1978 Rose Bowl: Washington stuns No. 4 Michigan as heavy underdog

The rise of Washington under Don James began with the 1978 Rose Bowl upset of Michigan.

The College Football Playoff National Championship Game is a matchup between Washington and Michigan. The two future Big Ten opponents have faced each other quite a few times in the Rose Bowl.

One by one let’s examine the past matchups, beginning with the 1978 game.

The Huskies defeated the Wolverines that year, 27-20. A quarterback you might have heard of, Warren Moon, was named as the Rose Bowl Player of the Game. He went on to have a stellar CFL and then NFL career.

Notably, Washington outgained Michigan by just 10 yards, 398-388.

Washington went into halftime with a 17-0 lead and led 24-0 before the Wolverines made a comeback and came just short of winning the game.

Rick Leach was the quarterback for Michigan. He had a pair of touchdowns in the game as the fourth-ranked Wolverines made their desperate rally.

Michigan was favored by 14 points in the game, so the Huskies getting the win, led by head coach Don James, was a massive boost for the program, which began to take off after that point and establish itself as a West Coast power.

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