The best moments in Pac-12's football history

The first Rose Bowl game was played in 1902 between Michigan and Stanford and was designed to pit a top college team from the eastern United States against one from the west. In the inaugural game, Michigan stomped Stanford, 49-0, which saw Stanford essentially cry mercy in the second half and the game was called before time expired.

Due to the blowout, the football game was shelved for chariot races, ostrich races and other events until 1917 when football was brought back. The Rose Bowl committee agreed with the Pacific Coast Conference that they'd send one of their teams to play in the game against a top team from the east. This was an important milestone for the PCC to not only have a team from the east come out to Pasadena, California to play but for the exposure the West Coast schools desired. In 1947, the Big Ten (then known as the Big Nine) agreed to send a team to face the PCC every season.

That agreement has essentially been in place ever since. With the advent of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) in 1998, there would be years where the Rose Bowl would be used for the national championship game and the Pac-10 champion (as they were known by then) would have to play in a different BCS bowl if the Rose Bowl was the site of the title game ... or if the Pac-10 champion was selected to play for the BCS championship. This was extended with the formation of the College Football Playoff in 2014 where the Rose Bowl would become one of the playoff sites every three years. With the expansion of the playoff in 2024 ... and the demise of the Pac-12 ... the Rose Bowl will no longer be tied to either the Big Ten or Pac-12.

As for the 1916 Rose Bowl, Washington State shut out Brown, 14-0.

Jerry Drew was nothing more than a backup, but the Cal back made his mark on the record books when he came off the bench against Oregon State in 1954. After rushing for just 15 yards on four attempts in the first half of a 25-0 blowout lead over the Beavers, Cal put in the reserves to get some late-season run.

Jerry Drew made the most of his opportunity.

Drew ended the day with 283 yards on 11 carries ... an unreal 25.7 yards per carry. And if you are marginally good at math, you'd see that he gained 268 of that on seven carries in the second half -- a 38.3-yards per-carry average. Drew ran for a 67-yard touchdown. Then a 59-yard TD. Then, a 55-yard score. His school record for rushing yards would stand until 2008 when Jahvid Best topped it, but his 25.7 yards per carry on that day is the oldest record still on the conference books. 

Most consider this game to be the best game in the Pac-12's best rivalry. The Trojans and Bruins traded blows with UCLA opening the scoring on a Greg Jones TD run, then later USC scored on a pick-six to tie the game at 7. Trojans' back O.J. Simpson scored to give USC a 14-7 halftime lead.

What made this game epic was what happened during the second half. UCLA tied the game at 14-14, then later attempted two field goals who were blocked by USC's Bill Hayhoe. In the fourth quarter, UCLA would take the lead on a Dave Nuttall touchdown grab but the extra point was blocked by ... you guessed it ... Bill Hayhoe.

Down 20-14 and facing a 3rd-and-6, the Trojans' audibled to a run and Simpson rumbled 64 yards for the go-ahead touchdown. USC won the game, 21-20, and the 1967 national championship. 

USC dominated the Pac-8 in the 1960s and 1970s, but suffered a bit of a dip early on in 70s. The Stanford Indians, as they were then known, took advantage and made a name for themselves. While Stanford wasn't challenging for national prowess, they did win the Pac-8 in 1970 and 1971 to become the conference's representative in the Rose Bowl (their first since 1952) and both years took on an undefeated Big Ten power.

In the 1971 Rose Bowl, the Indians took on No. 2 Ohio State, who could win the national championship after No. 1 Texas lost in the Cotton Bowl earlier in the day. 12th-ranked Stanford took a quick 10-0 lead before the Buckeyes got going. Ohio State kept chugging on the ground, piling up 364 rushing yards and entering the final quarter with a 17-13 lead. But Stanford's Heisman trophy winner Jim Plunkett had the Indians' passing attack heating up, moving the ball on the Buckeyes. Stanford scored twice in the 4th, including Plunkett's 10-yard score to Randy Vataha to give the Indians the stunning 27-17 win.

Stanford repeated as Pac-8 champions the following year despite losing Plunkett, who was the top overall pick in the 1971 NFL Draft. The Indians (this was the last game using this moniker as the school switched to Cardinals two months later) entered the Rose Bowl against heavily favored No. 4 Michigan (the first time these schools met in the Rose Bowl since the inaugural game in 1902) with a stout defense and the efficient backfield of QB Don Bunce and tailback Jackie Brown. That turned out to be the key to their 13-12 victory on a wet field in Pasadena. Both defenses played well as the two teams traded field goals for a 3-3 score heading into the 4th quarter. After Michigan scored the first touchdown of the day, Stanford used a fake punt to continue a drive that ended in a Brown 24-yard TD romp.

