1997 Rose Bowl
1997 Rose Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
83rd Rose Bowl Game | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
Date | January 1, 1997 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Season | Announcers Brent Musburger (play-by-play) | Dick Vermeil (analyst) Jack Arute (sideline) | |||||||||||||||||||||
The 1997 Rose Bowl was a postseason college football
Teams
Ohio State
The Buckeyes had rolled through the regular season using a two-quarterback system;
Arizona State
The Sun Devils, meanwhile, were undefeated, ranked #2 in the nation, and had hopes of capturing the school's first national championship in football. Leading the way for ASU were senior quarterback Jake Plummer, tailback Terry Battle, and a stingy defense led by end Derrick Rodgers and linebacker Pat Tillman. Perhaps ASU's most impressive regular-season victory came against defending national champion Nebraska, when ASU's defense held the ’Huskers scoreless; Arizona State won by a score of 19–0.
Game summary
First quarter
The Buckeyes scored first midway through the opening period when
Second quarter
Shortly before halftime, the Sun Devils finally answered via a 25-yard pass play from
Third quarter
After halftime, the Sun Devils would add a 37-yard
The Buckeyes countered only two plays later, when
No more scoring ensued in the third, and the teams went to the fourth quarter with the game very much up for grabs.
Fourth quarter
Late in the fourth quarter, the Buckeyes looked to put the game away. Pepe Pearson broke a long run, leading the Buckeyes from inside their own five-yard line deep into ASU territory. However, the drive stalled only three plays later, and OSU had to settle for a Josh Jackson field goal attempt.
That was not to be, as ASU's Brent Burnstein blocked the kick. ASU Defensive end Derrick Rodgers took what appeared to be a lateral and ran the ball into the end zone, but the play was called back: Rodgers had taken an illegal forward lateral. The Sun Devils, however, had the ball with less than five minutes to play.
Jake Plummer, who had built a reputation over his college career for leading late comeback drives, did just that. The key play was a fourth down conversion when Plummer hit wideout Lenzie Jackson for a big gain. With just over a minute remaining, Plummer scrambled for eleven yards and a touchdown on third-and-goal, and ASU took the lead, 17–14.
However, Germaine was not done. He led the Buckeyes on a remarkable
Ultimately, Lenzie Jackson would be tackled in bounds by OSU's Antoine Winfield after catching a pass from Plummer on the second play of the ensuing drive, and time ran out. The Buckeyes had won the Rose Bowl — their first victory in the Rose Bowl since Archie Griffin’s sophomore season.
Scoring summary
Scoring play | Score | ||
---|---|---|---|
1st Quarter | |||
OSU - Stanley Jackson (Josh Jackson kick) 5:04
|
OSU 7, ASU 0 | ||
2nd Quarter | |||
ASU - Ricky Boyer 25-yard pass from Jake Plummer (Robert Nycz kick) 10:04 | ASU 7, OSU 7 | ||
3rd Quarter | |||
ASU - Nycz 37-yard field goal 9:12 | ASU 10, OSU 7 | ||
OSU -Dimitrious Stanley 72-yard pass from Joe Germaine (J. Jackson kick) 8:23 | OSU 14, ASU 10 | ||
4th Quarter | |||
ASU - Plummer 11-yard run (Nycz kick) 1:40 | ASU 17, OSU 14 | ||
OSU - Boston 5-yard pass from Germaine (kick blocked) 0:19 | OSU 20, ASU 17 |
Aftermath
The Buckeyes would finish #2 in the nation after winning their first Rose Bowl since January 1, 1974, handing the Sun Devils their only loss of the season. The previously-third-ranked Florida Gators would end up winning the national championship after defeating the then-top-ranked Florida State Seminoles 52–20 in the Sugar Bowl. FSU had defeated the Gators earlier in the season by a score of 24–21. Had the Sun Devils won the game, they would likely had a claim to at least the AP national championship, since they would have been the only undefeated team in the nation. They ultimately finished fourth in both polls, behind Florida, Ohio State and Florida State.
Buckeye quarterback Joe Germaine, who was named the game's Most Valuable Player, would go on to be named the Big Ten's Most Valuable Player during his senior season of 1998. Many of the players on both teams’ rosters would go on to pro careers: notably, Jake Plummer, Pat Tillman, Derek Smith, Jason Simmons, Scott Von Der Ahe, Steve Bush, and Derrick Rodgers of Arizona State, and Mike Vrabel, Shawn Springs, Orlando Pace, Antoine Winfield, Rob Kelly and Damon Moore of Ohio State.
Game notes
- The game was played in the rain
- Ohio State head coach John Cooper became the first coach to lead a Big Ten and a Pac-10 team to Rose Bowl victories. Previously, Cooper had led the Sun Devils to their only Rose Bowl victory, defeating Michigan in the 1987 Rose Bowlby a score of 22–15.
References
- ^ 2008 Rose Bowl Program Archived March 6, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, 2008 Rose Bowl. Accessed January 26, 2008.