| 1963 Rose Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||
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| 49th Rose Bowl Game | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | January 1, 1963 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 1962 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Rose Bowl | ||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Pasadena, California | ||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Pete Beathard (USC QB) Ron Vander Kelen (UWQB) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | Wisconsin by 2 points[1][2] | ||||||||||||||||||
| National anthem | University of Wisconsin Marching Band | ||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | James Cain (AAWU) (split crew: AAWU,Big Ten) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Halftime show | Spirit of Troy, University of Wisconsin Marching Band | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 98,698 | ||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||
| Network | NBC | ||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Mel Allen, Bill Symes | ||||||||||||||||||
| Nielsen ratings | 32.8 | ||||||||||||||||||
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The1963 Rose Bowl was the 49thedition of thecollege footballbowl game, played at theRose Bowl inPasadena, California on Tuesday, January 1, at the end of the1962 season. The top-rankedUSC Trojans defeated theWisconsin Badgers, 42–37.[3][4][5] TheAssociated Press andUnited Press International both awarded the national championship to USC in early December 1962, a month before the game was played, and the UPI's national championship trophy was presented to USC on the day before the game was played.[6] Nevertheless, the game remained historic as the first matchup between the AP or UPI No. 1 vs. No. 2 in a bowl game,[7] although such matchups had occurred previously in the regular season (typically referred to as a "Game of the Century"). Moreover, a five-man committee of theFootball Writers Association of America voted after the Rose Bowl game and unanimously selected USC as the winner of the ninth annual Grantland Rice Award.[8]
The quarterbacks,Ron Vander Kelen of Wisconsin andPete Beathard of USC, were named co-Players of the Game.[9]
Down 42–14 in the fourth quarter, Vander Kelen put together a number of drives to score 23 unanswered points and put the Badgers in position to win the game. Due to the historic #1 versus #2 bowl match-up, the number of Rose Bowl records set, and the furious fourth quarter rally by Wisconsin, this game frequently appears on lists of "greatest bowl games of all time."[10][11]
This was the first bowl game to pair the #1 and #2 teams in theAP Poll, although there had previously been six regular season #1 versus #2 games since the inception of the poll in 1936.[12] This was the second Rose Bowl meeting between USC and Wisconsin (the first being the1953 Rose Bowl) and the fourth meeting, overall.
Wisconsin finished the regular season 8–1, becoming the sole champion of the Big Ten Conference. The Badgers were undefeated except for a loss to conference rivalOhio State atOhio Stadium, ranked #5 in theAP poll at the time. Notable victories were over then-#1Northwestern during homecoming (37–6) and a comeback victory over archrivalMinnesota, then ranked #5 (14–9). The Badgers earned their third trip to the Rose Bowl.
After consecutive losing seasons in1960 and1961,John McKay turned the Trojans around in his third season as head coach. The team opened with a defeat of #8Duke. Consecutive wins againstSMU, atIowa,California, and atIllinois got the Trojans ranked higher in the top 10. USC's biggest game of the season was against ninth-rankedWashington; in the homecoming game on November 3, the Trojans blanked the Huskies 14–0.[13] With that win, the Trojans were ranked number two behind Northwestern. On November 17, by beatingNavy and withAlabama losing toGeorgia Tech 7–6, USC ascended to the number one spot in the AP poll.
In therivalry game againstUCLA, the Bruins led 3–0 until the fourth quarter, when the Trojans scored two touchdowns.[14] In the final game forNotre Dame head coachJoe Kuharich, USC shut out the 5–4 Fighting Irish at theColiseum, breaking a five-game losing streak in theannual intersectional rivalry.[15] The Trojans finished ranked number 1 for the first time in the history of the AP poll, and were undefeated for the first time since the twice-tied1939 team won theRose Bowl.
USC tackleMarv Marinovich was ejected when he got caught elbowing Steve Underwood, the Wisconsin captain.[16] Pete Beathard completed his fourth touchdown pass with 14:54 left in the game to put USC up 42–14.
Then the Badgers, led by Vander Kelen, put together one of the greatest comebacks in the history of college football, scoring 23 unanswered points in the fourth quarter before time ran out. The final score of the game was USC-42, Wisconsin-37. For their efforts, quarterbacks Beathard and Vander Kelen were both named the Rose Bowl MVPs.
| Statistic | Total, Team | Status |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 32, Wisconsin | current |
| Passes attempted | 48, Wisconsin[17] | broken in1995[18] |
| Passes intercepted | 3, Wisconsin | tied in1984 – current |
| Passes completed | 33, Wisconsin[17] | broken in1995[18] |
| Passing yards | 401, Wisconsin[17] | broken in 1995[18] |
| Most Plays | ??, Wisconsin[18] | broken in 1995[18] |
| Total Offense | ??, Wisconsin[18] | broken in 1995[18] |
| Combined points | 79, Wisconsin & USC | broken in1991 |
| touchdown passes | 4, USC | tied in 1984,2005 – current |
| Combined touchdown passes | 6, Wisconsin & USC | ??? |
| Penalties | 12 for 93 yards, USC | ??? |
Eleven Rose Bowl records were set and four still stand as of 2008: most intercepted passes (3 by Ron Vander Kelen), most first downs by one team (32 by Wisconsin), and most penalties (USC 12 for 93 yards). The Rose Bowl record 79 total points scored in this game stood for nearly thirty years (subsequently broken in1991, whenWashington led by 25 and put in reserves early).[19] The omitted records stood for more than thirty years, until broken byOregon quarterbackDanny O'Neil in 1995.
The1964 Cotton Bowl Classic was the next #1 versus #2 bowl game, while the second #1 versus #2 Rose Bowl came in1969.
Both of the consensusAll-Americaends played in this game.Pat Richter (Wisconsin) andHal Bedsole (USC) were inducted into theCollege Football Hall of Fame, in 1996 and 2012, respectively. This was Richter's last college game, while Bedsole was an underclassman.
Three players from this game (Beathard, Vander Kelen, and Richter) have been inducted into theRose Bowl Hall of Fame. John McKay has also been inducted as a coach.
The game is considered by many to be among the greatest games in college football history, along with the2006 Rose Bowl, among others.
USC's next Rose Bowl wasfour years later, the first offour consecutive; Wisconsin did not return for31 years.
The two top-ranked teams in The Associated Press poll have played each other 11 times in postseason. Here is a look at one of those matchups.