Tied 10-10, Michigan attempted a 46-yard field goal that missed, but Stanford's Jim Ferguson caught the ball and attempted to return it. He passed the goal line before being tackled back into the endzone for a controversial Michigan safety that gave the Wolverines a two-point lead. After stopping Michigan, Stanford got the ball back with under two minutes remaining. Bunce completed five passes to move the Indians into field goal range and Stanford kicked the game-winner with 12 seconds remaining. Stanford won, slaying an undefeated Big Ten team for the second consecutive seasons.

Stanford wouldn't return to the Rose Bowl until 2000, and played in the 2013, 2014 and 2016 games.

Ricky Bell came to USC as a linebacker, but his coaches saw that he had great value as a blocker and a runner and began to play him in the offensive backfield. By 1976, he was the Trojans' featured back and was known as a violent, physical running back -- nicknamed "Bulldog" because he would growl.

USC would travel up to Seattle to face Washington State in the new Kingdome, and that day was all about Ricky. Bell rushed for a then-USC record 347 yards by carrying the ball a ridiculous conference record 51 times! Bell carried the Trojans to a 23-14 win over the Cougars that day. USC would finish the season 11-1 and Bell finished second in Heisman voting to Pitt's Tony Dorsett.

There was also a lot of confusion about Bell's rushing total that day. Fans, players and coaches believed Bell broke the single-game rushing record (set in 1971) when Bell rushed for five yards late in win. Coaches took him out as the scoreboard announced that Bell indeed broke the record. However, a statistical error that happened in the middle of the game credited Bell with a seven-yard gain that Charles White carried. When the game was over, the stats were corrected and Bell was three yards short of the record. 

Marcus Allen was ridiculous in 1981. Allen rushed for 2,342 yards over an 11-game regular season, averaging over 212 yards per game. scoring 23 total touchdowns and winning the Heisman trophy. His rushing total is still top in Pac-12 history, as is the 403 carries he had that season. He reached the 1,000-yard rushing mark in just the second game of the season (tying USC's Ricky Bell and equaled by Stanford's Bryce Love) and hit the 200-yard mark eight times that season.

There may not be a more iconic moment in Pac-12 (or college football) history than "The Play". After Stanford's field goal gave the Cardinal a 20-19 lead with four seconds remaining, Cal used five laterals during the kickoff return to score a game-winning touchdown as time expired. Of course, "The Play" was more than that.

Before that play, Stanford called a timeout with eight seconds remaining to attempt their field goal. If they had waited for more time to run off the clock, the Cardinal's field goal would have ended the game. Stanford also committed an unsportsmanlike penalty celebrating the kick, which knocked them back 15 yards for the kickoff. That kickoff was a squib kick that Cal's Kevin Moen picked up mid-field. The rest is history.

Five laterals and Moen would end up with the ball at the Cardinal 25-yard line. He would run through Stanford's band who had rushed the field believing the game was over. Moen scored, bowled over a trombone player, and one of the craziest plays in American sports ended.

The 1991 Washington Huskies are the lone Pac-12 team to win an AP of Coaches Poll national championship outside of USC since 1954. The Huskies, led by quarterbacks Billy Joe Hobert and Mark Brunell, receiver Mario Bailey, running back Napoleon Kauffman, and two of the nation's best linemen -- offensive tackle Lincoln Kennedy and defensive tackle Steve Emtman.

The Huskies defense was devastating, holding teams to 7 points or less seven times, 3 points or less four times, and recording two shutouts. Washington and Miami were clearly the top two teams in the country, but wouldn't be able to play for a national championship due to the Pac-10 champion obligated to play in the Rose Bowl against the Big Ten champion. Washington drubbed Michigan while Miami shut out Nebraska (who the Huskies beat 36-21 earlier in the season) in the Orange Bowl. Miami finished as the AP's #1 while Washington finished atop the Coaches' Poll.

Emtman would go on to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 1992 NFL Draft.

On a rainy Seattle in 1996, Corey Dillon set an NCAA record for rushing and all-purpose yards in a quarter when he piled up 222 and 305 yards, respectively, against San Jose State in the first quarter. Dillon gained his 222 rushing yards on just 16 carries and caught an 83-yard touchdown pass all in the first quarter to set the record. Due to the weather and the Huskies huge lead over the Aztecs, Dillon sat for the rest of the game. 

