lead, finished with 10 catches for 109 yards. His three touchdown catches set a Rose Bowl single-game record, breaking the mark of two previously held by 17 players.

Yet he was hardly in the mood to celebrate. “The only thing I wanted to do was win,” he said, stoically, after the game. “Right now I can’t think about records.”

Breaston’s performance was simply electrifying as he repeatedly shredded Longhorn special teams on kickoff returns, setting up the Wolverines with ideal field position.

He started with a 44-yarder and his long was 53 yards. Yet most impressive was a 43-yarder early in the third quarter, which he followed up, three plays later, with a 50-yard touchdown reception to even the score at 21-21.

In all, Breaston had 221 return yards and 315 all-purpose yards, breaking a Rose Bowl record previously held by O.J. Simpson, who gained 276 for USC against Ohio State in 1969.

But as the junior receiver spoke as he left the locker room, his chin almost touching his tie, his voice was barely audible.

“I’d rather take away everything I did tonight and all season long, and trade it for a win,” he said.

“All I care about is winning, and to lose the way we did ... I’d throw it all away if we could just get the win.”

Indeed, for all of the Wolverines’ offensive successes, there came failures on the other side of the ball, as they were unable to stop Longhorn quarterback Vince Young at key points during drives.

Young, who passed for 180 yards and had 192 on the ground, made life miserable for the Wolverines all afternoon and into the evening, ultimately delivering the Longhorns to the Michigan 19-yard line.

There were two seconds left and the Wolverines were up, 37-35, when Dusty Mangum put his foot to the ball. Michigan safety Ernest Shazor seemed to have gotten a hand on it -- he said he did afterward -- but it fluttered up and barely over the crossbar anyway, giving Texas the victory.

After it had all settled in, Edwards tried doing the senior thing by putting things into their proper perspective.

“My team played as hard as they could and they gave it their all,” Edwards said. “It’s a tough loss, but it’s a springboard for next year.”

For Henne and Breaston, anyway.