ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, January 2, 1997 TAG: 9701020091
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: PASADENA, CALIF.
SOURCE: FROM ASSOCIATED PRESS AND KNIGHT-RIDDER/TRIBUNE REPORTS
All through its perfect season, Arizona State played as if it had a monopoly on thrilling comebacks. Then along came Ohio State.
The Buckeyes' Plan B quarterback, sophomore Joe Germaine - and not Arizona State's resourceful Jake Plummer - provided the winning points in the final seconds of the Rose Bowl. Germaine capped a 12-play drive with a touchdown pass that gave fourth-ranked Ohio State a 20-17 victory and spoiled No. 2 Arizona State's bid for the national title.
``You could look in Joe's eyes - and the eyes of everybody on the team - and you could tell that they had the determination and knew we were going to win the game,'' said tackle Orlando Pace, Ohio State's two-time Lombardi Trophy winner.
The whole team picked up on Germaine's poise.
``We had the state of mind to go out there and do the job,'' said Germaine, whose 5-yard touchdown pass to David Boston with 19 seconds left bailed out the Buckeyes (11-1). ``There was really nothing to say. We knew what we had to do. You knew just by looking into everybody's eyes that we could do it.''
Maybe they knew, but few in the crowd of more than 100,000 were so sure.
They had just seen Plummer snake his way into the end zone on an 11-yard scramble that gave the Sun Devils a 17-14 lead with 1:40 to go. Arizona State (11-1) had overcome fourth-quarter deficits twice this season, broke another tie in the last period with a field goal in the final seconds, and seemed destined to win this game in similar fashion.
The mood swings in the Rose Bowl were wild in the final minutes, first long-suffering Ohio State fans screaming in anticipation of victory, then Arizona State fans screaming louder. When Plummer scored, and Ohio State started from its 35-yard line, the cheers on both sides were tinged with nervousness.
``Everyone was real excited but me,'' Plummer said. ``There have been other times in my career when the same thing happened to me. I'm a quarterback, and I know what can happen.''
Germaine calmly came back into the game for starter Stanley Jackson and gave his teammates the look they needed. It bespoke quiet confidence as Germaine went to work.
After two incompletions, Germaine hit Dimitrious Stanley for an 11-yarder to Ohio State's 46. Passes to Stanley for 13 and 12 yards brought the Buckeyes to the Sun Devils' 29. With time running out, the prospect of a last-minute tying field goal loomed much larger than an outright victory.
But Germaine wasn't finished. He lofted a pass to Stanley near the goal line, and Arizona State's Jason Simmons was called for pass interference, giving Ohio State the ball on the 19. After two incomplete passes, Germaine went for the end zone again to Boston, and this time Marcus Soward was flagged for interference with 24 seconds to play in the fourth quarter.
``We finally got a call and got the ball on the 5-yard line,'' said John Cooper, the Buckeyes' coach. ``We debated running the ball. We figured if we didn't make it, we'd take a timeout and kick a field goal and go to overtime. But if we can protect, Joe can throw the ball, and David and the others can sure catch it.''
Boston surely could, snaring the winning touchdown pass after breaking free at the right front of the end zone.
``David just beat his man, and he was wide open,'' Germaine said.
Arizona State could not manage another miracle, going only as far as its 48 before time ran out.
The Buckeyes' victory almost certainly assured tonight's Sugar Bowl between No.1 Florida State and No.3 Florida will determine the national championship.
Still, Ohio State coach John Cooper laid his claim to being included in the national title picture.
``Bring them here two days from now and we'll play them,'' Cooper said.
Cooper coached Arizona State to a Rose Bowl victory over Michigan exactly 10 years ago. But he's taken a lot of abuse from fans at Ohio State for his record since in bowl games and against the Wolverines.
``That victory was for Columbus,'' Cooper told the crowd of 100,645 after the Buckeyes won their first Rose Bowl since 1974. Cooper's teams failed in six of his previous seven bowl games at Ohio State.
``I admire what they did,'' said Bruce Snyder, Arizona State's coach. ``That was a lot of composure on Joe's part. He threw and they caught and they protected. It was a hell of a drive that late in the game. It was big-time and I admire Joe.''
Ohio State was unbeaten when it lost the regular-season finale to archrival Michigan.
``You guys want to talk about the one we lost,'' Cooper said, ``instead of the 11 we won.''
Minutes before his team took a victory lap, Cooper looked as if he couldn't believe one more bowl game was getting away after Plummer scrambled to the go-ahead score.
But Germaine, who also took a lot of the blame for the Michigan loss and didn't enter the Rose Bowl until the second quarter, turned a desperate situation into a winning one. see microfilm for box score
LENGTH: Medium: 98 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP Arizona State's Grey Ruegamer is devastated afterby CNBOhio State's 20-17 victory over his Sun Devils in the Rose Bowl. KEYWORDS: FOOTBALL