Arizona State's 1996 was arguably the most magical season in Sun Devils' history. They shut out No. 1 Nebraska en route to an undefeated regular season, the No. 2 ranking, and a Rose Bowl berth against Ohio State. Their loss to the Buckeyes in Pasadena kept Arizona State from winning a national championship.

But none of that could have happened if not for a thrilling win in the season opener against Washington in Tempe. It all started well, with Jake Plummer leading the Sun Devils to a huge 42-21 lead, but Washington's Corey Dillon and Brock Huard led the comeback. Huard ran in a touchdown and connected on a 67-yard TD pass to Gerald Harris to get the Huskies to within seven. Dillion rushed in a score from eight yards out to tie the game with 5:13 remaining.

Plummer and the Sun Devils drove for the winning score, but he was intercepted deep in Huskies territory. Washington couldn't do anything with it, and after a horrible punt, the Plummer found himself again moving the offense down for a game-winning score. This time it worked, as Robert Nycz kicked a 38-yard field goal with two seconds remaining to win the game. 

Washington quarterback Marques Tuiasosopo set a college football record when he threw for 302 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 207 yards and two touchdowns in a 35-30 win over Stanford. Tuiasosopo became the first quarterback in NCAA history to throw for 300 yards and rush for 200 yards. Until that point, only three quarterbacks had even thrown for 200 yards and rushed for 200 yards, the last being Southwest Louisiana's Brian Mitchell.

If you've followed Pac-12 football you know that USC has been the power team for most of the conference's existence while Oregon State has struggled to make a huge dent in the league. That's what made Oregon State's win over USC in 2000 such a huge moment.

Oregon State hadn't beaten USC since 1967 -- 26 consecutive losses to the Trojans. This came one year after the Beavers had their first winning season in 29 years.

Running back Ken Simonton had a day, tearing up the Trojans defense or 234 yards and 3 TDs. Chad Johnson (who would later catch passes from USC's quarterback that day, Carson Palmer, with the Cincinnati Bengals) caught a touchdown pass that helped lead the Beavers to a 31-21 victory that saw Oregon State's fans rush the field and celebrate. 

One of the greatest conference games in Pac-10 history came in 2000 between Oregon and Arizona State. First the stats: Oregon's Joey Harrington passed for 434 yards and 6 TDs while Arizona State's Jeff Krohn threw for 432 yards and five touchdowns. The Ducks' Marshaun Tucker caught 11 passes for 138 yards and 3 TDs (Keenan Howry had 125 yards and 2 TDs) while the Sun Devils' Tom Pace rushed for 158 yards and a score.

The game was wild. Arizona State led most of the way, including holding a 49-35 lead with under six minutes remaining in regulation. The Sun Devils attempted to run out the clock late, but fumbled away the ball, allowing Harrington to throw a touchdown pass to tie up the game with 27 seconds left.

Oregon scored a touchdown on its first possession of overtime. Arizona State quickly scored a TD with their possession, on a 21-yard grab by Richard Williams. The Sun Devils set up for the extra point to tie, but elected to fake the kick and throw for a game-winning two-point conversion. Krohn, who was the holder, rolled out and found tight end Todd Heap in the end zone but Heap couldn't haul it in. The ball dropped to the ground and the Ducks celebrated their 56-55 win.

Before Aaron Rodgers was a four-time NFL MVP and a sure-fire Hall of Famer, he was a quarterback at California who was quickly going from a nobody to a star. On October 10, 2004, the juggernaut Trojans were atop the rankings while Rodgers' Bears were No. 7 and had upset USC the previous season.

The game was great, with USC holding on ... due to an epic goal-line stand ... to a 23-17 win. But what made this game special is how Rodgers started the contest -- completing his first 23 pass attempts, tying an NCAA record. Rodgers would finish 29 of 34 for 267 yards and a touchdown pass. Cal freshman Marshawn Lynch would also score a touchdown in this game. 

The 2003 to 2004 USC Trojans were one of the most dominant teams and stretches in recent college football history, and will go down as the last time a Pac-12 team won a national championship.

The 2002 Trojans were led by the likes of Heisman Trophy winner Carson Palmer and Troy Polumalu and reached #4 in the final AP poll. They gave way to a new regime led by sophomore quarterback Matt Leinart and freshman running back Reggie Bush. The 2003 Trojans went 12-1 (the only blemish was a 34-31 OT loss at Cal and quarterback Aaron Rodgers), beating Michigan in the Rose Bowl and winning a share of the 2003 national championship (USC finished as the Associated Press' #1 ranked team while LSU won the BCS championship game).

