1976 Rose Bowl

The 1976 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 1, 1976. It was the 62nd Rose Bowl Game. The UCLA Bruins defeated the number one ranked and undefeated Ohio State Buckeyes 23–10. UCLA quarterback John Sciarra was named the Rose Bowl Player Of The Game.^[1] This was the first post season that football teams from the Big Ten Conference and Pacific-10 Conference could appear in other bowl games since the Rose Bowl agreement was signed for the 1947 Rose Bowl. This game marked Ohio State coach Woody Hayes' last appearance in the Rose Bowl game.

Teams

Ohio State Buckeyes

Ohio State Buckeye coach Woody Hayes brought an undefeated, untied team featuring two-time Heisman Trophy winner Archie Griffin to Pasadena. It was the record fourth consecutive appearance for Hayes. It was also eighth and final appearance in the Rose Bowl for Hayes. It was a record fourth and final Rose Bowl start for Griffin. Until Brian Cushing of USC started in his fourth Rose Bowl in the 2009 Rose Bowl, Griffin was the only player to start in four Rose Bowls. Ohio State capped an undefeated regular season by defeating Michigan 21–14 in Ann Arbor for Woody's last outright Big Ten championship, and also his last victory over Michigan in the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry. The Wolverines held the Buckeyes 30 minutes without a score. Tied at 14–14, and having already tied two non-conference opponents, the Wolverines needed a win to ensure that they would advance to the Rose Bowl. Freshman Michigan quarterback Rick Leach threw an interception caught by Ray Griffin, which was run to the 3-yard line. Big Pete Johnson ran it in for the winning touchdown. Michigan, which finished the regular season 8–1–2, was invited to the Orange Bowl to face #3 ranked Oklahoma.^[2]

UCLA Bruins

It was the only Rose Bowl appearance for Dick Vermeil in only his second season coaching at UCLA. He would leave to coach the Philadelphia Eagles after the season. In addition to the 41–20 Ohio State loss, UCLA had also lost at home to Washington 17–13 and was tied by Air Force 20–20, but managed to win all their other Pac-8 games, including a fumble-plagued 25–22 win over cross town rival USC in the UCLA–USC rivalry to clinch the Rose Bowl berth. In that Friday night after Thanksgiving game, UCLA fumbled 11 times and lost 8 of them, but their maligned defense bailed them out time and time again. UCLA ended up tied with California for the Pac-8 championship, but advanced to the Rose Bowl on the strength of their 28–14 win in an October matchup with the Golden Bears.^[3] The 1975 USC-UCLA game was legendary coach John McKay's final game at the Coliseum.

Game summary

Both teams wore their home uniforms, Ohio State in scarlet jerseys, and UCLA in powderkeg blue jerseys. The weather was clear and 60 degrees.

In the game itself, Ohio State dominated the first half but could only muster the 3 points that it got on its opening possession. UCLA did not even pick up a first down until late in the 2nd quarter, but a couple of Ohio State turnovers and a key stop on 4th and 1 by the Bruin defense kept them in the game.

The second half saw UCLA open up its offense, utilizing play action and passing on first down. This helped open up their veer option rushing attack, and on their first possession of the 3rd quarter, UCLA marched to a tying field goal. After stopping Ohio State, UCLA then marched for a touchdown and a 9–3 lead (the extra point was missed). After stopping the Buckeyes again, the Bruins struck for the big play, a 67-yard touchdown pass from John Sciarra to speedy flanker Wally Henry. Suddenly the 15½ point underdog Bruins were up 16–3. Ohio State, which inexplicably began passing the ball with regularity, returned to its dominating ground attack and scored early in the 4th quarter to cut UCLA's lead to 16–10. Ohio State got the ball right back, but again tried to resume an air attack. Quarterback Cornelius Greene was intercepted by Pat Schmidt, and on the ensuing possession with just under five minutes to play, running back Wendell Tyler took an option pitch, sped up the sideline, cut back at the perfect instant, and held the ball aloft as he crossed the goal line on a 54-yard run to clinch the game, 23–10. Another Greene interception killed any chance of a Buckeye last gasp comeback attempt. Woody Hayes then trudged across the field to congratulate Vermeil before the game was over.^[4]

Scoring

First quarter

Ohio State: Tom Klaban, 42-yard field goal.

