It looks like the Rose Bowl for the Michigan football team -- and a Jan. 1 date to play Southern California.

Big Ten athletic directors vote today whether to send Michigan or Ohio State, co-champs, following their 10-10 tension-packed battle here yesterday, but even the rival coaches believe Michigan is the proper choice.

Sportswriters were almost unanimous for Michigan.

"I'm not predicting anything," said Michigan Coach Bo Schembewchler, "but if they vote to send Michigan, Michigan deserves to go."

"Why?" Someone asked.

"Why? If you have to ask that question, you didn't see the game," said Bo.

The Buckeyes didn't get a first down in the first quarter, had only nine all day, and Michigan dominated the second half, coming back to tie the game and threaten to win it with a couple of long-range field goals, 58 yards and 44 yards, which Mike Lantry barely missed.

"We knew we had to win this one to go and we didn't," said Ohio State coach Woody Hayes.

He further indicated that Michigan should be the cohoice by his reaction to the information that Michgian quarterback Dennis Franklin had suffered a broken collarbone.

"Oh, no, for God's sake, no," said Hayes.

"I thought he just had a shoulder separation. That's a shame. Now he won't be able to play in the Rose Bowl."

* * * Ann Arbor News, Monday, November 26, 1973

Angry 'M' Fans Demanding Another Vote

By Wayne De Neff
News Sports Editor

Is the Big Ten vote to send Ohio State to the Rose Bowl Final?

Riled up Michigan Football fans were raising that question today in the wake of the Big Ten athletic directors' vote to send the Buckeyes to Pasadena following the 10-10 tie in Michigan Stadium.

The Wolverines and Buckeyes share the championship on 7-0-1 records but the overwhelming sentiment in Ann Arbor is that the Wolverines were robbed and something should be done.

The News' sports department phones rang constantly, some callers suggesting that Michigan withdraw from the conference, some that the governor get involved and others that a legal case might be made.

Two callers said Michigan would have a legal case because the athletic directors could not have made a valid judgment without seeing the game films.

It was suggested athletic directors meet to watch the films and vote again.

Another caller suggested civil action by Michigan seniors because the were being denied another opportunity to show their talents and earn professional contracts.

Whatever the result of all this, it seems certain that the repercussions from yesterday's vote will not quickly die down.

Michigan Coach Bo Schembechler use just about the strongest language possible in condemning the Big Ten and its commissioner, Wayne Duke.

He was most upset about the disappointment for his players, many of whom, like just about everyone else, assumed Michigan would be elected.

Michigan's faculty representative, Mark Plant, a law professor, didn't see any legal hope for the Wolverines.

"There might be an issue where an athlete, with a possible professional future had been disciplined without due process," said Plant, "but that is an entirely different situation. In this situation, the proper procedures were followed."

Asked whether there should be an appeal procedure, Plant said:

"I don't think so. I don't see a faculty representative voting any differently than his athletic director on such a question."

Plant said he had received several calls asking that "we start some kind of lawsuit."

Athletic directors agreed before the game that the winner Saturday would get the Pasadena trip. In the event of a tie, a 5-5 vote would give the nod to Michigan since Ohio State was the bowl representative last year.

Why the Wolverines didn't get five votes is the puzzler which most angered Schembechler.

"I'm bitter," he said. "I'm really bitter. My team earned the right to go to the Rose Bowl. Why wasn't Michigan voted to go after the 1972 season?" he asked. The two teams also finished up a shared championship last year although Ohio State won the game, 14-11.

"We outplayed Ohio State last year, too," said Bo. "We would have been the best representative team then."

While the voting is secret, Michigan Athletic Director Don Canham voted for Michigan, naturally, and Minnesota's Paul Giel said he voted for Michigan. It's assumed that Michigan got two other votes -- from Iowa's Bump Elliott and Indiana's Bill Orwig.

That leaves Ohio State's Ed Weaver, Illinois' Cecil Coleman, Wisconsin's Elroy Hirsch, Michigan State's Bur Smith, Purdue's George King and Northwestern's Tippy Dye.

Coleman said he voted for Ohio State.

"I was going to vote for Michigan," he said, "then, I found out about quarterback Dennis Franklin and without Franklin I don't think Michigan is our most representative team."

Hirsch refused to say how he voted but he indicated he voted with the majority.

"The athletic directors of the conference are pledged to a secret ballot," Hirsch said. "I voted for what I thought was the most representative team for our conference. I talked to a lot of people. I talked to Wisconsin coach John Jardine, so I didn't cast my vote lightly. But obviously the injury to Dennis Franklin had to influence a lot of us directors."

Schembechler charged that Big Ten Commissioner Wayne Duke "engineered" the vote and the Michigan coach vowed that the matter would not be dropped.

"He's the guy who took it away from us," said Bo.

Schembechler said he thought "petty jealousies" and politics were involved and said that Franklin, who has a broken collarbone, was being used as a "scape-goat."

"I would really like to know how those schools voted," said Schembechler, "and particularly how our sister school (Michigan State) voted."

In East Lansing, Smith said that at "no time have I consulted with or been consulted by anyone in the commissioner's office. The only people I visited with were on my own coaching staff. I don't think Franklin is being made a scapegoat," said Smith.

While it was at first thought that Franklin would be unable to play if Michigan was given the Rose Bowl assignment, there was later speculation that he would. "The healing time for such an injury is unpredictable," said Dr. Gerald O'Conner, team physician. "Usually it takes three to four weeks depending on the physical condition of the patient."