1969 Rose Bowl

American college football game August 2023 December 2025 1969 Rose Bowl 55th Rose Bowl GameNational Championship GameThrough luck and fortuitous scheduling, a "national championship game" was occasionally able to settle the matter on the field, as described in some contemporaneous reports.Barbati Carl Cannizzaro Mark January 3, 1988 Should there be college Super Bowl? https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111956213/should-there-be-college-super-bowl/ The Courier–News Bridgewater, New Jersey October 24, 2022 Only luck ensures one of the many current bowl games gets the No. 1 and No. 2 teams to play each other. October 25, 2022 https://web.archive.org/web/20221025034152/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111956213/should-there-be-college-super-bowl/ live 1968 Ohio State Buckeyes Ohio State University USC Trojans University of Southern California 9–0 Big Ten 9–0–1 Pac-8 Woody Hayes John McKay 1 1 2 2 0 10 3 14 0 10 0 6 January 1 Rose Bowl Pasadena, California Rex Kern (Ohio State QB) Ohio State by 3.5 points https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=L_NOAAAAIBAJ&sjid=BAIEAAAAIBAJ&pg=7348%2C392642 Toledo Blade Ohio Sullwold Chet Rose Bowl theme simple: Who's No.1? January 1, 1969 73https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=2QpWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=TeEDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3457%2C7905888 Eugene Register-Guard Oregon Associated Press Young Buckeyes slight favorites over Trojans December 31, 1968 2B The Ohio State University Marching Band Charles Moffett (Pacific-8)(split crew: Pac-8, Big Ten) Spirit of Troy, The Ohio State University Marching Band 102,063 NBC List of announcers of major college bowl games Curt Gowdy, Kyle Rote 33.5 National championship game(AP Poll) 1967 1969 (Dec) The 1969 Rose Bowl was the 55th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, on Wednesday, January 1. The game was a de facto national championship game, as both teams were competing for the Associated Press (AP) title.Jenkins Dan Dan Jenkins Bouquets of Roses for No. 1 Sports Illustrated December 23, 1968 22–23 29 26 Chicago https://vault.si.com/vault/1968/12/23/bouquets-of-roses-for-no-1 https://web.archive.org/web/20220816141841/https://vault.si.com/vault/1968/12/23/bouquets-of-roses-for-no-1 dead August 16, 2022 March 16, 2016 The nation's two top teams, Ohio State and Southern California, get a rare opportunity to settle which is the best as an entire season of undefeated play comes down to their face-to-face clash in Pasadena. https://www.newspapers.com/article/moberly-monitor-index-and-moberly-evenin/108292609/ Poll Matches Rose Foes — One-Two Fracas Set Moberly Monitor–Index Moberly, Missouri Associated Press December 3, 1968 January 13, 2025 That Dream Match—the No. 1 team against the No. 2 outfit in the Rose Bowl—remained a reality today... but just barely. [...] Because the race is so tight, the final AP poll of the season won't be released until after the Jan. 1 bowl games. The top-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes of the Big Ten Conference defeated the defending national champions - #2 USC Trojans of the Pacific-8 Conference, 27-16, to claim their sixth national championship and first consensus national championship since 1942.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=99hVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=MuEDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6585%2C447633 Eugene Register-Guard Oregon Associated Press Hayes: 'Greatest bowl victory'; SC falls, 27-16 January 2, 1969 3Bhttps://news.google.com/newspapers?id=L_NOAAAAIBAJ&sjid=BAIEAAAAIBAJ&pg=7328%2C610132 Toledo Blade Ohio Sullwold Chet Play to O.J., day to Bucks January 2, 1969 25https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=YvBeAAAAIBAJ&sjid=RFQNAAAAIBAJ&pg=819%2C627108 Youngstown Vindicator Ohio UPI Kahn Alex Ohio State quiets skeptics, proves No. 1 rating by beating Trojans, 27-16 January 2, 1969 21https://vault.si.com/vault/1969/01/13/defense-and-rex-make-a-king https://web.archive.org/web/20201024154526/https://vault.si.com/vault/1969/01/13/defense-and-rex-make-a-king dead October 24, 2020 Sports Illustrated Jenkins Dan Dan Jenkins Defense and Rex make a king January 13, 1969 16 Sophomore quarterback Rex Kern of Ohio State was the Player of the Game.2008 Rose Bowl Program https://web.archive.org/web/20080306033551/http://www.bowlprograms.com/rosebowl/?pg=182 March 6, 2008 , 2008 Rose Bowl. Accessed January 26, 2008. Heisman Trophy winner O. J. Simpson rushed for 171 yards and an 80-yard touchdown run, but USC had five turnovers, including an interception and a fumble by Simpson. It was only the second #1 vs. #2 matchup in the Rose Bowl, the first was six years earlier. It was the first time in the history of the Big 9(Ten) – PCC/Big Ten – AAWU agreements that two unbeaten teams met in the Rose Bowl. It was the first of four Rose Bowl matchups between the head coaches; Woody Hayes of Ohio State and USC's John McKay. It was the first of three with the national championship on the line for both schools. Teams 1968 NCAA University Division football season This was only the second time in the Rose Bowl where the #1 and #2 teams in the AP poll played and only the third time in a bowl game: the 1963 Rose Bowl was the first and the 1964 Cotton Bowl Classic was the second. It was the 12th time overall that the #1 and #2 team faced each other since the inception of the AP poll in 1936.Games Where #1 Faced #2 https://web.archive.org/web/20080828203249/http://kiko13.com/cflrankings/aponevstwo.htm August 28, 2008 (kiko13.com) The Bowl