TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - Instead of getting even, Demetrius Brown got mad- and that made Michigan better than even against Alabama in the Hall of Fame Bowl Saturday.

 

Jamie Morris carried Michigan for three quarters with his running, but it took a 20-yard touchdown pass from Brown to John Kolesar with 50 seconds left to give the Wolverines a 28-24 victory.

 

Through the first 55 minutes of the game, Brown had passed for only 21 yards.

 

"I was throwing lousy balls and was mad at myself, but the game wasn't over," said Brown, who found Kolesar in the left corner of the endzone less than three minutes after Alabama went ahead 24-21 to complete a comeback from an 18-point deficit.

 

"I had to get it done," Brown said. "I visualized it in my mind."

 

Morris, Michigan's all-time leading rusher, gained a career-high 234 yards and scored three touchdowns for the Wolverines.

 

Kolesar, who beat Alabama cornerback John Mangum, jumped high into the air on a fourth-and-3 play to catch the winning pass.(video) It was his only reception, and the touchdown finished a six-play, 62-yard drive fueled by Brown's 31-yard pass to Greg McMurtry.

 

Brown finished with four completions in 13 attempts for 72 yards and one touchdown. He directed the winning scoring drive after Alabama took a 24-21 lead on Bobby Humphrey's 17-yard touchdown and Jeff Dunn's two-point conversion pass to Clay Whitehurst.

 

“It was a very difficult way to lose a football game," Alabama Coach Bill Curry said. "With Morris' great running ability and our lapses of concentration, we found ourselves with a long way to fight back.”

 

"I couldn't be prouder of the way we came back, but it all came down to one great play," Curry said. "That was the difference in the game, as it often is with two outstanding teams."

 

Michigan led 21-3 in the third period before Alabama rallied behind Humphrey, who rushed for 149 yards on 27 carries, and Dunn, who completed 23 of 40 passes for 269 yards and one touchdown.

 

Morris, a senior who gained 4,159 yards at Michigan despite standing only 5-feet-7 and weighing 183 pounds, scored on runs of 14 (video), 25 and a Hall of Fame Bowl-record 77 yards (video) to help the Big Ten's fourth-place team finish a disappointing season with an 8-4 record.

 

The Wolverines, winning the first game between two of college football's winningest programs, played without Coach Bo Schembechler, who didn't make the trip after undergoing heart surgery last month in Ann Arbor, Mich.

 

Gary Moeller, the team's offensive coordinator, served as acting head coach and directed the team to only its fourth victory in 15 bowl appearances since Schembechler arrived at Michigan in 1969.

 

"It's still Bo's team," Moeller said. "I talked to him (by telephone) and he said, 'You did a great job.’ You teach the kids to be winners. You have to give them every opportunity."

 

Morris, who played with the word "Bo" written on tape around his wrists, dedicated his performance to Schembechler.

 

"I cherish the moments that I had playing for Bo Schembechler. I learned a lot, not just about football, but about life," Morris said. "He’s like a father to me. This was my best game ever, and it's for him."