The Rose Bowl Game is an annual American college football bowl game, traditionally played on January 1 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. When New Year's Day falls on a Sunday, the game is played on Monday, January 2. Nicknamed "The Granddaddy of Them All" by broadcaster Keith Jackson, it was the first postseason football game ever established. The Rose Bowl Game was first played in 1902 as the Tournament East–West football game, and has been played annually since 1916. Since 1945, it has been the highest attended college football bowl game. The game is a part of the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association's "America's New Year Celebration", which also includes the historic Rose Parade. Winners of the game receive the Leishman Trophy, named for former Tournament of Roses presidents, William L. Leishman and Lathrop K. Leishman who played an important part in the history of this game.
Michael Anthony Muñoz is an American former professional football player who was an offensive tackle for 13 seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the USC Trojans. In 2022, an ESPN panel named Muñoz as the greatest offensive tackle in NFL history. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1998.
Patrick Capper Haden is an American former professional football player and college administrator. He was the athletic director at the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles from August 2010 to June 2016. He played quarterback for the USC Trojans before playing professionally in the National Football League (NFL) for the Los Angeles Rams from 1976 through 1981. He also played in the World Football League (WFL) for the Southern California Sun in 1975.
The USC Trojans football program represents the University of Southern California in the sport of American football. The Trojans compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Big Ten Conference.
Donald LeRoy Doll, also known as Don Burnside, was an American football player and coach.
The 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season was the first season of Division I-A college football. Division I-A was created in January 1978 when Division I was subdivided into Division I-A and I-AA for football only. It was anticipated that 65 Division I football schools would transition to Division I-AA. Instead, just eight programs voluntarily opted for Division I-AA for the 1978 season, where they joined 35 schools that had reclassified from Division II. One school, UNLV, moved from Division II to I-A, bringing the total number of I-A institutions to 138 for the 1978 season.
The 2007 Stanford vs. USC football game was an NCAA college football game held on October 6, 2007, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California. In a remarkable upset, the visiting Stanford Cardinal won 24–23 despite USC having been favored by 41 points entering the game. This result was the biggest point spread upset of all time in college football. USC entered the game with a 35-game home game winning streak which included a 24-game home game winning streak in Pac-10 play. By contrast, Stanford had compiled a Pac-10 worst 1–11 season in 2006, which included a 42–0 loss to USC. To compound the situation, Stanford's starting quarterback T. C. Ostrander had suffered a seizure the week before and his replacement, backup quarterback Tavita Pritchard, had never started a game and had thrown just three passes in official play.
The 1977 Alabama Crimson Tide football team represented the University of Alabama in the 1977 NCAA Division I football season. It was the Crimson Tide's 83rd overall and 44th season as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The team was led by head coach Bear Bryant, in his 20th year, and played their home games at Bryant–Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa and Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama. They finished season with eleven wins and one loss, as SEC champions and with a victory over Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl.
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 1968 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California (USC) in the 1968 NCAA University Division football season. In their ninth year under head coach John McKay, the Trojans compiled a 9–1–1 record, won the Pacific-8 Conference (Pac-8) championship, and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 259 to 168. The team was ranked #2 in the final Coaches Poll and #4 in the final AP Poll.
The 1979 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California (USC) in the 1979 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their fourth year under head coach John Robinson, the Trojans compiled an 11–0–1 record, won the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) championship, and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 389 to 171. The team was ranked #2 in both the final AP Poll and the final UPI Coaches Poll.
The 1980 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California (USC) in the 1980 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their fifth year under head coach John Robinson, the Trojans compiled an 8–2–1 record, finished in third place in the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10), and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 265 to 134.
The 1961 USC Trojans football team was an American football team that represented the University of Southern California (USC) as a member of the Athletic Association of Western Universities (AAWU), commonly known at the time as the Big 5 Conference, during the 1961 college football season. In their second year under head coach John McKay, the Trojans compiled a 4–5–1 record, finished in a tie for second place in the AAWU, and were outscored by a total of 167 to 151. In non-conference games, they defeated SMU and Illinois, but lost to Georgia Tech, Iowa, Notre Dame, and Pittsburgh.
The 1947 USC Trojans football team was an American football team that represented the University of Southern California (USC) as a member of the Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) during the 1947 college football season. In its sixth year under head coach Jeff Cravath, the team compiled a 7–2–1 record, won the PCC championship, was ranked No. 8 in the final AP Poll, and outscored opponents by a total of 193 to 114. The team lost to Notre Dame in the final game of the regular season and to Michigan in the 1948 Rose Bowl on New Year's Day.
The 1945 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California (USC) in the 1945 college football season. In their fourth year under head coach Jeff Cravath, the Trojans compiled a 7–4 record, won the Pacific Coast Conference championship, lost to Alabama in the 1946 Rose Bowl, and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 205 to 150.
The 1939 USC Trojans football team was an American football team that represented the University of Southern California (USC) in the Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) during the 1939 college football season. In their 15th year under head coach Howard Jones, the Trojans compiled an 8–0–2 record, shut out six of ten opponents, won the PCC championship, and outscored all opponents by a total of 181 to 33. They won the PCC championship.
The 1932 USC Trojans football team is an American football team that represented the University of Southern California (USC) in the Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) during the 1932 college football season. In its eighth season under head coach Howard Jones, the team compiled a perfect 10–0 record, won the PCC championship, shut out eight of ten opponents, defeated Pittsburgh in the 1933 Rose Bowl, and outscored all opponents by a total of 201 to 13.
The 1978 UCLA Bruins football team represented the University of California, Los Angeles during the 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Pacific-8 Conference became the Pacific-10 Conference by adding Arizona and Arizona State to the league. This was Terry Donahue's third season as head coach of the Bruins.
The 2021 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California in the 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They played their home games at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and competed as members of the South Division of the Pac-12 Conference. They were led by sixth-year head coach Clay Helton in the first two games; Helton was fired on September 13 following the team's 28–42 loss to Stanford. Associate head coach Donte Williams took over as the team's interim head coach.
The 2023 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California (USC) as a member of the Pac-12 Conference during the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season. In their second year under head coach Lincoln Riley, the Trojans were preseason picks to win the Pac-12 championship, but compiled a 7–5 record during the regular season. The team began the season by winning six consecutive games but lost five of their final six games, including losses to rivals Notre Dame and UCLA. The unranked Trojans defeated No. 16 Louisville in the 2023 Holiday Bowl.
