1996 Rose Bowl

NCAAFootballSingleGameHeader
Name=1996 Rose Bowl
Date=January 1, 1996
Year=1995
Visitor School=Northwestern University
Visitor Name Short=Northwestern
Visitor Nickname=Wildcats
Visitor Record=10-1-0
Visitor

Visitor Coaches=3
Visitor Coach=Gary Barnett
Visitor1=7
Visitor2=3
Visitor3=16
Visitor4=6
Visitor Total=32
Home School=University of Southern California
Home Name Short=USC
Home Nickname=Trojans
Home Record=9-2-1
Home

Home Coaches=17
Home Coach=John Robinson
Home1=7
Home2=17
Home3=7
Home4=10
Home Total=41
Type=bg
Stadium=Rose Bowl
City=Pasadena, California
Attendance = 100,102
Odds =
MVP = Keyshawn Johnson
Anthem = Spirit of Troy
Halftime = Spirit of Troy, Northwestern University Wildcat Marching Band
US Network = ABC
US Announcers = Keith Jackson, Bob GrieseThe 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 QB Brad Otton to WR Keyshawn Johnson. Keyshawn Johnson was named the Rose Bowl Player Of The Game. [http://www.bowlprograms.com/rosebowl/?pg=182 2008 Rose Bowl Program] , 2008 Rose Bowl. Accessed January 26, 2008.]

Teams

Northwestern Wildcats

The Northwestern Wildcats had a string of losing seasons stretching back to 1972. They had last appeared in the 1949 Rose Bowl. The Wildcats opened the 1995 season with a surprise 17-15 win at #9 Notre Dame on September 3, 1995. That Notre Dame team would finish at number 6 and go to the Orange Bowl. However, Notre Dame set the record for largest drop in the rankings AP Poll in the Top 25-era when the next AP poll was released. The Fighting Irish dropped 16 spots, from #9 to #25, after losing to Northwestern. The Wildcats, who were then ranked in the AP poll for the first time since 1971, fell out of the spotlight when they lost to Miami University in their next game. They would win against Air Force and Indiana to get back to #25 in the polls. On October second the Wildcats had another win that brought them back into national attention, a 19-13 over Michigan in Ann Arbor. The Wildcats would win out the rest of their games with a perfect 8-0 record in the Big Ten Conference.

USC Trojans

The USC Trojans opened with six wins until losing at Notre Dame 10-38 on October 21st. On October 28th, USC and Washington played what would be the deciding game for the conference at Husky Stadium. Down 0-21 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 4th 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 20-24.

Game Summary

coring

First Quarter

*USC: Sham Yousif 1yd run (Abrams kick) USC 7-0
*NU: D.Autry 3 yd run (Gowins kick) Tied 7-7

econd Quarter

*USC: Barnum 21 yd pass from Otton (Abrams kick) USC 14-7
*USC: Abrams 30 yd FG;
*USC: McCutcheon 53 yd fumble return (Abrams kick) USC 24-7
*NU: Gowins 29 yd FG;

Third Quarter

*NU: Gowins 28 yd FG;
*NU: D.Autry 9 yd run (conversion failed) USC 24-19
*USC: K.Johnson 56 yd pass from Otton (Abrams kick) USC 31-19
*NU: Schnur 1 yd run (Gowins kick)

Fourth Quarter

*NU: D.Autry 2 yd run (conversion failed) NU 32-31
*USC: Abrams 46 yd FG;
*USC: Washington 2 yd run (Abrams kick) USC 41-32

References

Bibliography

*USC Trojans football media guide (PDF copy available at [http://www.usctrojans.com www.usctrojans.com] )
*Northwestern Wildcats football media guide (PDF copy available at [http://nusports.cstv.com nusports.cstv.com] )

External links

* [http://www.tournamentofroses.com/rosebowlgame/ Rose Bowl Game official site]
* [http://hailtopurple.com/cde/bowls1996rose.html Unofficial site for Northwestern Wildcat football - 1996 Rose bowl]

ee also

*Rose Bowl Game
*USC Trojans Football
*Northwestern Wildcats football
*1995 NCAA Division I-A football season