1963 Rose Bowl

Teams

This was the first bowl game to pair the #1 and #2 teams in the AP Poll, although there had previously been six regular season #1 versus #2 games since the inception of the poll in 1936. This was the second Rose Bowl meeting between USC and Wisconsin (the first being the 1953 Rose Bowl) and the fourth meeting, overall.

Wisconsin Badgers

Main article: 1962 Wisconsin Badgers football team

Wisconsin finished the regular season 8–1, becoming the sole champion of the Big Ten Conference. The Badgers were undefeated except for a loss to conference rival Ohio State at Ohio Stadium, ranked #5 in the AP poll at the time. Notable victories were over then-#1 Northwestern during homecoming (37–6) and a comeback victory over archrival Minnesota, then ranked #5 (14–9). The Badgers earned their third trip to the Rose Bowl.

USC Trojans

Main article: 1962 USC Trojans football team

After consecutive losing seasons in 1960 and 1961, John McKay turned the Trojans around in his third season as head coach. The team opened with a defeat of #8 Duke. Consecutive wins against SMU, at Iowa, California, and at Illinois got the Trojans ranked higher in the top 10. USC's biggest game of the season was against ninth-ranked Washington; in the homecoming game on November 3, the Trojans blanked the Huskies 14–0. With that win, the Trojans were ranked number two behind Northwestern. On November 17, by beating Navy and with Alabama losing to Georgia Tech 7–6, USC ascended to the number one spot in the AP poll.

In the rivalry game against UCLA, the Bruins led 3–0 until the fourth quarter, when the Trojans scored two touchdowns. In the final game for Notre Dame head coach Joe Kuharich, USC shut out the 5–4 Fighting Irish at the Coliseum, breaking a five-game losing streak in the annual intersectional rivalry. The Trojans finished ranked number 1 for the first time in the history of the AP poll, and were undefeated for the first time since the twice-tied 1939 team won the Rose Bowl.

Game summary

USC tackle Marv Marinovich was ejected when he got caught elbowing Steve Underwood, the Wisconsin captain. Pete Beathard completed his fourth touchdown pass with 14:54 left in the game to put USC up 42–14.

Then the Badgers, led by Vander Kelen, put together one of the greatest comebacks in the history of college football, scoring 23 unanswered points in the fourth quarter before time ran out. The final score of the game was USC-42, Wisconsin-37. For their efforts, quarterbacks Beathard and Vander Kelen were both named the Rose Bowl MVPs.

Scoring

First quarter

• USC touchdown Pete Beathard 13-yard pass to Ron Butcher (Lupo kick)
• Wisconsin Touchdown 1-yard run by Ralph Kurek fullback (Kroner kick)

Second quarter

• USC touchdown Ben Wilson 1-yard run (Lupo kick)
• USC touchdown Ron Heller 25-yard run (Lupo kick)

Third quarter

• USC touchdown Beathard pass to Hal Bedsole (57 yards) (Lupo kick)
• Wisconsin touchdown VanderKelen 17-yard run (Kroner Kick)
• USC 23-yard touchdown pass by Pete Beathard to Hal Bedsole (Lupo kick)

Fourth quarter

• USC 13-yard touchdown pass by Pete Beathard to Fred Hill (Lupo kick)
• Wisconsin touchdown Lou Holland (13-yard run) (Kroner kick)
• Wisconsin touchdown Gary Kroner (4-yard reception) (Kroner kick)
• Wisconsin safety A bad snap on USC punt resulted in a UW safety.
• Wisconsin touchdown VanderKelen 19-yard pass to Pat Richter for the final 42–37 score (Kroner kick)

Rose Bowl records set

Aftermath

Eleven Rose Bowl records were set and four still stand as of 2008: most intercepted passes (3 by Ron Vander Kelen), most first downs by one team (32 by Wisconsin), and most penalties (USC 12 for 93 yards). The Rose Bowl record 79 total points scored in this game stood for nearly thirty years (subsequently broken in 1991, when Washington led by 25 and put in reserves early). The omitted records stood for more than thirty years, until broken by Oregon quarterback Danny O'Neil in 1995.

The 1964 Cotton Bowl Classic was the next #1 versus #2 bowl game, while the second #1 versus #2 Rose Bowl came in 1969.

