Anyway, there isn't much left to say about the drive, he said, except for one play.

"The one I should have run on," he said.

It was a scrambling roll to his right from the ASU 19 with 40 seconds left. To most everyone in attendance, including his teammates, it seemed he could have run into the end zone untouched. Instead, he tried a soft pass to Matt Keller, the ball falling incomplete.

"At that point, though, I was thinking `completions,' or making sure too much time didn't run off the clock," Germaine said. "I should have run."

No matter. It worked out for the best.

It has before, he said. In his one year of junior college at Scottsdale (Ariz.) Community College,he led his team -- trailing Arizona Western 39-20 with 10 minutes left -- to three touchdowns to win the game.

But this time it was the Rose Bowl.

"That's something I've thought about since I was little," Germaine said. "It finally happened, and it's great. But it's over, and I'm getting ready to go to work."

Still, winning the Rose Bowl has brought a special satisfaction.

"It's the goal we all had in mind right after last season ended," Germaine said. "We all worked so hard to try and get it, and all that hard work paid off.

"It just leaves you with a great feeling as a team."