The 71st through 73rd Rose Bowl Games

Enjoy three Rose Bowl contests from the mid-1980s as Iowa, Michigan, USC, and UCLA earn the right to run for the roses. The legendary players, plays and coaches make these games so special.

The 71st version of the New Year’s Day classic called the Rose Bowl was played between the USC Trojans of the Pacific-10 Conference and Ohio State Buckeyes of the Big Ten Conference, held on January 1, 1985. Ted Tollner was the head coach of the Trojans that 1984 season as they produced a 9-3 record and ranked 18th in the AP Poll. For the Buckeyes, it was Head Coach Earl Bruce who again led the team from Columbus, as they also fashioned a 9-3 slate on the season. USC went up 17-6 going into the half. Besides a Jordan field goal, the TD was on a Joe Cormier 3-yard pass from Tim Green. The second score for the Trojans was on a Timmie Ware 19-yard pass from Green that finished in the end zone. The teams traded long field goals in the third quarter, and OSU made it enjoyable with 7:34 on the clock when Cris Carter hauled in an 18-yard TD pass from Mike Tomczak, and then Tomczak ran in the conversion to make the scoreboard read 20-17 USC. That was the final score, as neither team could move into a scoring opportunity for the balance of the contest. The difference in the game was that USC used an aggressive team defense. USC encouraged the Buckeyes to throw the ball. This strategy caused three Mike Tomczak interceptions, while he threw 37 times, as USC defenders waited in the secondary to jump routes. The kickers for both teams had banner days. Ohio State kicker Rich Spangler scored a Rose Bowl-record 52-yard field goal. USC kicker Steve Jordan had two 51-yard field goals. Tim Green and Jack Del Rio shared the Rose Bowl Most Outstanding Player awards.

The 72nd edition of the Rose Bowl, played January 1, 1986 had the Iowa Hawkeyes of Coach Hayden Fry meeting up with the UCLA Bruins. Iowa was in the top five of the polls all season long and entered the game as a 4-½ point favorite. The Iowa stars that set the tone that season were Mike Haight, Chuck Long, and Ronnie Harmon. Terry Donahue put together a roster for the Bruins, including David Norrie, Gaston Green, and Mel Farr Jr. 
The game's story might have come as a surprise to many, especially when UCLA tailback  Gaston Green, who had started but left the game early with a pulled hamstring, was replaced by Freshman Eric Ball. Ball proved more than a capable replacement as he ran for 227 yards and tied a modern Rose Bowl record by scoring four rushing touchdowns in this game. Also, Matt Stevens was the UCLA quarterback, serving in place of a benched Norrie. These two players were major pieces to the route that UCLA put on. The Bruins ran away with this one 45-28. Running back Eric Ball was named the Player Of The Game.

The 1987 Rose Bowl was the 73rd Rose Bowl Game. The Arizona State Sun Devils, champions of the Pacific-10 Conference, were invited to their first-ever Rose Bowl to play the Big Ten Champions, the Michigan Wolverines. Head Coach John Cooper guided ASU to a 9-1-1 record. Their setbacks from perfection were a loss to rival Arizona and a tie with Washington State. The Wolverines still had Bo Schembechler at the helm; his squad posted an 11-1 record this season. Michigan’s only 1986 loss was to Iowa. 
The gameplay went along these lines. The first quarter saw Michigan get on the board with a Jamie Morris, an 18-yard run to paydirt, and a two-point conversion with Gerald White connecting on a pass from placekicker Mike Gillette. The second quarter saw Arizona State respond with a Kent Bostrom 37-yard field goal. Later in the quarter, the Wolverine's QB Jim Harbaugh ran in a score from 2 yards out with the Gillette PAT kick. ASU went on a scoring terror before the half as Bostrom booted a 27-yard field goal, and later Sun Devil Bruce Hill caught a 4-yard TD pass from Quarterback Jeff Van Raaphorst and a subsequent Bostrom point-after kick. At the Half, Michigan led 15-13. The second half saw a stingy Devil defense and scoring only from ASU. Hill, on a 1-yard pass from Van Raaphorst and a late Bostrom 25-yard field goal to make the final score Arizona State 22, Michigan 15. Arizona State quarterback Jeff Van Raaphorst was named the Player of the Game. Michigan’s arch-rival must have taken notice of Coach Cooper defeating the Wolverines as they later hired him as the head man of the Buckeyes.

A Very Special thanks to information obtained from the following brilliant internet sites: On This Day Sports, the Sports Reference's family of website databases & Stathead.com.

Banner photo is courtesy of Wikimedia Commons of the 1903 Stands along the third base line, Huntington Avenue Grounds, taken by an unknown.