Looking Back: 2004 Season, Part I
Earlier this week I explained how my first trip to Michigan Stadium came about and how it changed me into a Michigan fan. That kicked off a series where I have and will review every Michigan football game that I've ever attended. The last season, 2005, took three parts to complete, and it was finished yesterday with the review of the Notre Dame and Northern Illinois games. Continuing in the reverse order, we move on to the 2004 season.
Looking Back at the 2004 season will actually start in the year 2005. That's because the annual Rose Bowl is always played on New Year's Day or later. Part I will include only one game, simply because the game was on such a big scale, and it turned out like nobody would've expected.
**January 1, 2005 - #13 Michigan: 37 vs. #6 Texas: 38
You wouldn't think that scoring 37 points in the Rose Bowl would still leave you short of the opposing team. Normally, when you score 37 points, your chances of winning are pretty good. Adding in the Rose Bowl raises those chances because the tradition of two great defenses clashing. In the 2005 Rose Bowl, things would be completely opposite. The game would be a battle of two high-powered offenses. Actually, it was more like one surprisingly great offense against Vince Young.
Michigan and Texas was a great matchup. Michigan finished the season in Columbus with a loss, but thanks to some help from around the Big Ten, they still brought home a second consecutive Big Ten title, earning another trip to Pasadena. Texas themselves had not won the Big Twelve title, but rather were hoping for an at-large bid into the BCS. Mack Brown himself even planted the thought in the voters' heads by making some statements about the at-large system. Mack Brown and the Longhorns would get their wish as they received an at-large bid to play in the Rose Bowl because the Pac-10 representative, USC, would be playing for the national championship in Miami. This was surprising in a few aspects for Michigan fans. Most thought that Cal had deserved the at-large bid, and had hoped that because it would provide a better chance to win along with the traditional Big Ten/Pac-10 matchup.
Imagine if Cal had received the bid to play in the Rose Bowl. How different would college football be today? Cal ended up in the Holiday Bowl against Texas Tech, and just completely got annihilated by the Red Raiders. Texas Tech went right through the Golden Bears defense with an illustrious passing attack. And it didn't help that Cal had trouble scoring either. If Michigan and Cal met in the Rose Bowl, chances are Michigan would've come out on top. Texas would've ended up in a different bowl game, and wouldn't have been on the national spotlight the way they were in Pasadena. An abnormal performance by Vince Young against a Michigan team that left it all on the field was just the setup for a repeat one year later. Young did say they'd be back. So, Texas doesn't win the Rose Bowl; their bowl game goes noticed, but with less impact. The high ratings aren't there to start the proceeding season, and everything is different.
But, enough with the what ifs. Let's see what actually happened. There was some Vince Young, some more Vince Young, and did I mention Vince Young? Take a look at this video for a visual review of the 2005 Rose Bowl.
Man, this really brings up some memories. I'm not even talking about the highlights. I'm talking about Trev Alberts! I may have hated him a lot, and disagreed with 99.9% of what came out of his mouth, but I would take him over Lou Holtz any day. He just had to skip out on one stinking show.
Oh, back on topic. This truly was one of the surrealist experiences I've ever been apart of. From the back-and-forth scoring to the very last kick, even though it went in favor of Texas, I'm glad to be apart of it. As you'll find out later on when I look back at the 2004 Rose Bowl against USC, the fans from Texas were much classier. The way the trip was made was through the Michigan alumni association, so we stayed with a lot of Michigan fans. The difference in the 2005 hotel was that Texas fans booked that hotel as well. Personally, I'm glad they did. Texas has got some of the nicest fans out there. Compared to USC, who had drunks swearing every word in the seats around us during the '04 Rose Bowl, it was nice to meet people who actually were just glad to be there.
To this day I still think Vince Young might be running past Earnest Shazor and breaking a tackle from LaMarr Woodley. A few simple changes could've had Michigan winning. One tackle on Vince Young in the 4th quarter could've stopped the Texas charge. How about one coaching decision? Lloyd, Lloyd, Lloyd, if you have timeouts, then use them. 30 seconds is plenty of time to create something, especially with Steve Breaston having a career kick return night. I still don't get why he just let the time tick off the clock, allowing Texas to just setup the game-winning kick.
Speaking of that kick, here's another what if. If Prescott Burgess' hand was an inch or so bigger, then that game-winning field goal as time expired would've been blocked. If Earnest Shazor would've dove in front of that kick a split second faster, then it would've been blocked. Basically, the entire game was a lot of what ifs on the Michigan side. Texas just wanted it more when crunch time came. Even with all of the things that could've gone differently, it was a spectacular game, especially to see in person. That's why this is a personal favorite, despite the loss.
I wonder when Texas will pay us back for their national championship. I mean, Jim Herrmann's solid defense did put Vince Young on the map. Either way, the nightmares of Vince Young will continue to haunt every Michigan fan that watched that game, especially with ESPN Classic showing it every other week. Did I mention that the '94 Colorado game was on a few days ago? Part II of a look back at the 2004 season will continue most likely on Monday with a review of an easy late-season win over Northwestern, and one of the greatest games of all-time against Michigan State. Until then, enjoy your weekend and Go Blue!
