The 20 best Rose Bowl games of all time

Following a stadium renovation, 100,000-plus fans attended the Rose Bowl for the first time in history. They surely were not disappointed. Cal, seemingly a Rose Bowl staple by now, was a six-point favorite and led 7-0 at halftime. However, third-quarter touchdown runs by Fred Morrison and Jerry Krall put the Buckeyes ahead. Joe Monachino's second TD run of the game for the Golden Bears late in the period tied things before Jimmy Hague's 18-yard field goal in the fourth proved to be the game-winner for upset-minded Ohio State.

Getting a competitive bowl is half the battle, and fans of the Rose Bowl got one to begin 2014. Stanford led 10-7 after one quarter and 17-14 at halftime against Michigan State. In the second half, the Spartans stepped up and held the Cardinal to only a fourth-quarter field goal. Michigan State quarterback Connor Cook threw for 332 yards with two touchdowns and did have an interception returned for a score, but proved to be the star of the show.

One of the biggest games in TCU football history was its first and, to date, only appearance in the Rose Bowl amid an exceptional season for the program. These two teams combined for a Rose Bowl-record 24 points in the first quarter. TCU led 14-10 after that period and never surrendered the lead en route to holding off the Badgers, who got 132 rushing yards and a touchdown from Montee Ball. Andy Dalton was named game MVP for throwing a touchdown and posting a rushing TD for the Horned Frogs,  who completed a 13-0 season, but then playing in the Mountain West Conference were not given national championship consideration.

This was a matchup of the Nos. 2 and 3 teams in the country. And it was a competitive contest, even if scoring was a premium. In the end, it was a combination of the second-ranked Trojans' stingy defense that held the Wolverines to only Rob Lytle's second-quarter touchdown run and the legs of a young backup running back by the name of Charles White, who rushed for 114 yards and a touchdown in place of Ricky Bell, to prevail. For USC, it began a stretch of three Rose Bowl victories in four years.

One of two times in the storied history of this bowl, it was not played in Pasadena. With fears of another potential attack from the Japanese, less than a month after the events of Pearl Harbor, the game was canceled. At the time, events with large gatherings on the West Coast were prohibited, thus taking the Beavers' home field out of the mix for a new site. So, the game was played in North Carolina at Duke. However, there proved to be no home-field advantage for the heavily favored Blue Devils. It was a back-and-forth game until Bob Dethman connected with Gene Gray on a 68-yard touchdown pass to give Oregon State a 20-4 lead with 25 seconds remaining in the third quarter. A pair of fourth-quarter turnovers by Duke helped preserve the upset for Oregon State.

From 2011-13, Wisconsin made three straight Rose Bowl appearances — and lost them all by a combined 15 points. For this installment of "The Granddaddy of Them All," the Badgers and Ducks combined for a then-Rose Bowl record of 83 points. It was tied 28-28 at halftime, and Wisconsin led 38-35 entering the fourth quarter. However, Oregon's defense finally shut down Wisconsin while scoring the only 10 points of the final period. The Ducks' LaMichael James and De'Anthony Thomas rushed for a combined 314 yards with three touchdowns, and Lavasier Tuinei had eight receptions for 158 yards with two TDs. Meanwhile, Wisconsin's Nick Toon and Jared Abbrederis totaled 13 receptions for 223 yards and two touchdowns between them. All coming from Russell Wilson, who threw two TD passes and ran for another. 

In a rematch of each team's season opener from the 1965 season, UCLA got the better of the Spartans. Michigan State won 13-3 in East Lansing to begin the 1965 season and was ranked No. 1 and a 14-point favorite. But the Bruins' defense proved stout when it mattered most, keeping Michigan State scoreless until the fourth quarter. The Spartans failed both of their conversion attempts. Meanwhile, two one-yard touchdown runs from Gary Beban in the second quarter held up for UCLA, which pulled off the upset despite just 212 total yards of offense.

Michigan was 11-0 and a hefty favorite against Stanford. This was a 3-3 game after three quarters, and Michigan twice led in the fourth quarter, including 12-10 following a safety. However, the Wolverines could not completely stop a late Stanford drive, which resulted in Rod Garcia's 31-yard game-winning field with 12 seconds left. In pulling off the upset, Stanford held Michigan to just 26 passing yards and 290 total to overcome four turnovers of its own. 

This was the last time Michigan won a national championship (or recognized in one of the two major polls). This might not have been the most dramatic game in Rose Bowl history, but the Wolverines capped their 12-0 season by rallying from a 13-7 third-quarter hole thanks to three touchdown passes from Brian Griese. Two went to Tai Streets, who caught four passes for 127 yards. This was one special moment for Michigan football fans — notably for how emotional it was for Wolverines coach Lloyd Carr and Griese.

Yes, we're going way back from this gem. And it can be argued that this matchup was memorable for one particular play. In the second quarter of a scoreless contest, Cal's Roy Riegels recovered a Georgia Tech fumble roughly 30 yards from the Yellow Jackets' end zone. Riegels began running with the ball, then turned around and ran toward his end zone. Scampering some 65 yards in the wrong direction, Riegels was eventually stopped by teammate Benny Lom just shy of his own goal line, but soon after, Lom's punt was blocked for a Georgia Tech safety and what would ultimately prove to be the deciding points in this defensive struggle.