Second quarter

None

Third quarter

UCLA: Brett White, 33-yard field goal.
UCLA: Wally Henry, 16-yard pass from John Sciarra. White kick failed.
UCLA: Henry, 67-yard pass from Sciarra. White converts.

Fourth quarter

Ohio State: Pete Johnson, 3-yard run. Klaban converts extra point.
UCLA: Wendell Tyler, 54-yard run. White converts.

Statistics

Statistics	UCLA	Ohio State
First Downs	19	20
Total offense - Yards	414	298
Rushes yards (net)	202	208
Passing yards (net)	212	90
Passes, Comp-Att-Int	13–19–2	7–18–2
Penalties–Yards	4–30	3–25

Aftermath

Woody Hayes had a very short meeting with the press in which he stated, "We got outcoached and just got beat." Aware of the Buckeye loss, the 1975 Oklahoma Sooners played for the number 1 ranking in the 1976 Orange Bowl, with Alabama lurking after already beating Penn State in the Sugar Bowl 13–6. Texas A&M, ranked #2 at the end of the regular season, lost to Arkansas for the Cotton Bowl berth, and then to USC in the Liberty Bowl. Oklahoma would finish #1 in the AP poll after defeating Michigan 14–6 in the Orange Bowl. Ohio State would finish 3rd, and UCLA Fifth. Woody Hayes would finish with a 4–4 record in the Rose Bowl, and would be denied by Bo Schembechler, Rick Leach, and the rest of the Michigan Wolverines from reaching the Rose Bowl and winning the Big Ten championship again. Dick Vermeil was able to move to the Philadelphia Eagles, whom he would lead to the Super Bowl in five years. This was the second time UCLA had defeated the #1 team in the Rose Bowl after having lost to that same team during the season. The other time was in the 1966 Rose Bowl vs. Michigan State. In The Official Ohio State Football Encyclopedia, this loss is listed as one of the most devastating setbacks in Ohio State football history.

By the 1982 college football season, UCLA would make the Rose Bowl their home stadium, moving from the Los Angeles Coliseum. As of 2008, the attendance of 105,464 still stands as the largest crowd to ever watch a UCLA football game in the Rose Bowl stadium. It is a record that is not likely to be broken, as the Rose Bowl seating has been reduced to 91,136 for UCLA Bruins Football^[5] and 92,542 for the Rose Bowl Game^[6]

References

↑ 2008 Rose Bowl Program, 2008 Rose Bowl. Accessed January 26, 2008.
↑ Buckeyes Win Crown, Roses. Late Interception, TD beat Michigan 21-14. Bo Left Holding The Bag (Of Oranges). Columbus Dispatch, November 23, 1975
↑ Jeff Prugh - UCLA DROPS BALL BUT HOLDS ROSES; USC Loses in McKay's Farewell. Los Angeles Times. November 29, 1975
↑ "When it Came to Pass, UCLA Knew How." Sports Illustrated Volume 44, Issue 1, January 5, 1976.
↑ UCLA Football – 2007 UCLA Football (Media Guide). UCLA Athletic Department (2007), page 165 (PDF copy available at www.uclabruins.com)
↑ Rose Bowl Stadium – History of the Rose Bowl Stadium

Bibliography

Park, Jack (2003). The Official Ohio State Football Encyclopedia: National Championship Edition. Sports Publishing LLC. ISBN 1-58261-695-7.
UCLA Football Media Guide (PDF Copy available at www.uclabruins.com)
Ohio State Football Media Guide (individual sections available at www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com)

Rose Bowl Game

History Rose Bowl Stadium College Football Playoff Broadcasters Tie-Ins Big Ten Conference Pac-12 Conference

Games	1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

Notes	No Rose Bowl Games were held from 1903 to 1915 The 1942 game was played at Duke Stadium in Durham, NC after Pearl Harbor attacks Bolded years indicate the game was also the BCS National Championship Game

Ohio State Buckeyes bowl games

Pound sign (#) denotes national championship game.

UCLA Bruins bowl games

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