1997 Aloha Bowl

1997 Aloha Bowl
Washington Huskies Michigan State Spartans (7-4) (7-4) 51 23 Head coach:  Jim Lambright Head coach:  Nick Saban AP Coaches BA 21 23 21 AP Coaches BA 25 25 25
1 2 3 4 Total Washington 14 17 13 7 51 Michigan State 7 3 7 6 23
Date	December 25, 1997
Season	1997
Stadium	Aloha Stadium
Location	Honolulu, Hawaii
MVP	Rashaan Shehee
National anthem	1st Grade
Halftime show	School marching bands
Attendance	34,419
United States TV coverage
Network	ABC
Announcers	Brent Musburger, Dan Fouts and Jack Arute

The 1997 Aloha Bowl was a college football bowl game played December 25, 1997, in Honolulu, Hawaii. It was part of the 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season. It featured the Washington Huskies of the Pac-10 and the Michigan State Spartans of the Big Ten. It was a matchup of top 25 teams.

Washington got off to a strong start quickly, capitalizing on a 33-yard touchdown run from running back Rashaan Shehee to take a 7–0 lead with just 1 minute elapsed. Shehee would finish the game with 195 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Just 5 minutes later, Washington quarterback Brock Huard threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Fred Coleman as the Huskies built a 14–0 lead.

Michigan State finally broke onto the scoreboard after Todd Schultz threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Gari Scott, and Michigan State trailed 14-7 after the 1st quarter. 44 seconds into the second quarter, Washington struck again, with another touchdown pass from Huard to Coleman gave the Huskies a 21–7 lead.

A 41-yard field goal from Nick Lentz increased Washington's lead to 24–7. With 2 minutes left in the 1st half, Michigan State's Paul Edinger kicked a 43-yard field goal making the score 24–10 Huskies. Michigan State would get the ball back again, but Tony Parrish returned a Michigan State interception 56 yards for a touchdown, as Washington built a 31–10 lead at halftime.

In the third, Shehee scored on a 15-yard touchdown run, his second of the game, and Washington held a commanding 38–10 lead. Michigan State answered quickly when Schultz found Gari Scott for a 28-yard touchdown pass making it 38–17. Washington put the game away, with a 64-yard touchdown run from Mike Reed giving the Huskies a 44–17 lead.

In the fourth quarter, Lester Towns returned another Michigan State interception 66 yards for a touchdown, making it 51–17. With just 2 seconds left in the game, Michigan State scored a meaningless touchdown on a 21-yard pass from Bill Burke to LaVaile Richardson. The ensuing extra point missed, and Washington won by a 51–23 final.

Statistics

Statistics	Michigan State	Washington
First downs	15	23
Rushing yards	47	298
Passing yards	296	179
Total yards	343	477
Passes (att-comp-int)	35–20–3	30–18–0
Punts–average	3–30.0	6–39.8
Fumbles–lost	6–2	2–1
Penalties–yards	4–28	13–126