The 2004 season saw USC on a mission to leave no doubt who the best team in the nation was. The Trojans cruised through the season, going 13-0 and crushing Oklahoma in the BCS championship game, winning back-to-back national championships. Leinart would win the Heisman Trophy. In 2005, the Trojans began the season 12-0 and once again the heavy favorite to win their third straight title, but lost to Texas in the BCS title game ... one of the greatest games in college football history. Bush would win the Heisman Trophy, marking the third Trojan to win the award in four seasons.

Of course, improper benefits taken by Bush and his family caused the final two wins of 2004 and the entire 2005 season to be vacated, stripping USC of its 2004 national championship (though the AP still regards them as their '04 title team).

From 2002 to 2008, the Trojans finished in the top four of the rankings every season, winning six bowl games in seven years, playing in three national championship games and piling up a record of 82-9, before factoring in vacated games. Head coach Pete Carroll would leave Southern Cal to become the head coach of the NFL's Seattle Seahawks and the program has yet to get back to that level of success.

This was the Pac-12's last dynasty.

USC, as we've already noted, dominated the 2000s both nationally and in the Pac-10. That's what makes their loss to Stanford in 2007 all the more puzzling.

The Trojans were 41-point favorites over the Cardinal heading into the game. Stanford (who went 1-11 the previous season) entered the game 1-3 while the far superior Trojans were 4-0 once again. The Cardinal's starting quarterback, T.C. Ostrander, suffered a seizure during the week which forced head coach Jim Harbaugh to give Tavita Pritchard (who had only thrown three passes in his career) his first start ever. Oh, and this game was at the LA Coliseum ... where USC held a 35-game winning streak.

Yeah, forget all that.

A field goal and a Chauncey Washington touchdown run gave the Trojans a lackluster 9-0 heading into halftime. Out of the half, John David Booty threw a pick-six that gave Stanford their first score of the game. A Fred Davis 63-yard touchdown catch and run built the Trojans' lead back up to 16-7 and seemed to keep Stanford at arm's length away ... especially with the Cardinal unable to get anything going offensively.

That soon changed. Stanford was able to move to ball after Davis' touchdown and scored on a 1-yard touchdown run. USC struck back with a Booty 47-yard TD pass to get the lead back to nine once again, but Stanford found some momentum. The Cardinal moved deep into Trojan territory that ended in a field goal that cut the lead to 23-17. With under a minute remaining, Pritchard (who struggled all afternoon) found Mark Bradford in the corner of the endzone for a 10-yard touchdown that gave Stanford the lead. Bo McNally would pick off Booty to seal the shocking win.

Here is how unlikely this was: Pritchard ... who went just 11-for-30 on the day ... converted a 4th and 20 on the game-winning drive despite not being able to hear what Harbaugh and his coaches were calling. So he ran a play and found Richard Sherman ... yes, that Richard Sherman ... for 21 yards and the first down.

The 41-point upset was the largest in college football history, until Howard ... a 45-point dog ... beat UNLV in 2017. USC would go on to an 11-2 season and a Rose Bowl victory over Illinois, while Stanford would go on to lose 5 of their next six games, finishing the season 4-8. 

The Oregon-Oregon State rivalry ... once named The Civil War ... had never had more on the line than it did back in 2009. The winner of this game would represent the Pac-10 in the Rose Bowl -- Oregon was trying for their first Rose Bowl since 1995 while Oregon State hadn't been since 1964. In fact, in 2008, Oregon State needed a win over Oregon at home in Corvallis to earn a Rose Bowl bid, but the Ducks pounded the Beavers, 65-38, which gave USC the Pac-10 title.

The game was back and forth all day, with both teams moving the ball effectively for the first three quarters. Then it just ... stopped.

Oregon State held a 30-21 lead after their first possession after halftime, but Oregon roared back with two touchdowns (including a 12-yard run by LaGarrette Blount -- playing his first game since throwing a punch against Boise State in the season opener) to take a 34-33 heading in the final quarter. Neither team could find them endzone all fourth quarter. The Ducks tacked on a field goal early in the quarter to extend their lead to four points ... and that would be how it ended. Late in the game the Beavers decided to go for it on a 4th-and-15 on the Ducks' 28-yard line instead of going for a field goal, but the pass went incomplete.

Ducks back LaMichael James rushed for 166 yards and three touchdowns as Oregon reached their first Rose Bowl since 1995 and ended USC's seven-year reign in the conference. 

The Pac-12 championship game only ran from 2011, when Colorado and Utah joined the league, to now and it rarely has been a good game. Only four of the 13 games have been remotely close, and one of those was a 10-3 Washington win in 2018 and another coming during the 2020 COVID season (Oregon ... who was 3-2 ... beat USC, 31-28).

