The 1997 Aloha Bowl was a

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

bowl game In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivis ...

played December 25, 1997, in

Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island o ...

. It was part of the

1997 NCAA Division I-A football season The 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season, play of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division I-A level, began in late summer 1997 and culminated with the major bowl games in ea ...

. It featured the

Washington Huskies The Washington Huskies are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Washington, located in Seattle. The school competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Pac- ...

of the Pac-10 and the

Michigan State Spartans The Michigan State Spartans are the athletic teams that represent Michigan State University. The school's athletic program includes 23 varsity sports teams. Their mascot is a Spartan warrior named Sparty, and the school colors are green and wh ...

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 Rashaan Shehee (born June 20, 1975) is a former running back for the Kansas City Chiefs. Shehee attended Foothill High School in Bakersfield, California. He then played collegiately for the Washington Huskies. He played 2 seasons in the NFL, b ...

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 Brock Anthony Huard (born April 15, 1976) is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). His older brother Damon also played quarterback at the University of Washington and had a career in the NFL, while his yo ...

threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to

Fred Coleman Fredrick Dewayne Coleman (born January 31, 1975) is a former professional American football wide receiver. He has played in the National Football League, Arena Football League and the XFL. Coleman graduated from Robert E. Lee High School in Ty ...

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 Gari Jermaine Scott (born June 2, 1978) is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League. He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the fourth round of the 2000 NFL Draft after playing college football for the Michi ...

, 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 Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...

kicked a 43-yard field goal making the score 24–10 Huskies. Michigan State would get the ball back again, but

Tony Parrish Anthony W. Parrish (born November 23, 1975) is a former American football safety that played nine seasons in the National Football League. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the second round of the 1998 NFL Draft with the 35th overall pick. H ...

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 Lester Towns (born August 28, 1977) is a former American football linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He has played for the Carolina Panthers, Arizona Cardinals and Miami Dolphins. He graduated from Pasadena High School in 1995, an ...

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

References

Aloha Bowl The Aloha Bowl was a National Collegiate Athletic Association Football Bowl Subdivision (then known as Division I-A) college football bowl game played in Honolulu, Hawaii at Aloha Stadium. History The Aloha Bowl was established in 1982 by Mackay ...

Michigan State Spartans football bowl games Washington Huskies football bowl games Aloha Bowl December 1997 sports events in the United States 1997 in sports in Hawaii {{Collegefootball-bowl-stub