1996 Rose Bowl
| 1996 Rose Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 82nd Rose Bowl Game | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | January 1, 1996 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Season | Announcers Keith Jackson (play-by-play) | Bob Griese (analyst) Lynn Swann (sideline) | |||||||||||||||||||||
The 1996 Rose Bowl was the 82nd Rose Bowl Game. It was the 50th game in the series featuring the Big Ten Conference and the Pacific-10 Conference. The USC Trojans defeated the Northwestern Wildcats, 41–32, on the strength of two touchdown passes from USC quarterback Brad Otton to wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson. Johnson was named the Rose Bowl Player Of The Game.
Pre-game activities
The game was presided over by the 1996 Tournament of Roses Royal Court and Rose Parade Grand Marshal
Teams
Northwestern Wildcats
The Northwestern Wildcats had a string of losing seasons stretching back to 1972, and had not appeared in the Rose Bowl for 47 years, a win in January
USC Trojans
The USC Trojans opened with six wins until losing at Notre Dame, 38–10, on October 21. On October 28, USC and Washington played what would be the deciding game for the conference at Husky Stadium. Down 21–0 in the fourth quarter, the Trojans scored three straight touchdowns, with the final coming with 33 seconds remaining. The game ended in a 21–21 tie. A Washington loss to Oregon on November 4 put USC in the lead in the Pac-10 race. Coming into the UCLA–USC rivalry game, the Trojans already had the Rose Bowl berth by virtue of more non-conference victories than Washington, even though a loss to the Bruins would leave both teams with a 6–1–1 record. The Trojans lost to the Bruins, 24–20.
Game summary
Scoring
First quarter
- USC: S. Woods 1-yd run (Abrams kick) USC 7–0
- NU: D. Autry 3-yd run (Gowins kick) Tied 7–7
Second quarter
- USC: Barnum 21-yd pass from Otton (Abrams kick) 13:05 USC 14–7
- USC: Abrams 30-yd FG 3:29 USC 17–7
- USC: McCutcheon 53-yd fumble return (Abrams kick) 2:56 USC 24–7
- NU: Gowins 29-yd FG 0:02 USC 24–10
Third quarter
- NU: Gowins 28-yd FG 11:01 USC 24–13
- NU: D.Autry 9-yd run (conversion failed) 8:17 USC 24–19
- USC: K.Johnson 56-yd pass from Otton (Abrams kick) 6:08 USC 31–19
- NU: Schnur 1-yd run (Gowins kick) 2:58 USC 31–26
Fourth quarter
- NU: D. Autry 2-yd run (conversion failed) 13:01 NU 32–31
- USC: Abrams 46-yd FG 9:09 USC 34–32
- USC: Washington 2-yd run (Abrams kick) 3:00 USC 41–32