1979 Rose Bowl

American college football game August 2023 December 2025 1979 Rose Bowl 65th Rose Bowl Game 1978 Michigan Wolverines University of Michigan USC Trojans University of Southern California 10–1 11–1 Bo Schembechler John Robinson 5 5 3 3 0 3 7 0 7 10 0 0 January 1 Rose Bowl Pasadena, California Charles White (USC RB)Rick Leach (Michigan QB) USC by 5 points https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=xhRWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=B-IDAAAAIBAJ&pg=2505%2C9508046 Eugene Register-Guard Oregon Associated Press Rose Bowl winner could be national champion December 31, 1978 3B Paul Kamanski (Pac-10);split crew: Pac-10, Big Ten) 105,629 https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=bzxOAAAAIBAJ&sjid=9e0DAAAAIBAJ&pg=6931%2C432348 Spokesman-Review Spokane, Washington Associated Press USC No. 1? January 2, 1979 29 NBC List of announcers of major college bowl games Curt Gowdy, John Brodie, and O. J. Simpson 23.3 The 1979 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game played in Pasadena, California, on January 1, 1979. It was the 65th Rose Bowl Game. The USC Trojans, champions of the Pacific-10 Conference, defeated the Michigan Wolverines, (co) champions of the Big Ten Conference, 17–10.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=fYNRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=8BEEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6460%2C505502 Milwaukee Sentinel Hofmann Dale White's TD gives Michigan a jolt January 2, 1979 1, part 2https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=w_JVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=BuIDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5932%2C391000 Eugene Register-Guard Oregon UPI A call, not the quake, shakes the Rose Bowl January 2, 1979 1Bhttps://www.si.com/vault/1979/01/08/823267/rose-bowl Sports Illustrated Jares Joe Rose Bowl January 8, 1979 14 USC running back Charles White and Michigan quarterback Rick Leach were named the Players of the Game. Teams 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season Michigan 1978 Michigan Wolverines football team Michigan came into the game ranked fifth in both major polls with a 10–1 record, with their only loss to Michigan State. The Wolverines tied for the Big Ten title with Michigan State, and earned the Rose Bowl berth because the Spartans were on probation. Michigan had been to the previous two Rose Bowls, but lost both. USC 1978 USC Trojans football team USC came into the game ranked third in both major polls with an 11–1 record. In September, USC decisively defeated then #1 ranked Alabama 24–14 in Birmingham, but subsequently suffered their lone defeat to new Pac-10 member Arizona State, falling 20–7 in Tempe in mid-October. USC defeated UCLA 17–10 to win the Pac-10, and then closed out the regular season by defeating defending national champion Notre Dame 27–25. USC had also defeated Big-10 regular season co-champion Michigan State 30–9 in late September. The Trojans entered the game as five-point favorites. Charles White's "Phantom Touchdown" USC had driven deep into Michigan territory in the second quarter. At the three-yard line in a dive over the middle towards the goal-line, Charles White was hit hard by Michigan's great middle linebacker Ron Simpkins and fumbled the ball before he entered the end-zone.https://www.espn.com/page2/s/list/worstcalls/010730.html The List: Worst calls in sports history ESPNhttps://bleacherreport.com/articles/748153-biggest-blown-calls-in-sports-history Biggest Blown Calls in Sports History Bleacher Report June 26, 2011 The ball was recovered by co-captain linebacker Jerry Meter. The officials for this game were made up of a Pac-10/Big Ten crew. Upon White's fumble, the umpire (a Pac-10 official) immediately and correctly marked the ball around the one-yard line and signaled that there had been a change of possession. Then the line judge, a Big Ten official, came running in raising his hands signaling that White had scored a touchdown. This touchdown has become known as White's "Phantom Touchdown" as he was awarded the score after first fumbling, and entered the end-zone without the ball. This has been confirmed by White himself. The touchdown put USC up 14–3 and they added a field goal before halftime. The only score in the second half was an extended play by Michigan in the third quarter that resulted in a 44-yard touchdown pass. Earthquake A mild earthquake, 4.6 on the Richter scale, took place shortly before halftime but caused no disruptions. Scoring First quarter USC - Hoby Brenner, 9-yard pass from Paul McDonald (Frank Jordan kick) Second quarter Michigan - Gregg Willner, 36-yard field goal USC - Charles White, 3-yard run (Frank Jordan kick) USC - Frank Jordan, 35-yard field goal Third quarter Michigan - Roosevelt Smith, 44-yard pass from Rick Leach (Gregg Willner kick) Fourth quarter No scoring Aftermath Earlier in the day at the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, #2 Alabama upset #1 Penn State, 14–7. USC vaulted into the #1 spot in the UPI poll, while Alabama was first in the AP poll. The loss was Michigan's third straight in the Rose Bowl and fourth consecutive in major bowls; their most recent postseason win was in January 1965. Two years later, they returned to Pasadena and won the Rose Bowl. This was the fifth straight win for the Pac-10 in the Rose Bowl and ninth in the last ten. USC returned the following year and successfully defended their title. This was the final Rose Bowl for television broadcaster Curt Gowdy; Dick Enberg took over play-by-play duties the following year. References External links Summary at Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan Athletics History Pac-12 Conference – 1979 Rose Bowl – video YouTube – Michigan's 44-yard touchdown pass Rose Bowl Category:Rose Bowl Game Category:20th century in Pasadena, California Category:Michigan Wolverines football bowl games Category:USC Trojans football bowl games Category:January 1979 sports events in the United States Rose Bowl