The 1975 Rose Bowl was a college football

College football

College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...

 bowl game

Bowl game

In North America, a bowl game is commonly considered to refer to one of a number of post-season college football games. Prior to 2002, bowl game statistics were not included in players' career totals and the games were mostly considered to be exhibition games involving a payout to participating...

 played on January 1, 1975. It was the 61st Rose Bowl Game

Rose Bowl Game

The Rose Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game, usually played on January 1 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. When New Year's Day falls on a Sunday, the game is played on Monday, January 2...

. Fifth ranked USC Trojans

USC Trojans

The USC Trojans are the athletic teams representing the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California. While the men's teams are nicknamed the Trojans, the women's athletic teams are referred to as either the Trojans or Women of Troy...

 defeated third ranked Ohio State Buckeyes

Ohio State Buckeyes

The Ohio State Buckeyes are the intercollegiate sports teams and players of The Ohio State University, named after the state tree, the Buckeye. The Buckeyes participate in the NCAA's Division I in all sports and the Big Ten Conference in most sports...

 18-17 in one of the most exciting games in the history of the Rose Bowl. USC quarterback Pat Haden

Pat Haden

Patrick Capper "Pat" Haden is the athletic director at the University of Southern California. He played quarterback for the USC Trojans before playing professionally in the NFL for the Los Angeles Rams from 1976 to 1981...

 passed to Shelton Diggs for the two-point conversion that gave the Trojans the Rose Bowl victory and the UPI's college football national title.

Ohio State

The defending Rose Bowl champs were the nation's top ranked team for much of the season, until they were upset by Michigan State at East Lansing on November 9 by a score of 16-13. Two weeks later, the Buckeyes earned the Rose Bowl berth with a 12-10 victory over Michigan, when kicker Mike Lantry's last second field goal attempt sailed just wide.

USC

USC was upset by Arkansas 22-7 in Little Rock in the season opener, then reeled off 5 straight wins before a 15-15 tie at home against California. They won their final four games, the most dramatic being a season ending 55-24 win over Notre Dame in which the Trojans trailed 24-0.

Fourth quarter

• USC — Jim Obradovich
  Jim Obradovich
  For the MLB player, see Jim Obradovich.----James Robert Obradovich is a former professional American football tight end in the National Football League for the New York Giants, San Francisco 49ers, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers...
  
   9-yard pass from Pat Haden
  Pat Haden
  Patrick Capper "Pat" Haden is the athletic director at the University of Southern California. He played quarterback for the USC Trojans before playing professionally in the NFL for the Los Angeles Rams from 1976 to 1981...
  
   (PAT - Limahelu kick).
• OSU — Cornelius Greene
  Cornelius Greene
  Cornelius Greene is a former American football quarterback who played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes and professionally in the Canadian Football League. He played under legendary coach Woody Hayes. He was the first African American quarterback to start at Ohio State.-References:...
  
   3-yard run (PAT - Klaban kick)
• OSU — Klaban - 32-yard field goal.
• USC — J. K. McKay
  John McKay, Jr.
  John Kenneth "J.K." McKay is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League. He was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the 16th round of the 1975 NFL Draft. He played college football at USC....
  
   38-yard pass from Haden (PAT - Haden pass to Shelton Diggs)

Aftermath

Undefeated Oklahoma was the #1 team in the AP poll, but were on probation so they could not go to a bowl game. The UPI poll did not consider teams on probabation, so going into the bowl games, they had Alabama #1, followed by Ohio State, Michigan, and USC. USC's dramatic Rose Bowl win enabled them to leapfrog both Ohio State and Michigan, and when Notre Dame upset Alabama in the Orange Bowl, 13-11, USC was voted #1 in the UPI poll.

Game notes

• Third straight time the two teams meet in the Rose Bowl.
• John McKay wins fourth national title.
• John McKay ends his Rose Bowl career with a 5-3 record, tying Howard Jones
  Howard Jones (football coach)
  Howard Harding Jones was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Syracuse University , Yale University , Ohio State University , the University of Iowa , Duke University , and the University of Southern California , compiling a career record of...
  
   for victories.
• Anthony Davis injured and plays less than 1 quarter.
• Pat Haden & John McKay were named co-MVPs.
• USC kicker Chris Limahelu, 59, died of prostate cancer on April 7, 2010.

External links

• Summary at Rosebowlhistory.org