Looking Back at the 2004 season will actually start in the year 2005. That's because the annual Rose Bowl is always played on New Year's Day or later. Part I will include only one game, simply because the game was on such a big scale, and it turned out like nobody would've expected.
**January 1, 2005 - #13 Michigan: 37 vs. #6 Texas: 38
You wouldn't think that scoring 37 points in the Rose Bowl would still leave you short of the opposing team. Normally, when you score 37 points, your chances of winning are pretty good. Adding in the Rose Bowl raises those chances because the tradition of two great defenses clashing. In the 2005 Rose Bowl, things would be completely opposite. The game would be a battle of two high-powered offenses. Actually, it was more like one surprisingly great offense against Vince Young.
Michigan and Texas was a great matchup. Michigan finished the season in Columbus with a loss, but thanks to some help from around the Big Ten, they still brought home a second consecutive Big Ten title, earning another trip to Pasadena. Texas themselves had not won the Big Twelve title, but rather were hoping for an at-large bid into the BCS. Mack Brown himself even planted the thought in the voters' heads by making some statements about the at-large system. Mack Brown and the Longhorns would get their wish as they received an at-large bid to play in the Rose Bowl because the Pac-10 representative, USC, would be playing for the national championship in Miami. This was surprising in a few aspects for Michigan fans. Most thought that Cal had deserved the at-large bid, and had hoped that because it would provide a better chance to win along with the traditional Big Ten/Pac-10 matchup.
Imagine if Cal had received the bid to play in the Rose Bowl. How different would college football be today? Cal ended up in the Holiday Bowl against Texas Tech, and just completely got annihilated by the Red Raiders. Texas Tech went right through the Golden Bears defense with an illustrious passing attack. And it didn't help that Cal had trouble scoring either. If Michigan and Cal met in the Rose Bowl, chances are Michigan would've come out on top. Texas would've ended up in a different bowl game, and wouldn't have been on the national spotlight the way they were in Pasadena. An abnormal performance by Vince Young against a Michigan team that left it all on the field was just the setup for a repeat one year later. Young did say they'd be back. So, Texas doesn't win the Rose Bowl; their bowl game goes noticed, but with less impact. The high ratings aren't there to start the proceeding season, and everything is different.
But, enough with the what ifs. Let's see what actually happened. There was some Vince Young, some more Vince Young, and did I mention Vince Young? Take a look at this video for a visual review of the 2005 Rose Bowl.
Man, this really brings up some memories. I'm not even talking about the highlights. I'm talking about Trev Alberts! I may have hated him a lot, and disagreed with 99.9% of what came out of his mouth, but I would take him over Lou Holtz any day. He just had to skip out on one stinking show.
Oh, back on topic. This truly was one of the surrealist experiences I've ever been apart of. From the back-and-forth scoring to the very last kick, even though it went in favor of Texas, I'm glad to be apart of it. As you'll find out later on when I look back at the 2004 Rose Bowl against USC, the fans from Texas were much classier. The way the trip was made was through the Michigan alumni association, so we stayed with a lot of Michigan fans. The difference in the 2005 hotel was that Texas fans booked that hotel as well. Personally, I'm glad they did. Texas has got some of the nicest fans out there. Compared to USC, who had drunks swearing every word in the seats around us during the '04 Rose Bowl, it was nice to meet people who actually were just glad to be there.
To this day I still think Vince Young might be running past Earnest Shazor and breaking a tackle from LaMarr Woodley. A few simple changes could've had Michigan winning. One tackle on Vince Young in the 4th quarter could've stopped the Texas charge. How about one coaching decision? Lloyd, Lloyd, Lloyd, if you have timeouts, then use them. 30 seconds is plenty of time to create something, especially with Steve Breaston having a career kick return night. I still don't get why he just let the time tick off the clock, allowing Texas to just setup the game-winning kick.
Speaking of that kick, here's another what if. If Prescott Burgess' hand was an inch or so bigger, then that game-winning field goal as time expired would've been blocked. If Earnest Shazor would've dove in front of that kick a split second faster, then it would've been blocked. Basically, the entire game was a lot of what ifs on the Michigan side. Texas just wanted it more when crunch time came. Even with all of the things that could've gone differently, it was a spectacular game, especially to see in person. That's why this is a personal favorite, despite the loss.
I wonder when Texas will pay us back for their national championship. I mean, Jim Herrmann's solid defense did put Vince Young on the map. Either way, the nightmares of Vince Young will continue to haunt every Michigan fan that watched that game, especially with ESPN Classic showing it every other week. Did I mention that the '94 Colorado game was on a few days ago? Part II of a look back at the 2004 season will continue most likely on Monday with a review of an easy late-season win over Northwestern, and one of the greatest games of all-time against Michigan State. Until then, enjoy your weekend and Go Blue!
posted by Rose Bowl at 10:37 PM
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