The phrase "Game of the Century" is a superlative that has been applied to several college football games, usually regular season matchups between two teams that are considered among the best that season. It is a subjective term applied by sportswriters to describe the most notable games of the period.
The 1995 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game played on Monday January 2, 1995, because New Year's Day was on a Sunday. It was the 81st Rose Bowl Game. The Penn State Nittany Lions defeated the Oregon Ducks 38–20. Ki-Jana Carter of Penn State and Danny O'Neil of Oregon both were named the Rose Bowl Players of the Game. Many observers point to this game as the one that made Ki-Jana Carter a number one selection in the 1995 NFL draft.
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 2008 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Joe Paterno and played its home games in Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania.
The 2008 Oregon State Beavers football team represented Oregon State University as a member of the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) during the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Led by eighth-year head coach Mike Riley, the Beavers compiled an overall record of 9–4 with a mark of 7–2 in conference play, tying for second place in the Pac-10. Oregon State was invited to the Sun Bowl, where the Beavers defeated Pittsburgh. For the third straight season, Oregon State won at least nine games and finished in the top three in the Pac-10 standings. The team played home games Reser Stadium in Corvallis, Oregon.
The 1923 Rose Bowl, played on January 1, 1923, was an American Football bowl game. It was the 9th Rose Bowl Game. The USC Trojans defeated the Penn State Nittany Lions 14–3. Leo Calland, a USC guard, was named the Rose Bowl Player of the Game when the award was created in 1953 and selections were made retroactively. It was the first bowl game appearance for both the University of Southern California and Pennsylvania State University football teams. It was also the first Tournament of Roses football game held in the newly constructed Rose Bowl Stadium, although other games had been played in it prior to this one.
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 game was therefore a de facto national championship game as the winner would receive the FWAA’s Grantland Rice Trophy. The quarterbacks, Ron Vander Kelen of Wisconsin and Pete Beathard of USC, were named co-Players of the Game.
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 p.m. US EST with kickoff at 5:10 p.m.. 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 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 1967 Rose Bowl was the 53rd edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, on Monday, January 2nd, 1967. The game was played between the Purdue Boilermakers of the Big Ten Conference and the USC Trojans of the AAWU. A total of 101,438 people attended the game. Purdue won 14−13.
The 1982 Fiesta Bowl was the eleventh edition of the college football bowl game, played at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona on Friday, January 1. Part of the 1981–82 bowl game season, it matched the seventh-ranked independent Penn State Nittany Lions and the #8 USC Trojans of the Pacific-10 Conference. A slight underdog, Penn State won, 26–10.
The 2016 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game that was played on January 1, 2016 at the Rose Bowl stadium in Pasadena, California. This 102nd Rose Bowl Game matched the Big Ten Conference West Division champion Iowa Hawkeyes against the Pac-12 Conference champion Stanford Cardinal. It was one of the 2015–16 bowl games that concluded the 2015 FBS football season. Sponsored by the Northwestern Mutual financial services organization, the game is officially known as the Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual. Stanford defeated Iowa 45–16 to win the championship and the Lathrop K. Leishman trophy.
Samuel Richard Darnold is an American professional football quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the USC Trojans, winning the Archie Griffin award in 2016, and was selected third overall by the New York Jets in the 2018 NFL draft.
Richard Thomas "Trace" McSorley III is an American professional football quarterback who is a free agent. He played college football for the Penn State Nittany Lions, where he holds school records in single-season passing yards and touchdowns and career total yards. McSorley was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the sixth round of the 2019 NFL draft.
The 2017 Ohio State Buckeyes football team represented Ohio State University during the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Buckeyes played their home games at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. It was the Buckeyes' 128th overall, the 105th as a member of the Big Ten Conference, and fourth as a member of the Eastern Division. They were led by Urban Meyer, who was in his 6th season as head coach at the school.
The Block Six was a blocked field goal by the Penn State Nittany Lions football against the Ohio State Buckeyes, resulting in a 70-yard return touchdown in the final minutes of a 2016 rivalry game between the two teams in Happy Valley. The play led Penn State to beat Ohio State for the first time in five years, with a final score of 24–21. It is regarded as one of the best plays in Penn State football history, and marked the program's return to national relevance following the Jerry Sandusky scandal.
The 2022 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 1, 2022, with kickoff at 5:13 p.m. EST and televised on ESPN. It was the 108th edition of the Rose Bowl Game, and was one of the 2021–22 bowl games concluding the 2021 FBS football season. Sponsored by Capital One Venture X, the game was officially known as the Rose Bowl Game presented by Capital One Venture X.
The 2022 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented Pennsylvania State University in the 2022 NCAA Division I FBS football season as a member of the Big Ten Conference. The team was led by ninth-year head coach James Franklin. The Nittany Lions entered the season unranked for the first time since 2016. Prior to the season, the team recruited the former number one quarterback Drew Allar, and the number one running back Nicholas Singleton.
The Michigan–Penn State football rivalry is an American college football game between the Wolverines of the University of Michigan and the Nittany Lions of Pennsylvania State University. Michigan leads the series 17–10.
The 2023 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 2, 2023, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. The 109th annual Rose Bowl, the game featured Penn State from the Big Ten Conference and Utah from the Pac-12 Conference. The game began at 2:11 p.m. PST and was aired on ESPN and ESPN Radio. It was one of the 2022–23 bowl games concluding the 2022 FBS football season. Sponsored by Prudential Financial, the game is officially known as The Rose Bowl Game presented by Prudential.
