All-time Pac-12 football moments: UCLA as the Big Ten slayer in Rose Bowls
Some schools just have the magic touch. Yes, USC is the winningest Rose Bowl program of all time in college football. The Trojans set an unmatched standard by winning Rose Bowls in the 1930s and 1940s, then in the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s. They snuck in a win in the 1990s by beating Northwestern in the 1996 game. Then they returned to prominence in the Granddaddy in the Pete Carroll years by winning four more Rose Bowl games, three of them in succession from 2007 through 2009. USC added one more Rose-y victory in 2017 over Penn State.
USC is the gold standard for Rose Bowl success. That is unquestioned. However, as we say goodbye to the Pac-12 and look back on memorable moments in conference history, one must also include USC’s rival as a creator of significant gridiron stories.
UCLA created a most unlikely 10-year plan in Pasadena. In 1966, 1976, and 1986, UCLA took on a Big Ten team which was ranked in the top four of the United States. In each of those three Rose Bowls, UCLA won. The Bruins took down Duffy Daugherty’s great 1965 Michigan State team in the 1966 Rose Bowl. Dick Vermeil upset Woody Hayes’ No. 1 Ohio State team in the 1976 Rose Bowl, denying the Buckeyes a national championship. The 1985 Bruins beat No. 3 Iowa in the 1986 Rose Bowl.
The 10-year UCLA Rose Bowl plan was something else. For added measure, the Bruins upset No. 4 Illinois in the 1984 Rose Bowl, too. UCLA was a Rose Bowl giant killer and Big Ten nemesis for multiple decades in the Arroyo Seco on New Year’s Day.
