The 2004–05 NCAA football bowl games were a series of 32 post-season games played in December 2004 and January 2005 for Division I-A football teams and their all-stars. The post-season began with the New Orleans Bowl on December 14, 2004, and concluded on January 29, 2005, with the season-ending Senior Bowl.
The phrase "Game of the Century" is a superlative that was applied to several college football contests played in the 20th century, the first full century of college football in the United States. It is a subjective term applied by sportswriters to describe the most notable games of the period.
The 2006 Rose Bowl Game, played on January 4, 2006, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, was an American college football bowl game that served as the BCS National Championship Game for the 2005 NCAA Division I-A football season. It featured the only two unbeaten teams of the season: the defending Rose Bowl champion and reigning Big 12 Conference champion Texas Longhorns played Pacific-10 Conference titleholders and two-time defending AP national champions, the USC Trojans. Texas would defeat USC 41–38 to capture its fourth football championship in program history and first consensus national title since 1969. The game was a back-and-forth contest; Texas's victory was not secured until the game's final nineteen seconds. Vince Young, the Texas quarterback, and Michael Huff, a Texas safety, were named the offensive and defensive Rose Bowl Players of the Game. ESPN named Young's fourth-down, game-winning touchdown run the fifth-highest rated play in college football history. The game is the highest-rated BCS game in TV history with 21.7% of households watching it, and is often considered the greatest Rose Bowl game of all time, as well as the greatest college football game ever played.
The 2006 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California during the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season, winning the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) and playing in the Rose Bowl. The team was coached by Pete Carroll, led on offense by quarterback John David Booty, and played their home games in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
The 2005 Rose Bowl Game was the 91st edition of the college football bowl game, held on January 1, 2005 at the self-named stadium in Pasadena, California. The Texas Longhorns, second-place finishers in the Big 12 Conference's South Division, defeated the Michigan Wolverines, co-champions of the Big Ten Conference, 38-37. Texas quarterback Vince Young and Michigan linebacker LaMarr Woodley were named the Rose Bowl Players of the Game, the first time that the Rose Bowl separately recognized an offensive and defensive player of the game.
The 2006 California Golden Bears football team represented the University of California, Berkeley, in the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They played their home games at California Memorial Stadium in Berkeley, California, and were coached by Jeff Tedford.
The 2006 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, played on January 2, 2006, was the 35th edition of the Fiesta Bowl, sponsored by Frito-Lay through its Tostitos tortilla chip brand. The game featured the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Ohio State Buckeyes, and resulted in a 34–20 Ohio State win.
The 2007 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California during the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season, winning a share of the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) championship and winning the 2008 Rose Bowl. The team was coached by Pete Carroll and played its home games at the Los Angeles Coliseum.
The 2007 UCLA Bruins football team represented the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They played their home games at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California and were coached by Karl Dorrell for the regular season. It was Dorrell's fifth, and final season as the UCLA head coach. UCLA's season was marked by numerous injuries, particularly at quarterback. Original starting quarterback Ben Olson injured his knee early in the season and missed over four games. Backup quarterback Patrick Cowan also suffered a knee injury but returned for two more games before suffering a collapsed lung against Arizona. Coach Karl Dorrell was fired following the loss in the 77th UCLA–USC rivalry football game, the final regular season game for the Bruins. Defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker became the interim coach for the 2007 Las Vegas Bowl, in which the Bruins lost to BYU, 17–16. The Bruins finished 6–7 overall, 5–4 in the Pacific-10 Conference, where they were tied for fourth place.
The 2007 Illinois Fighting Illini football team represented the University of Illinois in the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team's head coach was Ron Zook. The Illini played their home games at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois. Illinois entered the season in search of improvement upon a 2–10 record in 2006, and secured bowl-eligibility the first time since 2001 with a homecoming win over Ball State. From weeks 2–6, the Illini won five straight games, their longest win streak since 2001. On November 10, the Fighting Illini upset the then #1 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.
