#6/5 Texas (10-1, 7-1 Big 12) vs. #13/12 Michigan (9-2, 7-1 Big Ten)
Pasadena, California - Rose Bowl
Saturday, January 1, 2005 - 5:00 pm ET - ABC
Coaches: Texas - Mack Brown, Michigan - Lloyd Carr
Series Record: First Meeting

Two of the most storied football programs in history meet for the first time on New Year's Day when the Texas Longhorns take on the co-Big Ten Champion Michigan Wolverines in the 91st edition of the Rose Bowl Game. It is amazing that these two schools have not hooked up before in their long and storied pasts - Michigan has played football for 124, Texas 111. Michigan is the winningest team in NCAA history with a .746 winning percentage and 842 wins. Texas isn't far behind with a .710 winning percentage and 786 wins.

The game pits two of the most successful Division-I coaches over the past seven years. Mack Brown's Longhorns hold a 69-19 record and have won nine games for the seventh consecutive season following and 10 wins for the fourth straight campaign. Lloyd Carr's Wolverines trail by two games in the past seven years with a 67-19 record. Additionally, over the past nine years, Brown's .802 winning percentage (at Texas and N. Carolina) ranks second nationally while Carr is only three wins behind at a .768 clip. All this history makes for an intriguing match up
in the "Granddaddy of Them All," even before you start to talk about the players.

Texas's Bowl Record: 20-21-2
Michigan's Bowl Record: 18-17

Michigan on Offense

The fewest points scored by coordinator Terry Malone's offense this season was 16 - and that was in a win versus Purdue. The Maize and Blue scored over 30 points six times this season and averaged 30.3 points-per-game in 2004. After starting the year off with question marks at
both quarterback and tailback, the U-M attack has turned into one of the most balanced in the nation with the emergence of two stellar freshman.

Chad Henne finishes his true freshman season starting all 11 of Michigan's games under center. Henne completed over 60 percent of his passes while throwing 21 touchdown passes against 12 interceptions and a total of 2,516 yards. The most impressive stat surrounding Henne's rookie season is that he completed a touchdown pass in all 11 of Michigan's games this season.

Of course, that's easier to do when you have unanimous All-American and Biletnikoff Award winner Braylon Edwards as your top target. Of Henne's 21 TD passes this season, 12 of them went to Edwards - who caught 87 balls for 1,221 yards on his way to becoming the nation's top receiver. Edwards will remain Henne's first read in most situations and has proven that he has no problem making the big play against even the toughest of defenses. Jason Avant and Steve Breaston contribute to a dangerous receiving corps. The juniors gained 447 yards with three touchdowns and 214 yards and two TDs respectively.

Another true freshman, Michael Hart, will get his first taste of bowl action in this year's Rose Bowl. Hart may be the most critical element in Michigan's offense because his running will help set-up the passing game. In 2004 Hart ran for 1,396 yards while averaging 5.3 yards-per-carry and 124.7 yards-per-game. The Syracuse, New York native reached the end zone nine times including three times against a tough Northwestern defense on November 13th.

Much of that success is credited to the Wolverines offensive line which features consensus All-American center and all-Big Ten Conference selection David Bass. The senior is joined up front by all-conference tackles Adam Stenavich and Tim Massaquoi as well as all-conference guard Matt Lentz. The experience, size and skill the Wolverine offense brings should give them an advantage over the Texas front four.

Texas on Offense

While Michigan has one of the best young tailbacks in the county, Texas has another one of the NCAA's top running backs. Cedric Benson concludes his college career on New Year's Day and could finish his career in the top five in the NCAA record books for career rushing yards with a good game against the Wolverines. Benson currently sits sixth with 5,470 yards rushing, 128 yards behind Charles White of USC fame and 126 yards back of Travis Prentice of Miami of Ohio. This season Benson has gained 1,764 yards while averaging 5.8 yards-per-carry and just over 160 yards-per-game. Benson is tied for third all time in touchdowns by a running back with 64 after reaching pay dirt 19 times this season. Benson ran for over 100 yards in 10 of Texas' 11 games this season and was held in check only by Oklahoma.

Vince Young experienced an up and down 2004 season but is still a dangerous quarterback with his ability to throw the ball and scramble. When he was forced out of the pocket in 2004, Young proved to be elusive and difficult to bring down. He will likely eclipse the 1,000 yard mark rushing versus Michigan as he enters the game with 989 yards and 10 touchdowns. The sophomore is imposing in the pocket at 6'5" and has shown a propensity to be deadly accurate when delivering the football. Against Oklahoma State on November 6th, Young completed an amazing 85.7 percent of his passes to set a UT record. For the season, Young completed nearly 60 percent of his throws for 1669 yards and 11 touchdowns. However, he also had his share of misfortune as he threw 11 interceptions on the year.

