Griese led Purdue to a second-place finish in the Big Ten Conference and the school's first appearance in the Rose Bowl, where they defeated USC, 14-13. The Boilermakers were actually the runner-up behind Michigan State, but got the Rose Bowl berth because of the Big Ten's "no-repeat" rule of the time. Griese was a two-time All-American at Purdue and was the runner-up to Steve Spurrier for the 1966 Heisman Trophy.