'91 Huskies Cruise by '97 Wolverines

'91 Washington tailback Beno Bryant turned in a 138 yard, two touchdown performance to lead the Huskies in a surprisingly easy 24-9 romp over the '97 Wolverines in a first round matchup in the Scout.com/WhatIfSports Tournament of Champions. Both of his touchdowns came in the 3rd quarter as RB Jay Barry also scored in the quarter, capping a 120-yard day for him.

Click here for the Box Score and Play-By-Play

A matchup of highly-touted QBs Billy Joe Hobert and Brian Griese was disappointing stat-wise, particularly for Griese. Hobart finished 18 of 37 for 186 yards and an interception and Griese was a miserable 12 of 36 for just 127 yards and a pass picked off by UW’s Dana Hall. The vaunted Huskies defense harassed Griese all game long, resulting in an unusually high number of overthrown balls.

One standout performer for 1997 Michigan was RB Chris Howard, who carried 36 times for a game-high 157 yards. His effort couldn’t get the Wolverines into the end zone, however. The lone scorer for Michigan was kicker Kraig Baker, who kicked three 2nd quarter field goals that accounted for all of Michigan’s scoring.

Washington’s defense was more than capable of compensating for the less-than-spectacular play of the offense, but if the Huskies hope to advance beyond the next round Hobert will need to be a little more accurate in hitting Mario Bailey and Washington’s other talented WRs.

The next round will pit the Huskies vs. the 2001 NCCA champion Miami Hurricanes and their speedy, hard-hitting defense. Steve Emtman, Jaime Fields and the rest of the UW defense will have a stiff challenge in Miami’s high-octane offense which is well-balanced between Ken Dorsey’s accurate arm and a potent running game. This one is destined to go down as a classic matchup!

Click here for Current Results

See if you have what it takes win your OWN National Championship exclusively on WhatIfSports.com.