| 1974 Rose Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| 60th Rose Bowl Game | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | January 1, 1974 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 1973 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Rose Bowl | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Pasadena, California | ||||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Cornelius Greene (QB, OSU) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | Ohio State by 2 points[1][2] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Howard Wirtz (Big Ten; split crew: Big Ten,Pac-8) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 105,267 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Network | NBC | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Curt Gowdy,Al DeRogatis | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Nielsen ratings | 30.7 | ||||||||||||||||||||
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The1974 Rose Bowl was the 60thedition of thecollege footballbowl game, played at theRose Bowl inPasadena, California, on Tuesday, January 1. TheOhio State Buckeyes of theBig Ten Conference defeated theUSC Trojans of thePacific-8 Conference,42–21.[3][4][5][6][7][8] Sophomore quarterbackCornelius Greene of Ohio State was named Player of the Game.[9] This was the sole win for the Big Ten in the Rose Bowl in the 1970s.
The Ohio State Buckeyes began the1973 season ranked third and went undefeated, with a tie. They were led by tailbackArchie Griffin on offense and a defense that held its opponents to less than 100 yards per game oftotal offense. Going into the showdown at #4Michigan, they had risen to #1 by outscoring their first nine opponents 361–33, including three straight shutouts ofNorthwestern,Illinois, andMichigan State.
The Buckeyes and Wolverines then battled to a10–10 tie, making it uncertain who would win the vote among Big Ten athletic directors to determine the league's Rose Bowl representative. Although the Big Ten had done away with its "no repeat" rule a year earlier, many projected that Michigan would win the vote since Ohio State had gone to Pasadena the prior year. But Michigan starting quarterbackDennis Franklin had broken his collarbone late in the Ohio State game; perhaps influenced by the injury, the athletic directors voted6–4 to send Ohio State to the Rose Bowl. Michigan head coachBo Schembechler called it a gross injustice.
USC was the defending national champion and began the season ranked first. But a 7–7 tie vs.Oklahoma and a 23–14 loss toNotre Dame dropped the Trojans to #9. They then needed a miracle comeback to beatStanford27–26, getting a touchdown and field goal sandwiched around an onside kick in the last minute of the game. They went into the Rose Bowl decider as a slight underdog against #8UCLA, but forced six turnovers and knocked off theBruins 23–13.
Similar to the previous year, the game was tied at halftime, then dominated by the victor in the second half. USC regained the lead briefly at 21–14 early in the third quarter, then Ohio State scored four unanswered touchdowns towin 42–21.[3][7]
KickerChris Limahelu's 47-yard field goal was the longest ever by a Trojan, breaking a 64-year-old record (Limahelu died of prostate cancer in 2010 at age 59). This was the last time Ohio State defeated USC until2017 in theCotton Bowl. The Trojans won the next seven meetings from1974 to2009, including three Rose Bowls (January1975,1980,1985).
This was the second of three consecutive Rose Bowls involving these two teams, and USC won the other two. Ohio State stopped a four-game winning streak by the Pac-8 (now Pac-12), but the next Big Tenvictories wereseven andfourteen years away. The Buckeyes' next Rose Bowl win came in January1997, stopping previously undefeatedArizona State.