1975 Rose Bowl
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| 1975 Rose Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| 61st Rose Bowl Game | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | January 1, 1975 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 1974 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Rose Bowl | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Pasadena, California | ||||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Pat Haden (USC QB) J. K. McKay (USC SE) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | Ohio State by 6 points [1][2] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Charles Moffett (Pac-8) (split crew: Pac-8, Big Ten) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 106,721 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Network | NBC | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Curt Gowdy, Al DeRogatis | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Nielsen ratings | 31.3 | ||||||||||||||||||||
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.[3][4][5][6][7]
After a touchdown pass with two minutes remaining to draw within a point, USC quarterback Pat Haden passed to Shelton Diggs for a two-point conversion to take the lead.[3][4][5][6] It gave the Trojans the Rose Bowl victory and the UPI coaches poll national title.
This was the third consecutive year for these teams in the Rose Bowl: USC won in 1973, Ohio State in 1974.
Ohio State Buckeyes
The defending Rose Bowl champs were the nation's top-ranked team for much of the season, until they were upset by Michigan State 16–13 at East Lansing on November 9. Two weeks later, the Buckeyes earned the Rose Bowl berth with a 12–10 victory over Michigan, when kicker Mike Lantry's last-second field goal attempt sailed just wide.[8][9]
Ohio State was favored to win the Rose Bowl by six points.[1][2]
USC Trojans
USC was upset by Arkansas 22–7 in Little Rock in the season opener, then reeled off five straight wins before a 15–15 tie at home against California. They won their final four games, the most dramatic being a season-ending 55–24 win over #5 Notre Dame in which the Trojans trailed 24–0.[10][11]
Scoring summary
First quarter
- USC – Chris Limahelu - 30-yard field goal.[12]
Second quarter
- OSU – Champ Henson - 2-yard run (PAT - Tom Klaban kick)
Third quarter
- No scoring
Fourth quarter
- USC – Jim Obradovich 9-yard pass from Pat Haden (PAT - Limahelu kick).
- OSU – Cornelius Greene 3-yard run (PAT - Klaban kick)
- OSU – Klaban - 32-yard field goal.
- USC – J. K. McKay 38-yard pass from Haden (PAT - Haden pass to Shelton Diggs)