The 1973 Rose Bowl was the 59th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, on Monday, January 1. It matched the undefeated and top-ranked USC Trojans of the Pacific-8 Conference with the #3 Ohio State Buckeyes of the Big Ten Conference.
The Notre Dame–USC football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team of the University of Notre Dame and USC Trojans football team of the University of Southern California, customarily played on the Saturday following Thanksgiving Day when the game is in Los Angeles or on the second or third Saturday of October when the game is in South Bend, Indiana.
The 1963 Rose Bowl was the 49th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California on Tuesday, January 1, at the end of the 1962 season. The top-ranked USC Trojans defeated the Wisconsin Badgers, 42–37. This was the first matchup between the AP Poll No. 1 vs. No. 2 in a bowl game, although such matchups had occurred previously in the regular season. The quarterbacks, Ron Vander Kelen of Wisconsin and Pete Beathard of USC, were named co-Players of the Game.
The 1974 Rose Bowl was the 60th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, on Tuesday, January 1. The Ohio State Buckeyes of the Big Ten Conference defeated the USC Trojans of the Pacific-8 Conference, 42–21. Sophomore quarterback Cornelius Greene of Ohio State was named Player of the Game. This was the sole win for the Big Ten in the Rose Bowl in the 1970s.
The 2009 Rose Bowl, the 95th edition of the annual game, was a college football bowl game played on Thursday, January 1, 2009 at the same-named stadium in Pasadena, California. Because of sponsorship by Citi, the first game in the 2009 edition of the Bowl Championship Series was officially titled the Rose Bowl Game presented by Citi. The contest was televised on ABC with a radio broadcast on ESPN Radio beginning at 4:30 PM US EST with kickoff at 5:10 PM. Ticket prices for all seats in the Rose Bowl were listed at $145. The Rose Bowl Game was a contractual sell-out, with 64,500 tickets allocated to the participating teams and conferences. The remaining tickets went to the Tournament of Roses members, sponsors, City of Pasadena residents, and the general public.
The 1975 Rose Bowl was the 61st edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, on Wednesday, January 1. The fifth-ranked USC Trojans of the Pacific-8 Conference defeated #3 Ohio State Buckeyes of the Big Ten Conference, 18–17 in one of the most exciting games in the history of the Rose Bowl.
The 1970 Rose Bowl was the 56th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, on Thursday, January 1. The USC Trojans, champions of the Pacific-8 Conference, defeated the Michigan Wolverines, champions of the Big Ten Conference, 10–3. USC flanker Bob Chandler scored the only touchdown and was named the Player of the Game.
The 1979 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game played in Pasadena, California, on January 1, 1979. It was the 65th Rose Bowl Game. The USC Trojans, champions of the Pacific-10 Conference, defeated the Michigan Wolverines, (co) champions of the Big Ten Conference, 17–10.USC running back Charles White and Michigan quarterback Rick Leach were named the Players of the Game.
The 2006 Michigan vs. Ohio State game was a regular-season college football game between the unbeaten Michigan Wolverines and the unbeaten Ohio State Buckeyes on November 18, 2006, at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. Called the "Game of the Century," this was the first time in the rivalry series that the teams entered the matchup ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the nation. In a game featuring lots of offense, Ohio State won 42–39.
The 2017 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 2, 2017 at the Rose Bowl stadium in Pasadena, California. This 103rd Rose Bowl Game matched the Big Ten Conference champions Penn State Nittany Lions against the USC Trojans of the Pac-12 Conference, a rematch of the 1923 and 2009 Rose Bowls, the former the first appearance for either team in the bowl and the latter the most recent appearance for either team. It was one of the 2016–17 bowl games that concluded the 2016 FBS football season. Sponsored by the Northwestern Mutual financial services organization, the game was officially known as the Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual. USC received the Lathrop K. Leishman trophy for winning the game.
