Dawgs Crush Spartans 51-23 in Aloha Bowl

Honolulu, HI - Washington coach Jim Lambright won his first bowl game in three tries and Rashan Shehee rushed for an Aloha Bowl record 193 yards on 29 carries and scored twice, as the 21st-ranked Washington Huskies pounded the 25th-ranked Michigan State Spartans, 51-23.

Washington snapped a three-game losing streak and improved to 4-1 all-time in Hawaii. The Spartans saw their two-game win streak come to an end. The Huskies finished the season at 8-4.

The Spartans end the year at 7-5. Michigan State head man Nick Saban is 0-3 in bowl games.

Washington's Chris Campbell recovered a Spartan fumble on the first play from scrimmage to set up the first Huskies score. Two plays later, Shehee, who missed the final three games of the regular season with a knee injury, raced 33 yards to paydirt. The Huskies then stopped Michigan State and made it 14-0 on their next drive. Brock Huard, who hit 4-of-5 passes during the march, found Fred Coleman all alone in the right side of the end zone with just 6:13 gone in the opening quarter.

The Spartans cut the margin in half, 14-7, with four minutes left in the first stanza. Todd Schultz connected with Gari Scott on an 11- yard scoring strike.

Huard and Coleman combined again, only 44 seconds into the second quarter, this time on a 23-yard touchdown pass to give Washington a 21-7 advantage. Nick Lentz booted a 41-yard field goal to up the Huskies' lead to 24-7 with 4:41 left before intermission.

Michigan State responded with a field goal of its own, a 43- yarder by Paul Edinger, to close within 14 points at 24-10. However, Washington was not finished scoring in the first half. Free safety Tony Parrish picked off a Schultz pass and sprinted 56 yards for a touchdown with a mere 17 seconds remaining in the second frame. The Huskies went into the locker room with huge 31-10 lead.

Shehee notched his second touchdown six minutes into the third quarter. The Washington tailback bolted 16 yards for the score, making it a 38-10 rout. Mike Reed scampered 64 yards down the left sideline on a fake punt for another Washington touchdown with 5:47 left in the third stanza.

The Huskies continued the pounding with another defensive score early in the final quarter. Lester Toms intercepted a Schultz pass in the right flat and rumbled down the field unimpeded for a touchdown, increasing Washington's advantage to 51-17.

Michigan State, with all of its starters on the bench, tallied a meaningless touchdown with three seconds left on the game clock. Backup quarterback Bill Burke hit Lavaile Richardson with a 21-yard touchdown pass.

The 51 points recorded by the Huskies ties an Aloha Bowl record. Kansas defeated UCLA, 51-30, in 1995...Huard completed 18-of-30 passes for 179 yards and two touchdowns...Coleman had five receptions for 68 yards and two scores...Sedrick Irvin rushed for 69 yards on 15 carries for Michigan State...Schultz connected on 14-of-24 for 220 yards and two scores, but was picked off three times...Scott caught five balls for 114 yards and two TDs...Washington gained 315 yards on the ground, and limited the Spartans to just 88 yards rushing for the game...Washington has won two of its three Aloha Bowl appearances...The Huskies have made 16 bowl appearances in the last 19 years...Washington leads the all-time series between these two schools, 2-1...The Huskies are 37-35-1 all-time versus the Big Ten, including 7-4 in bowl games...Michigan State has compiled a 29-17-1 mark against the Pac-10, including 4-3 in bowl games..The Spartans are 5-9 all-time in bowl games...Michigan State has lost four straight bowl games by a combined score of 152-50.