The best of the bunch had to be the second title game, the 2012 matchup between No. 8 Stanford and No. 16 UCLA. The two schools had met just six days earlier in Pasadena with the Cardinal cruising to a 35-17 victory over the Bruins. The rematch would be up at Stanford but the game would be much closer.

UCLA would take their opening possession for a touchdown via an explosive Johnathan Franklin 51-yard TD run. The Cardinal returned the favor on their first possession, tying the game on a Kevin Hogan touchdown run. The two teams traded scores all night -- when UCLA would score a touchdown, Stanford would tie the game with their own. There were four ties in the game, with the score tied 24-24 in the middle of the final quarter. Stanford drove deep into UCLA territory and kicked a Jordan Williamson field goal to take the lead for good.

Stanford would win the conference championship and head right back down to Pasadena for the Rose Bowl, where they'd beat Wisconsin. 

Who knew the 2014 matchup between Washington State and California would be so electric? Cougars quarterback Connor Halliday set an NCAA passing record when he threw for 734 yards in a 60-59 loss to Cal on October 4, 2014. Halliday would complete 49 of his 70 pass attempts for 734 yards and six touchdowns. The passing yards broke the record held by Houston's David Klingler, who threw for 716 yards against Arizona State in 1990.

Texas Tech's Patrick Mahomes would tie Halliday's record in 2016.

Halliday wasn't the only star on this day. Cal's Jared Goff, who would eventually be the top pick in the NFL Draft, threw for 527 yards and five TDs in the win. Bears' receiver Trevor Davis return two kickoffs back for touchdowns in the third quarter. Those two returns were part of many big plays that went for scores, including a 90-yard touchdown grab by Washington State's Vince Mayle and an 86-yard TD catch by the Cougars' River Cracraft. Davis also caught a 51-yard TD pass that would prove to be the game-winner.

Washington State had a chance to win but missed a 19-yard field goal with 19 seconds remaining. 

Kalen Ballage came to Arizona State as a running back, but would find himself as the quarterback for the Sun Devils in their wildcat packages ... nicknamed "Sparky Package". In September 2016, Ballage put himself in the record books.

He tied the FBS record (and set the Pac-12 mark) with eight total touchdowns against Texas Tech. In a high-scoring affair, Ballage rushed for 137 yards on just 13 carries ... but 7 of them (all direct snaps) went for touchdowns. He also caught two passes for 48 yards, which included a 39-yard TD grab. Aside from a 75-yard touchdown scamper, Ballage's other touchdowns were near the goal line. He also tied a record with four second-quarter touchdowns.

With Patrick Mahomes on the other side, Texas Tech wasn't going away. Mahomes put up 540 yards and 5 TDs passing and tried to mount a comeback. But every time Mahomes led the Red Raiders on a scoring drive, Ballage would find the endzone. The Sun Devils pulled out a 68-55 victory.

Arizona quarterback Khalil Tate set an FBS record by rushing for 327 yards in a win over Colorado. Tate's 327 yards is the largest rushing total by a quarterback in history. One of the odd things about his record was that he wasn't the original starter for that game.

Wildcats' starter Brandon Dawkins went down with an injury on a late hit out of bounds on the opening drive of the game and Tate came in an literally ran wild over the Buffaloes. He broke off for huge runs -- his biggest going for 28, 47, 58 and 75 yards -- in beating Colorado, 45-42. Tate's rushing total is second all-time in Arizona history, trailing only Ka'Deem Carey who rushed for a conference record 366 yards against Colorado in 2012.

Washington State's 2019 game against UCLA wasn't a game most people were itching to see. Neither team was very good, though it was the featured "Pac After Dark" game and Mike Leach's Cougars were known to keep the scoreboard operator very busy.  That operator was certainly busy that night. Washington State quarterback threw for a Pac-12 record nine touchdowns in the 67-63 loss to UCLA.

The Cougars dominated this one, holding a 49-17 lead in the third quarter. But Dorian Thompson-Robinson led a wild comeback that saw UCLA score 29 unanswered points to get within three. UCLA would take the lead on a 69-yard punt return for a touchdown in the middle of the fourth quarter. Gordon would find Max Borghi for a 65-yard touchdown score. The two would turn the ball over (UCLA on downs; Washington State on a fumble) which set up the Bruins game-winning touchdown by Demetric Felton.

Gordon completed 41 of 61 passes for 570 yards and 9 TDs, which Thompson-Robinson threw for 507 yards and seven touchdowns himself -- five passing and two rushing.