1962 Rose Bowl

Big Ten Conference champion Ohio State declined the invitation to play in the Rose Bowl. They were under no contractual obligation to accept the invitation following the demise of the Pacific Coast Conference after the 1958 college football season. Minnesota, the second-place team in the Big Ten, was then offered the "at-large" invitation, and accepted.

Minnesota quarterback Sandy Stephens was named the Rose Bowl Player Of The Game.^[1] It was broadcast on the NBC television network and was the first national color television broadcast of a college football game.^[2]

Teams

University of Minnesota Golden Gophers

Main article: 1961 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team

The Gophers had gone to the Rose Bowl the previous year as the #1 team in the nation and lost to the Washington Huskies. In 1961, the Gophers actually finished in second place in Big Ten Conference play. Minnesota had a loss to Missouri, and a Big Ten loss to Wisconsin in their rivalry game. Ohio State was the Big Ten Champion. However, because of a faculty council decision to emphasize academics over athletics, Ohio State turned down the Rose Bowl Berth.^[3] Ironically, Minnesota would not have received the Rose Bowl invitation if they had, in fact, been the 1961 Big Ten champion and the conference had a formal agreement with the Rose Bowl for the 1961 and 1962 games, since the Big Ten had a "no-repeat" rule in effect until 1972. The Gophers were led by Sandy Stephens, the first African American All-American quarterback. However, he was not the first African-American starting quarterback in a Rose Bowl (this distinction goes to Charles Fremont West playing in the 1922 Rose Bowl).

UCLA Bruins

UCLA had lost at both Michigan and Ohio State earlier in the season. They also lost to Washington. They managed to beat USC during one of the few rainy UCLA-USC rivalry games.

Game summary

The weather was sunny. Minnesota wore their home maroon jerseys, with white helmets and white pants. UCLA also wore their home powderkeg blue uniforms with gold pants. Using the single wing offense, UCLA struggled against the Gophers, netting only one field goal. Minnesota would get 21 first downs to UCLA's 8. The Gophers would hold the Bruins to 107 total yards, while going 297 yards on 66 plays. Stephens would rush for 46 yards on 12 carries, including two rushing touchdowns. Stephens also went 7 for 11 in passing for 75 yards.

Scoring

First quarter

UCLA — Bobby Smith kicks 28-yard field goal. UCLA 3-0
Minnesota — Sandy Stephens dives over from one-yard line. Tom Loechler kick. MINN 7–3

Second quarter

Minnesota — Bill Munsey goes over from three-yard line. Loechler kick. MINN 14–3

Third quarter

No score

Fourth quarter

Minnesota — Stephens runs over from two-yard line. Loechler kick. MINN 21–3

Statistics

Team Stats	Minnesota	UCLA
First Downs	21	8
Net Yards Rushing	222	55
Net Yards Passing	75	52
Total Yards	297	107
PC–PA–Int.	7–11–0	5–8–0
Punts–Avg.	3–40.7	5–37.2
Fumbles–Lost	3–2	2–2
Penalties–Yards	6–70	1–5

Aftermath

This is Minnesota's only Rose Bowl win. It was also the last appearance for Minnesota in the Rose Bowl game. As of the 2015 season, Minnesota has gone the longest in the Big Ten conference without playing in the Rose Bowl game. Sandy Stephens was named the Most Valuable player, and became the first African American to get the award.

Both head coaches in the game were University of Tennessee graduates who had played under legendary coach Robert Neyland.

Game facts

All-American defensive tackle Bobby Bell played in both the 1961 and 1962 Rose Bowl games for the Gophers. He later played in the 1967 and 1970 Super Bowls with the Kansas City Chiefs, winning in 1970.

References

↑ 2008 Rose Bowl Program, 2008 Rose Bowl. Accessed January 26, 2008.
↑ Historic Facts about the Rose Bowl Stadium Archived March 26, 2010, at the Wayback Machine.
↑ Tim Brady - The Road to the Rose Bowl. Minnesota Magazine, University of Minnesota Alumni Association. September 8, 2003

Rose Bowl Game

History & conference tie-ins	History Rose Bowl Stadium College Football Playoff Broadcasters Big Ten Conference Pac-12 Conference

Games	1902 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

Notes	No games were held from 1903 to 1915. The 1942 game was played at Duke Stadium in Durham, NC due to the attack on Pearl Harbor. The game was also the national title game for the Bowl Championship Series in 2002 and 2006. The game was a College Football Playoff semifinal in its 2015 edition.

Minnesota Golden Gophers bowl games

1961 Rose Bowl 1962 Rose Bowl 1977 Hall of Fame Classic 1985 Independence Bowl 1986 Liberty Bowl 1999 Sun Bowl 2000 MicronPC.com Bowl 2002 Music City Bowl 2003 Sun Bowl 2004 Music City Bowl 2005 Music City Bowl 2006 Insight Bowl 2008 Insight Bowl 2009 Insight Bowl 2012 Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas 2013 Texas Bowl 2015 Citrus Bowl 2015 Quick Lane Bowl 2016 Holiday Bowl

UCLA Bruins bowl games

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