1974 Rose Bowl

MVP	Cornelius Greene (Ohio State QB)

The 1974 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 1, 1974. It was the 60th Rose Bowl Game. The Ohio State Buckeyes defeated the USC Trojans 42–21.

Teams

Ohio State Buckeyes

The 1973 Ohio State Buckeyes began the season ranked #3, and proceeded to go undefeated. They were led by tailback Archie Griffin on offense and a defense that held its opponents to less than 100 yards per game of total offense. Going into the showdown at #4 Michigan, they had risen to #1 by outscoring their first nine opponents 361–33, including three straight shutouts of Northwestern, Illinois, and Michigan State. The Buckeyes and Wolverines then battled to a 10–10 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 people thought that Michigan would win the vote since Ohio State had gone to Pasadena the prior year. But Michigan starting quarterback, Dennis Franklin, had broken his collarbone late in the Ohio State game; perhaps influenced by the injury, the athletic directors voted 6–4 to send Ohio State to the Rose Bowl. Michigan head coach Bo Schembechler called it a gross injustice.

USC Trojans

USC was the defending national champion and began the season ranked #1. But a 7–7 tie vs. Oklahoma and a 23–14 loss to Notre Dame dropped the Trojans to #9. They then needed a miracle comeback to beat Stanford 27–26, 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 #8 UCLA, but forced six turnovers and knocked off the Bruins 23–13.

Scoring summary

First quarter

• USC – Chris Limahelu, 47-yard field goal
• OSU - Pete Johnson, 1-yard run (Blair Conway kick good)

Second quarter

• USC - Limahelu, 42-yard field goal
• USC - Mckay, 10-yard pass from Davis (Haden pass to Mckay 2-point conversion)
• OSU – Johnson, 1-yard run (Blair Conway kick good)

Third quarter

• USC - Davis, 1-yard run (Limahelu kick good)
• OSU - Johnson 4-yard run (kick blocked)
• OSU - Greene, 1-yard run (Blair Conway kick good)

Fourth quarter

• OSU - Elia, 2-yard run, (Greene 2-point conversion)
• OSU - Griffin, 47-yard run (Blair Conway kick good)

Game notes

Kicker Chris Limahelu's 47-yard field goal was the longest ever by a Trojan, breaking a 64-year-old record. Limahelu, 59, died of prostate cancer on April 7, 2010.

References

• "Rose Bowl Game Timeline". tournamentofroses.com. Archived from the original on 18 September 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-07. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
• Eric, Kaelin. Buckeye Glory Days. Sports Publishing LLC. pp. 80–83. ISBN 978-1-58261-681-0. Retrieved 7 October 2008.