The 1946 Rose Bowl was the 32nd

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of the college football

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, played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, on Tuesday, January 1. The game matched the undefeated Crimson Tide of the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and largest of the publi ...

of the

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(SEC) and the #7

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of the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

of the Pacific Coast Conference (PCC). The Tide defeated the underdog Trojans 34–14. It was Alabama’s sixth and final trip to the Rose Bowl until their

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semifinal appearance in

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and Frank Thomas' final bowl trip as head coach.

Game summary

Alabama, known as the "wooden horse" led at the half 20–0 and the Trojans had a net loss of 24 yards. USC, which had won eight straight Rose Bowl games since

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, didn't make a first down until the third quarter when the score was 27–0. Alabama outgained USC 351 to 41 yards. Quarterback

Harry Gilmer Harry Vincent Gilmer Jr. (April 14, 1926 – August 20, 2016) was an American football halfback and quarterback in the National Football League for the Washington Redskins and Detroit Lions. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fam ...

threw only eleven times in the game for one touchdown and ran for 116 yards on 16 carries. Hal Self scored twice, on a one-yard run and on a 24-yard Gilmer pass. Gilmer went over from the one, and

Lowell Tew Lowell William Tew (January 2, 1927 – March 1981) was an American football fullback in the All-America Football Conference for the New York Yankees. He played college football at the University of Alabama and was drafted in the first ro ...

hit left guard from the two for points and Norwood Hodges scored up the middle on a one-yard plunge. Hugh Morrow kicked four extra points in the game.2009 Alabama Postseason Media Guide, ''University of Alabama'', December 2009

Scoring

First quarter

*Ala – Hal Self, 1-yard run (Hugh Morrow kick good)

Second quarter

*Ala – Self, 1-yard run (Morrow kick good) *Ala –

, 5-yard run (Morrow kick missed)

Third quarter

*Ala – Norwood Hodges, 1-yard run (Morrow kick good)

Fourth quarter

*Ala –

, 20-yard pass from Self (Morrow kick good) *USC – Harry Adelman, 26-yard pass from Verl Lillywhite (Joe Bowman kick good) *USC – Chick Clark returned a blocked kick (Lillywhite kick good)

Aftermath

Following this game, the PCC and Big Nine (now Pac-12 and

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

) entered into an exclusive five-year agreement for their champions to meet in the Rose Bowl. It has been extended numerous times, and outside of rotations in the playoffs, it continues. Both conferences openly admitted restricting the Rose Bowl, because they were tired of getting beaten by teams playing " hillbilly ball," the same reason they cited for not inviting them before 1920. This was last Rose Bowl

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by an SEC team for 72 years, when

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defeated Oklahoma in a national semifinal in early

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. The first break in the Pac-12/Big Ten arrangement came in 2002, when it was the BCS Championship Game between

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and

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rose Bowl, 1946 1945–46 NCAA football bowl games 1946 1946 1946 1946 in sports in California January 1946 sports events in the United States