Sure, there was nothing on the line for either team, but it didn't stop Ohio State and Utah from playing one of the greatest games in Rose Bowl history. Ohio State trailed 14-0 after one quarter and 35-21 at halftime but scored 27 second-half points and won the game on Noah Ruggles' 19-yard field with 9 seconds remaining in the contest. Meanwhile, on the individual front, Ohio State receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba set school, all-Bowls, and FBS records with 347 receiving yards, and teammate C.J. Stroud set new school and Rose Bowl records with 573 passing yards. His six touchdown passes were also a Rose Bowl record.

Cal was 10-0 and ranked fourth in the country when pitted against the upstart Wildcats. Not to mention, Golden Bears coach Pappy Waldorf coached Northwestern before coming to California. Meanwhile, the Wildcats suffered just two losses in 12 games — to perennial powers Michigan and Notre Dame. Northwestern scored the go-ahead touchdown on Ed Tunnicliff's 45-yard run off the old Statue of Liberty play. However, the Wildcats benefited from questionable calls during the contest. Tunnicliff was ruled down when it appeared he fumbled first, and Art Murakowski was awarded a touchdown even though he looked to have lost the ball before crossing the goal line.

The first-ever gridiron matchup between these two storied programs certainly proved something special. The score was tied 14-14 at halftime, and after Texas star quarterback Vince Young broke off a 60-yard scoring run to begin the third quarter, the Wolverines scored the following 17 points to take a 31-21 lead entering the fourth. Young's fourth rushing TD of the game put Texas ahead with just under five minutes to play. Michigan went back ahead 37-25 on Garrett Rivas' 42-yard field with 3:04 remaining in regulation. Yet, Texas got the last word on Dusty Mangum's 37-yard field as time expired. Meanwhile, Young, who we'll hear from again in a bit, ran for 192 yards and overshadowed the performance of Michigan's Braylon Edwards (10 catches, 109 yards, three TDs).

By the mid-1970s, USC and Ohio State had become pretty familiar with each other in the Rose Bowl. The 1975 installment marked the third straight season these perennial powers met in the Rose Bowl. The Buckeyes led 7-3 after three quarters and were up 17-10 late in the game when USC's Pat Haden hooked up with J.K. McKay on a 38-yard touchdown pass play to get within a point. Then, the Trojans went for it all via a two-point conversion, which they converted when Haden found Shelton Diggs for the successful try. Which ultimately led to a national championship for USC in the eyes of the United Press International.

Arizona State was 10-0 and one win away from what likely would have been the program's first national championship. However, this low-scoring, back-and-forth contest came down to the wire . An 11-yard touchdown run by Sun Devils star quarterback Jake Plummer put his team ahead 17-14 with 1:40 left in the fourth quarter. But that proved to be more than enough time for the Buckeyes to answer. Rose Bowl MVP Joe Germaine connected with David Boston for a five-yard, go-ahead touchdown pass with 19 seconds left on the clock. Ohio State hung on, finished 11-1, and spoiled ASU's national title dreams.

Another game that proved how magnificent a college running back Heisman trophy winner Charles White was while at USC. Named MVP of the game for the second time (after winning co-honors with Michigan's Rick Leach in the 1979 game), White rushed for a Rose Bowl-record 247 yards. Perhaps most importantly, his touchdown with a little more than one minute to play in regulation propelled the Trojans past Ohio State, which entered this contest 11-0 and was likely to claim at least a share of the national championship had it won. 

"The Granddaddy of Them All" usually seems to live up to the hype. Watching the 2017 installment of this classic bowl did not disappoint.  To conclude the 2016 season, several Rose Bowl records were set, notably by Trojans quarterback Sam Darnold, who threw for a game-best five touchdowns and recorded 473 total yards. USC also set a Rose Bowl record by overcoming a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit. Doing so with 17 in the period, which was capped by Matt Boermeester's 46-yard, tie-breaking field goal as time expired. Meanwhile, Penn State's Saquon Barkley rushed for 194 yards with two touchdowns and caught a touchdown pass.

In some circles, this classic has been called the "Game of the Century." When the No. 1 Trojans and second-ranked Badgers met in Pasadena, it marked the first time that the top two ranked teams in the nation met in a bowl game. Wisconsin trailed 42-14 in the fourth quarter, then scored 23 unanswered points behind quarterback Ron Vander Kelen. However, Wisconsin's offensive production stalled, and Pete Beathard (four touchdown passes) and the Trojans held on to cap their undefeated season after a game that set 11 Rose Bowl records at the time.

Talk about a wild but highly entertaining game with plenty on the line.  This College Football Playoff semifinal set a Rose Bowl record for combined points (102). Sooners running back Rodney Anderson rushed for 201 yards with two touchdowns, and receiver Marquise Brown caught eight passes for 114 yards with a score. Meanwhile, Georgia's 1-2 ground punch of Sony Michel and Nick Chubb combined for 326 rushing yards and five touchdowns. The Bulldogs overcame a 31-14 second-quarter hole to force overtime on Chubb's two-yard score with 55 seconds left in regulation. However, in a game with few key defensive stops, Georgia's Lorenzo Carter blocked Austin Seibert's 27-yard field goal try to open the second overtime. Michel scored from 27 yards out, and the Bulldogs prevailed.

Vince Young just might be the best overall athlete in the history of Texas football, and he proved that in what has been considered the greatest bowl game of all time — depending on who is doing the talking . The fourth quarter was legendary on various levels. USC led 24-23 after three quarters and went up by eight after Reggie Bush's 26-yard scoring run early in the fourth. The Trojans led 38-26 with 6:42 left in regulation when Young took over. He scored on a 17-yard TD run with 4:03 to play, then scampered into the end zone from eight yards out on 4th-and-5 with 19 seconds to go. The Longhorns held, won their most recent national title, and solidified Young's iconic status.