All-Time Rose Bowl Games

The
UCLA Bruins entered the game as underdogs to The Spartans of Michigan
State who were the top ranked team in the country. The Spartans had one
of the most dominating defenses in college football history which was
led by future pro players Bubba Smith and George Webster. The Spartans
had defeated The Bruins in the season opener in East Lansing and it was
an afterthought that they would do it again in Pasadena. The game came
down to Michigan State head coach Duffy Daugherty going for a pair of
two-point conversions. Both attempts failed and UCLA upset Michigan
State 14-12.

3. 1975-Ohio State vs. USC

Two of the
brightest minds in college football were on display to start 1975. Woody
Hayes was the head coach The Ohio State Buckeyes while John Mckay led
The Trojans into Pasadena. The Buckeyes were looking to win consecutive
Rose Bowls and both teams had sights on the national title. The game
came down to the fourth quarter when Trojan quarterback Pat Haden found
McKay’s son receiver John Mckay Jr. for a 38-yard pass to cut The
Buckeye lead to a single point. Mckay rolled the dice by going for the
two-point conversion. Haden completed a pass to Shelton Diggs giving
“The Men of Troy” another national title.

4. 1997-Ohio State vs. Arizona State

New
Year’s Day in 1997 did not provide a sunny day in the forecast, but
that didn’t stop the fireworks in this game. The Buckeyes were upset in
their regular season finale by The Michigan Wolverines which was Ohio
State’s only loss of the season. The Arizona State Sun Devils were
undefeated and they were led by senior quarterback Jake “The Snake”
Plummer. This game went back and forth and left fans on the edge of
their seats. Plummer had a knack for bringing The Sun Devils back late
in games. Late in the game Ohio State kicker Josh Jackson had a field
goal blocked that would have given The Buckeyes a 7-point advantage.
Plummer rallied The Sun Devils down field on an epic drive. On third and
goal, Plummer scrambled for an 11-yard touchdown to give The Sun Devils
a 17-14 lead with under two minutes remaining in the game. It was
presumed that Arizona State would hold on for a national championship,
but Buckeye quarterback Joe Germaine had other ideas. Jermaine completed
a touchdown pass to David Boston with 19 seconds remaining to break the
hearts of the fans in Tempe, Arizona and The Buckeyes won the game
20-17.

5. 1979-Michigan vs. USC

The Trojans were able to get the best of The Michigan
Wolverines on this day. The game was decided on a controversial
touchdown by USC running back Charles White in which White appeared to
fumble before crossing the goal line.. The Trojans secured a 17-10
victory and a share of the national title.

6. 1998-Washington State vs. Michigan

The
stars finally aligned for The Wolverines as they rolled into Pasadena
ranked number one in the nation with an unblemished record. The
Washington State Cougars weren’t that shabby either as they had a 10-1
record and were led by quarterback Ryan Leaf. The Cougars and Leaf drove
down field immediately for a touchdown to take an early 7-0 lead. The
Cougars were once again driving as they got the ball down to The
Wolverine 14-yard line. Leaf rolled to his left and threw a pass that
was picked off by Wolverine cornerback Charles Woodson. Woodson was
fresh off of becoming the first defensive player to win Heisman Trophy
and he did not disappoint on the big stage. Both teams went back and
forth for the rest of the contest. The game was highlighted by Michigan
quarterback Brian Griese hitting wide receiver Tai Streets for two big
touchdown plays to secure a 21-16 victory for The Wolverines. Griese
went on to be selected as MVP for the game. Greise’s father Bob was the
color commentator for ABC Sports during the game and it was an emotional
scene after the game as Bob was indeed a proud father.

7. 2005-Texas vs. Michigan

This game
marked the first time that The Longhorns and Wolverines had ever met on
the gridiron. The Longhorns were a controversial selection for the game
due to Longhorn head coach Mack Brown lobbying for his team to be
selected over The Pac-10’s Cal Bears. The Longhorns immediately showed
that they belonged. Texas quarterback Vince Young kept The Longhorns in
the game with his arm as well as his legs. Young ran for four touchdowns
and threw for one score as well.

Michigan freshman quarterback Chad Henne threw four touchdown passes.
Three of Henne’s touchdown passes were to wide receiver Braylon Edwards
who took the opportunity to show the nation why he had won The
Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s top wide receiver that season. The
Longhorn defense stiffened in the second half by holding Michigan to
three field goal conversions which kept Texas in the game. Longhorn
kicker Dusty Mangum connected on a 37-yard field goal as time expired to
give Texas a 38-37 victory. This win by Texas set the stage for the
following season in which they returned to The Rose Bowl and defeated
The USC Trojans for The BCS Championship.

8. 1999-Wisconsin vs. UCLA

The Badgers came to
Pasadena as proud champions of The Big Ten. They had a bruising running
back in Ron Dayne who ran like a runaway freight train. The Bruins
limped into this game that was played on their home field. The Bruins
were undefeated going into the regular season finale against The Miami
Hurricanes. Hurricane Georges had postponed the game from September
until December. The Bruins made the cross-country trip to Miami and were
defeated by The ‘Canes which ended their dreams of playing in The
Fiesta Bowl for the national title.

Throughout the contest it was apparent that The Bruins could not stop
Dayne. Dayne ran over UCLA for four touchdowns on the ground for the
day. The Bruins hung around for most of the game, but were undone by
turnovers. In the third quarter, Bruin quarterback Cade McNown and
running back Deshaun Foster could not connect on a handoff and turned
the ball over to Wisconsin inside The Badger 10-yard line. The game was
sealed in the fourth quarter when McNown threw an interception to Badger
cornerback Jamar Fletcher who returned it for a 46-yard touchdown.
Dayne went on to be selected as game MVP and The Badgers won 38-31.

9. 1988-USC vs. Michigan State

The defenses were on
display on this New Year’s Day, but it was The Spartan defense the
reigned supreme. Michigan State forced 4 turnovers by The Trojans
including a key turnover by USC quarterback Rodney Peete at The Spartan
29-yard line with under 2 minutes left in the contest. Spartan
linebacker Percy Snow went off in the game with 17 tackles. Snow was
selected as the game MVP and Michigan State won 20-17.

10. 2011-Wisconsin vs. TCU

It didn’t take The Horned
Frogs from Texas Christian University that long to prove that they
belonged in Pasadena. TCU came into game with a record of 12-0. The
contest had the feel of high scoring game as the score after the first
quarter had TCU leading 14-10 which was a Rose Bowl record for first
quarter points. The defenses clamped down after that as the halftime
score was 14-13 in favor of The Horned Frogs. Wisconsin made one last
push in the fourth quarter. The Badgers were trailing 21-13 and looked
to running backs John Clay and Montee Ball to lead the charge. The
bruising Clay got The Badgers down the field and it was Ball who found
the endzone on a 4-yard run with 2 minutes left in the game to make the
score 21-19. TCU linebacker Tank Carder then put his name in Horned Frog
history along the side of greats such as Bob Lilly and Sammy Baugh. On
the ensuing two-point conversion, Carder knocked down Wisconsin
quarterback Scott Tolzien’s pass. TCU won the game 21-19 and proved that
they could play with the “big boys” of college football.