Coalition, Bowl Alliance, BCS, and College Football Playoff were created later to make at least one matchup of the top two teams in the nation. Ohio State Buckeyes 1968 Ohio State Buckeyes football team The Buckeyes featured a group called "The Super Sophomores" playing in their first varsity season: John Brockington, Leo Hayden, Rex Kern, Jim Otis, Jim Stillwagon, and Jack Tatum. The Buckeyes throttled #4 Michigan 50–14 to complete the regular season,https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=uKxVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=QuEDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4317%2C5616958 Eugene Register-Guard Oregon Associated Press Rose Bowl next for Bucks November 24, 1968 4Bhttps://vault.si.com/vault/1968/12/02/the-subject-is-roses https://web.archive.org/web/20220807192115/https://vault.si.com/vault/1968/12/02/the-subject-is-roses dead August 7, 2022 Sports Illustrated Jenkins Dan Dan Jenkins The subject is Roses December 2, 1968 22 and were favored in the Rose Bowl by 3½ points. USC Trojans 1968 USC Trojans football team The defending national champion Trojans finished undefeated with one tie, which occurred at the end of the regular season against ninth-ranked Notre Dame.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=vApWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=TeEDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6746%2C4804 Eugene Register-Guard Oregon Associated Press Trojans salvage 21-21 tie with Irish December 1, 1968 2Bhttps://vault.si.com/vault/1968/12/09/the-day-they-tied-up-oj https://web.archive.org/web/20210827063418/https://vault.si.com/vault/1968/12/09/the-day-they-tied-up-oj dead August 27, 2021 Sports Illustrated Jenkins Dan Dan Jenkins The day they tied up O.J. December 9, 1968 18 They had been ranked first since October 14, but dropped to second after Ohio State routed #4 Michigan; USC stayed in that runner-up position even after the 21–21 tie on November 30.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=vgpWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=TeEDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6674%2C841767 Eugene Register-Guard Oregon Associated Press USC clings to second in grid poll December 3, 1968 3B They were captained by Heisman Trophy winner O. J. Simpson; it was the third of four consecutive Rose Bowl appearances for USC. Game summary This Rose Bowl was also the beginning of a celebration of a century of college football. Later during the 1969 season, many teams wore uniform patches or helmet stickers with "100" to signify the centennial. thumb|The Nixons and Reagans at the Rose Bowl A number of celebrities were present, including President-elect Richard Nixon, Bob Hope, California Governor and future United States President Ronald Reagan and his wife Nancy Reagan, and former Oklahoma head coach and then-ABC analyst Bud Wilkinson.Welcome Home. Time Magazine, January 10, 1969 First Lady Pat Nixon was a graduate of USC, but President Nixon spent time on both sidelines. Richard Nixon called the Rose Bowl Game, "the prize game of all bowl games." After O. J. Simpson scored on an 80-yard run to give USC a 10–0 lead, a Trojans fumble at their 21-yard line set up a Rex Kern pass to Leo Hayden for the final four yards. A fumbled reception cost Southern Cal the ball again at its own 16. USC had five turnovers, including two by Simpson. Simpson, besides having a fumble and interception, also underestimated the speed of Jack Tatum, the Ohio State cornerback. This happened on a swing pass that should have been a touchdown, and then on the same series when Simpson overthrew a touchdown pass to Ted DeKraai. Ohio State had one fumble, but managed to keep possession. Scoring First quarter No scoring Second quarter USC - Ron Ayala 21 field goal, 9:40 USC - O. J. Simpson 80 run (Ayala kick), 6:38 OSU - Jim Otis 1 run (Jim Roman kick), 1:45 OSU - Roman 26 field goal, 0:03 Third quarter OSU - Roman 25 field goal, 1:40 Fourth quarter OSU - Leo Hayden 4 pass from Rex Kern (Roman kick), 13:52 OSU - Ray Gillian 16 pass from Kern (Roman kick),10:05 USC - Sam Dickerson 19 pass from Steve Sogge (Sogge pass failed), 0:45 Aftermath The following season, Ohio State was stunned in defense of their national title against Michigan, led by first-year head coach Bo Schembechler, in one of the most notable games in the rivalry. When the Super Sophomores were seniors in 1970, OSU went undefeated in the regular season and returned to Pasadena in January 1971, but was upset by Stanford, led by Heisman Trophy winner Jim Plunkett, the first pick of the 1971 NFL draft. After losing this Rose Bowl, the Pac-8/10 dominated the series for the next two decades, winning the next four Rose Bowls, ten of the next eleven, and sixteen of the next eighteen. The next Rose Bowl that matched the #1 and #2 teams was thirty-three years later in January 2002, with Miami (Big East) and Nebraska (Big 12), in the BCS National Championship Game. Notes References 2 Bibliography University of Southern California football media guide. (PDF copy available at www.usctrojans.com) Ohio State University football media guide. (PDF copy available at www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com) College Football's Twenty-Five Greatest Teams: The Sporting News. 0-89204-281-8 Park Jack The Official Ohio State Football Encyclopedia: National Championship Edition Sports Publishing LLC 2003 1-58261-695-7 Rose Bowl Category:Rose Bowl Game Category:20th century in Pasadena, California Category:Ohio State Buckeyes football bowl games Category:USC Trojans football bowl games Category:January 1969 sports events in the United States Rose Bowl