University Of Michigan

For the USC offensive line, and especially tackle Kyle Williams, a little redemption. Much was made before Monday's Rose Bowl game about Michigan's pass rush being similar to, and perhaps superior than, the pressure with which UCLA swarmed USC in the Bruins' 13-9 upset Dec. 2. But for the most part it didn't materialize. USC quarterback John David Booty was sacked only once, although he was also hurried and fumbled in the first half on a play that was ruled a run.

The last time USC quarterback John David Booty trotted off the field at the Rose Bowl, the Trojans' hopes for a national championship trailed in his wake, the dream ending against UCLA on a tipped pass and interception. On Monday, after leading eighth-ranked USC to a 32-18 victory over third-ranked Michigan in the 93rd Rose Bowl game, Booty stood in the middle of the field amid celebrating teammates and awakened dreams for next year. "It's a lot different," he said, grinning.

Hurrying off the field at the Rose Bowl, bits of confetti kicking up at his feet, Lane Kiffin might have said, "I told you so." The USC offensive coordinator, a lightning rod for criticism all season, had presided over a stunning turnaround, his sleepy offense coming awake with one pass after another. The Trojans had shifted from idle to hyperdrive in the second half, scoring rapid-fire against the seventh-ranked defense in the nation.

In the aisles of the Rose Bowl and in the anonymity of the wide open Internet, as USC was tied with Michigan, 3-3, at halftime, USC fans were giving up on quarterback John David Booty. Bring in backup Mark Sanchez, they said. Only less politely. But in the locker room at halftime Monday, safe among his teammates and coaches, Booty heard something wonderful. "Coaches said we were going to throw the ball, throw the ball," Booty said. "Just what I wanted to hear." So Booty threw the ball.

The sights and sounds didn't tell the story. Even after an outstanding performance at the Rose Bowl, USC's defenders looked like the losers of a middleweight fight, from the smeared eye black across linebacker Brian Cushing's face to the cut on defensive end Lawrence Jackson's lower lip.

Michigan brought its horse-and-buggy offense to the Rose Bowl on Monday and produced what horses-and-buggies usually do. Manure. After USC's 32-18 victory over this No. 3 team in the country, the Wolverines may need a slight adjustment to the wording of their fight song. "Hail to the victors" could become "Hail to the over-rated." Hum it. It works. The score at the half was 3-3. USC was just plain lousy, while Michigan seemed to be working on a big setup for the second half.

After scoring only a field goal in the first half against Michigan, USC's offense appeared to be in the same funk that afflicted it in the Trojans' last game at the Rose Bowl, a 13-9 loss to UCLA nearly a month earlier. But during Monday's halftime, the coaching staff made a decision that changed the game. They decided to almost exclusively feature the passing portion of their playbook and the Wolverines' defense couldn't keep up in the second half as USC won going away, 32-18.

The whole "actions speak louder than words" thing wasn't quite working for Chad Henne. Quiet by nature, the small-town kid from Pennsylvania preferred to lead by example, but, as the quarterback for Michigan, his team needed something more. A vocal presence in the huddle. Someone to speak up on the sideline. "Your coaches are really pushing you to do that," Henne said. "Your teammates want it." No one doubted his football skills.

The transformation of the Michigan defense began last winter, out on the golf course. That's where players gathered for early morning conditioning, determined to get lighter and faster. "It was cold out there, and the grass was wet," defensive end LaMarr Woodley said. "That was the toughest run ever." The Wolverines' new defensive coordinator, Ron English, sometimes showed up to yell encouragement. English is the type of coach who yells a lot.