The Longhorns weakness on offense is their lack of go-to receiving threat. The loss of Roy Williams to the Detroit Lions after last season has never been filled as no Texas wide out gained more than 400 yards receiving this year. Tony Jeffery was first on the team in receptions and yards at 29 and 399 and caught three TD passes in '04. David Thomas averaged 17.9 yards-per-catch to go along with four touchdowns and 376 yards. For Texas to have any kind of success against an outstanding Michigan secondary, they must find a mismatch and exploit it or get the ball in the hands of Benson out of the backfield.

Michigan on Defense

The secondary of Michigan should see a successful game as the Texas offense has no superior receiving threat for them to double team. This should free up first team All-America selections Ernest Shazor and Marlin Jackson to spy on Benson and Young and keep them from making big plays. The two stars of the U-M secondary recorded 77 and 38 tackles this season respectively. Shazor's 77 led the teams to go along with his two interceptions and forced fumbles. Markus Curry also patrols the defensive backfield with Shazor and Jackson and ked the team with three interceptions during the regular season.

Lawrence Reid, LaMarr Woodley and Scott McClintock were ranked second, third and fourth on the team in tackles with 65, 59 and 50, respectively. The trio gives Michigan a solid line backing corps and will probably be responsible for containing the explosive Texas running game.

As a team, the Michigan defense can hold its own against any offense in the country. The regular season saw coordinator Jim Hermann's defense record 20 QB sacks, 15 interceptions, 10 forced fumbles (and 10 recoveries), 49 pass deflections and 76 tackles-for-loss. The Wolverines allowed only 21.9 points-per-game this season and are adept at stopping both the passing and running game. While Michigan does hold its opponents to only 3.4 yards-per-carry, they have given up 15 rushing TDs on the season and will have to keep Texas from pounding the ball into the end zone and making runs around the defensive ends.

Texas on Defense

The Longhorns defense is led by two-time unanimous All-American Derrick Johnson. The linebacker led the team with 128 tackles and 19 tackles-for-loss. The senior was honored as the year's Butkus award winner as the nation's top linebacker and with the Bronco Nagurski trophy for the country's top defensive player. At 6'4" and 235 pounds, Johnson is a big hitter with great speed off the ends. Michigan's tailback Hart will have to get by Johnson in order to gain significant yards for the Wolverines - who must know where Johnson is at all times.

Junior Aaron Harris is an excellent complement to Johnson at middle linebacker. Harris was second on the team with 109 tackles and excels in both pass and run defense as he had nine tackles-for-loss this season and seven pass break-ups. With four-and-half sacks during the regular season, Tim Crowder will try to put some pressure on Henne and force him out of the pocket where the linebackers are. The defensive end also had 45 sacks and 10 tackles-for-loss this season.

Like Michigan, the Texas defense as a unit is on par with the top defenses in the nation. The Longhorns allow only 16.2 points-per-game but did give up 20 or more points four times this season. Passing against UT is not the easiest task, specifically in the end zone; Texas allowed only eight passing TDs all season and held teams to 211.4 yards-per-game through the air. On the ground, Texas allows an average of 3.1 yards-per-carry and allow just over 100 yards-per-game rushing.

Keys to the Game

Which tailback can get going against tough opposition? Benson has the experience and patience and will pound his way to some success running the football. For Hart, the key will be to keep the Texas defense from committing to stop the run. That will happen with a successful game from Chad Henne. Additionally, Henne must get all his receivers involved in the game to keep the double teams on Braylon Edwards to a minimum.

On defense, the Texas running attack can be shut down, but it takes a lot. Oklahoma managed to shut out the Longhorns in its win on October 9th. Young and Benson are a threat to break a big play at any time so Michigan must keep from the urge to send players from the secondary in to blitz and cover the run. With Young's problems with interceptions and the Maize and Blue's skill at making picks, turnovers could be a major factor in determining a winner.

While both coaches have experienced high levels of success recently, this is Mack Brown's first trip to a BCS bowl after years of frustration and just being on the outside looking in. Lloyd Carr and his staff have been in this situation before and have an advantage over the UT staff in experience, in Pasadena in particular.