The Rose Bowl

The Rose Bowl concludes the season for FBS Football by highlighting two of the top college football programs in the country from the Pac-12 and Big Ten conferences.

Who will play in the 2020 Rose Bowl of College Football?

The 106th annual Rose Bowl Game will be played on January 1, 2020 at 5:00 p.m. ET at the iconic Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. This year's eagerly anticipated game will feature the seventh ranked Oregon Ducks against the 11th ranked Wisconsin Badgers. The Ducks earned their spot by clobbering the Utah Utes 37-15 in the Pac-12 Championship Game. The Badgers, meanwhile, were soundly defeated by Ohio State 34-21 in the Big Ten Championship Game, but secured their berth on the strength of their solid 10-3 record in the regular season.

Rose Bowl Champions

DateWinning TeamLosing TeamScore
Jan. 1, 2010
Ohio State
Oregon
26-17
Jan. 1, 2011
TCU
Wisconsin
21-19
Jan. 2, 2012
Oregon
Wisconsin
45-38
Jan. 1, 2013
Stanford
Wisconsin
20-14
Jan. 1, 2014
Michigan State
Stanford
24-20
Jan. 1, 2015
Oregon
Florida State
59-20
Jan. 1, 2016
Stanford
Iowa
45-16
Jan. 2, 2017
USC
Penn State
52-49
Jan. 1, 2018
Georgia
Oklahoma
54-48
Jan. 1, 2019
Ohio State
Washington
28-23

The History of College Football’s Rose Bowl

The Rose Bowl is the oldest college football bowl game and known as “The Granddaddy of Them All.”

The Rose Bowl was first played in 1902 and has been renewed annually since 1916 in Pasadena, California. The game usually falls on New Year’s Day and has also been played on Jan. 2nd on 15 occasions.

Since 1945, the Rose Bowl has been the highest attended bowl game and is part of ‘America’s New Year’s Celebration’, which includes the historic Rose Parade.

Traditionally, the Rose Bowl hosts the champions of the Pac-12 and Big Ten conferences. However, starting in 2002 it began to deviate from its customary matchup in order to facilitate championship games under the now defunct Bowl Championship Series system.

In 2015 and in 2018, the Rose Bowl played host to the College Football Playoff national semifinal game, and hosts one of the playoff semifinal games every three years. In non-playoff years, the Rose Bowl reverts back to hosting the Pac-12 and Big Ten champions.

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Rose Bowl Historic Moments

Historic moments and matchups in the Rose Bowl include the 2006 game, when No. 1 USC battled No. 2 Texas in one of the greatest post-season games ever played. The Trojans entered with a 34-game winning streak while Texas had 19 straight wins. The game featured two Heisman Trophy winners (Reggie Bush and Vince Young), and Texas won the most memorable Rose Bowl 41-38 in what was the most-watched college football game since 1987. A record breaking 35.6 million viewers tuned in on television.

In 2005, #6 Texas defeated #13 Michigan 38-37. USC won three straight Rose Bowls starting in 2007.

In the 2015 national semi-final game, the Rose Bowl winner was #3 Oregon, who smashed #2 Florida State 59-20 and snapped the Seminoles' 29-game winning streak. Oregon set the Rose Bowl scoring record with 59 points.

In the 2018 Rose Bowl, two 12-1 teams met in the national semi-final and #3 Georgia beat #2 Oklahoma 54-48 in double overtime. It was the first Rose Bowl game to ever go into overtime.

The USC Trojans have played the most times in the Rose Bowl with 34 appearances followed by Michigan (20). USC has won a record 25 Rose Bowls with their most recent in 2017 in another thriller as they toppled No. 5 Penn State 52-49.

The Rose Bowl has been a collegiate classic with a number of firsts including the first local radio broadcast of an East-West bowl game in 1926, the first transcontinental radio broadcast of a sporting event in 1927, the first local telecast of a college football game in 1948, the first national telecast of a college football game in 1952, the first coast-to-cast color telecast of a collegiate football game in 1962, the first No. 1 vs No. 2 match-up in a bowl game in 1963, and the first College Football Playoff Semifinal in 2015.

Most Rose Bowl Appearances by School

DateWinning TeamLosing TeamScore
Jan. 1, 2010
Ohio State
Oregon
26-17
Jan. 1, 2011
TCU
Wisconsin
21-19
Jan. 2, 2012
Oregon
Wisconsin
45-38
Jan. 1, 2013
Stanford
Wisconsin
20-14
Jan. 1, 2014
Michigan State
Stanford
24-20
Jan. 1, 2015
Oregon
Florida State
59-20
Jan. 1, 2016
Stanford
Iowa
45-16
Jan. 2, 2017
USC
Penn State
52-49
Jan. 1, 2018
Georgia
Oklahoma
54-48
Jan. 1, 2019
Ohio State
Washington
28-23

Pasadena has been a home away from home for USC. The Trojans have appeared in the Rose Bowl 34 times, including four straight appearances from 1967-1970 and again from 2006-09.


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