The 1997 Aloha Bowl was a college football

College football

College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...

 bowl game

Bowl game

In North America, a bowl game is commonly considered to refer to one of a number of post-season college football games. Prior to 2002, bowl game statistics were not included in players' career totals and the games were mostly considered to be exhibition games involving a payout to participating...

 played December 25, 1997 in Honolulu, Hawaii

Honolulu, Hawaii

Honolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...

. It was part of the 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season

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 early January 1998. The national championship was...

. It featured the Washington Huskies of the Pac-10 and the Michigan State Spartans

1997 Michigan State Spartans football team

The 1997 Michigan State Spartans football team competed on behalf of Michigan State University in the Big Ten Conference during the 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season. Head coach Nick Saban was in his third season with the Spartans. Michigan State played their home games at Spartan Stadium in...

 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

Rashaan Shehee is a former running back for the Kansas City Chiefs. He played 2 seasons in the NFL, both for the Chiefs. He started 5 games in 1999....

 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 Huard

Brock Xavier Huard is a former American football quarterback in the NFL. Brock's brother, Damon, also played quarterback at the University of Washington and later played in the National Football League...

 threw a 15 yard touchdown pass to Fred Coleman

Fred Coleman

Fredrick Dewayne Coleman was a 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 Tyler, Texas and played for the Lee Red Raiders...

 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 Scott

Gari Jermaine Scott 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. He played college football for the Michigan State Spartans. Now works as a weight training expert in Ballantyne, NC...

, 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 Edinger

Paul Edinger is a gridiron football placekicker, who is currently a Free Agent of the Arena Football League. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft...

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

Tony Parrish

Anthony W. Parrish is an American football safety who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the second round of the 1998 NFL Draft...

 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

Lester Towns is a former American football linebacker in the National Football League. He has played for the Carolina Panthers, Arizona Cardinals and Miami Dolphins. He played college football at the University of Washington....

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.