Both of the consensus All-America ends played in this game. Pat Richter (Wisconsin) and Hal Bedsole (USC) were inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, in 1996 and 2012, respectively. This was Richter's last college game, while Bedsole was an underclassman.

Three players from this game (Beathard, Vander Kelen, and Richter) have been inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame. John McKay has also been inducted as a coach.

The game is considered by many to be among the greatest games in college football history, along with the 2006 Rose Bowl, among others.

USC's next Rose Bowl was four years later, the first of four consecutive; Wisconsin did not return for 31 years.

References

Bibliography

• University of Southern California football media guide. (PDF copy available at www.usctrojans.com)
• University of Wisconsin football media guide. (PDF copy available at www.uwbadgers.com)
• Stiegman, Pat – 1963: The greatest Rose Bowl ever. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, December 23, 1993
• Crowns, Crystal – A Rose Bowl for the ages, Wisconsin’s last shot at a national title . The Daily Cardinal, September 27, 2007
• {{cite book
• Murray, Jim – A Close Second. Los Angeles Times, January 2, 1963. Reprinted as "One Flinging Badger Made Trojans Sweat", January 4, 2006
• {{cite book

References

1. (January 3, 1988). "Should there be college Super Bowl?". The Courier–News.
2. (January 1, 1963). "Badgers, Tide, Tigers, Ole Miss bowl choices". Wilmington Morning Star.
3. Zimmerman, Paul. (January 1, 1963). "Badgers bent on bowl vengeance; Wisconsin winless in two classics". Spokesman-Review.
4. (January 2, 1963). "Trojans snare Roses in wild battle, 42-37". Wilmington Morning Star.
5. (January 2, 1963). "Spectacular Wisconsin rally falls five points short". Eugene Register-Guard.
6. Myers, Bob. (January 2, 1963). "USC survives Badger rally 42-37". Spokesman-Review.
7. (January 1, 1963). "Southern Cal Gets Trophy". The Tulsa Tribune.
8. [https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-03-29-sp-185-story.html Los Angeles Times] {{Webarchive. link. (October 27, 2022 "The national championship was at stake – USC was ranked No. 1 and Wisconsin No. 2")
9. Schmadtke, Alan. "No. 1 Vs. No. 2".
10. (January 7, 1963). "Trojans Get Rice Award". The Sacramento Union.
11. link. (2008-03-06 , [[2008 Rose Bowl]]. Accessed January 26, 2008.)
12. "The List: Greatest bowl games".
13. "Tuesday Question – Ten Greatest Bowl Games".
14. "Games Where #1 Faced #2".
15. Zimmerman, Paul "EVERYTHING'S ROSY! TROJANS WIN, 14-0". ''Los Angeles Times'', November 4, 1962
16. Zimmerman, Paul "TROJANS ALMOST TRIP ON WAY TO BOWL. 86,740 See Stubborn Bruins Bow in 4th Quarter, 14-3". ''Los Angeles Times'', November 25, 1962
17. Zimmerman, Paul "PERFECT ENDING: TROJANS, 25; IRISH, 0". ''Los Angeles Times'', December 2, 1962
18. Stiegman, Pat – [http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=194603 1963: The greatest Rose Bowl ever]. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, December 23, 1993. ''... the Trojans were a few quarts low in the second half, losing several players to injury and tackle Marv Marinovich (yes, father of Los Angeles Raiders QB Todd Marinovich) to ejection when he got caught elbowing Underwood in the skull AFTER a play in the third quarter. "I was walking back to the huddle and BAM, I felt this bump in the back of the head", [Steve] Underwood said. "I turned around here here's Marinovich and the ref standing right there, watching the whole thing. It was so stupid, it was unbelievable."''
19. Underwoord, John. (September 9, 2010). "Vander Kelen".
20. Bonk, Thomas. (January 3, 1995). "ROSE BOWL: PENN STATE 38, OREGON 20 : This Duck Just Winged It : Oregon's Danny O'Neil Shatters Rose Bowl Passing Records in Loss to Penn State". [[Los Angeles Times]].
21. "UW's Rally Falls Short vs. USC in Rose Bowl".