The 1963 Rose Bowl was the 49th

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of the

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bowl game In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivis ...

, played at the Rose Bowl in

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on Tuesday, January 1, at the end of the 1962 season. The top-ranked

USC Trojans The USC Trojans are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Southern California (USC), located in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California. While the men's teams are nicknamed the ' ...

defeated the

Wisconsin Badgers The Wisconsin Badgers are the athletic teams representing the University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin). They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level (Football Bowl Subdivisi ...

, 42–37. This was the first #1 versus #2 match-up in a bowl game, although #1 versus #2 match-ups had occurred previously as regular season games (typically referred to as " Games of the Century"). The quarterbacks,

Ron Vander Kelen Ronald Vander Kelen (November 6, 1939 – August 14, 2016) was an American football quarterback. He played at the collegiate level at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and is best known for his MVP performance in the 1963 Rose Bowl, where he ...

of Wisconsin and

Pete Beathard Peter Falconer Beathard ( ;

of USC, were named co- Players of the Game.2008 Rose Bowl Program
, 2008 Rose Bowl. Accessed January 26, 2008. Down 42–14 in the fourth quarter, Vander Kelen put together a number of drives to score 23 unanswered points and put the Badgers in position to win the game. Due to the historic #1 versus #2 bowl match-up, the number of Rose Bowl records set, and the furious fourth quarter rally by Wisconsin, this game frequently appears on lists of "greatest bowl games of all time."

Teams

This was the first bowl game to pair the #1 and #2 teams in the

AP Poll The Associated Press poll (AP poll) provides weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling 62 sportswriters and broadca ...

, although there had previously been six regular season #1 versus #2 games since the inception of the poll in 1936. This was the second Rose Bowl meeting between USC and Wisconsin (the first being the 1953 Rose Bowl) and the fourth meeting, overall.

Wisconsin Badgers

Wisconsin finished the regular season 8–1, becoming the sole champion of the Big Ten Conference. The Badgers were undefeated except for a loss to conference rival

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

Ohio Stadium Ohio Stadium is an American football stadium in Columbus, Ohio, on the campus of Ohio State University. It primarily serves as the home venue of the Ohio State Buckeyes football team and is also the site for the university's Spring Commencement c ...

, ranked #5 in the

AP poll The Associated Press poll (AP poll) provides weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling 62 sportswriters and broadca ...

at the time. Notable victories were over then-#1 Northwestern during homecoming (37–6) and a comeback victory over archrival

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

, then ranked #5 (14–9). The Badgers earned their third trip to the Rose Bowl.

USC Trojans

After consecutive losing seasons in 1960 and

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba ( Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 ...

, John McKay turned the Trojans around in his third season as head coach. The team opened with a defeat of #8

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...

. Consecutive wins against SMU, at

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, and at

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

got the Trojans ranked higher in the top 10. USC's biggest game of the season was against ninth-ranked

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; in the homecoming game on November 3, the Trojans blanked the Huskies 14–0. With that win, the Trojans were ranked number two behind Northwestern. On November 17, by beating

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and with

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

losing to

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

7–6, USC ascended to the number one spot in the AP poll. In the

rivalry A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant ...

game against

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

, the Bruins led 3–0 until the fourth quarter, when the Trojans scored two touchdowns. In the final game for Notre Dame head coach

Joe Kuharich Joseph Lawrence Kuharich (April 14, 1917 – January 25, 1981) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of San Francisco from 1948 to 1951, and at the University of Notre Dame from 1959 ...

, USC shut out the 5–4 Fighting Irish at the

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, breaking a five-game losing streak in the annual intersectional rivalry. The Trojans finished ranked number 1 for the first time in the history of the AP poll, and were undefeated for the first time since the twice-tied

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team won the Rose Bowl.

Game summary

USC tackle

Marv Marinovich Marvin Jack Marinovich (August 6, 1939 — December 3, 2020) was an American college and professional football player who became a strength and conditioning coach. He played college football as a two-way lineman for the USC Trojans and was ...

was ejected when he got caught elbowing Steve Underwood, the Wisconsin captain. Wisconsin, under the direction of quarterback Ron Vander Kelen put together an incredible comeback attempt in the fourth quarter. Pete Beathard had completed his fourth touchdown pass with 14:54 left in the game to put USC up 42–14. Then the Badgers, led by Vander Kelen, put together one of the greatest comebacks in the history of college football, scoring 23 unanswered points in the fourth quarter before time ran out. The final score of the game was USC-42, Wisconsin-37. For their efforts, quarterbacks Beathard and Vander Kelen were both named the Rose Bowl MVPs.

Scoring

First quarter

*USC touchdown Pete Beathard 13-yard pass to Ron Butcher (Lupo kick) *Wisconsin Touchdown 1-yard run by Ralph Kurek fullback (Kroner kick)

Second quarter

*USC touchdown Ben Wilson 1-yard run (Lupo kick) *USC touchdown Ron Heller 25-yard run (Lupo kick)

Third quarter

*USC touchdown Beathard pass to Hal Bedsole (57 yards) (Lupo kick) *Wisconsin touchdown VanderKelen 17-yard run (Kroner Kick) *USC 23-yard touchdown pass by Pete Beathard to Hal Bedsole (Lupo kick)

Fourth quarter

*USC 13-yard touchdown pass by Pete Beathard to Fred Hill (Lupo kick) *Wisconsin touchdown Lou Holland (13-yard run) (Kroner kick) *Wisconsin touchdown Gary Kroner (4-yard reception) (Kroner kick) *Wisconsin safety A bad snap on USC punt resulted in a UW safety. *Wisconsin touchdown VanderKelen 19-yard pass to Pat Richter for the final 42–37 score (Kroner kick)

Rose Bowl records set

Aftermath

Eleven Rose Bowl records were set and five still stand as of 2008: most intercepted passes (3 by Ron Vander Kelen), most touchdown passes (4 by USC, and six overall), most first downs by one team (32 by Wisconsin), and most penalties (USC 12 for 93 yards). The Rose Bowl record 79 total points scored in this game stood for nearly thirty years (subsequently broken in

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, when

led by 25 and put in reserves early). The omitted records stood for more than thirty years, until broken by

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

quarterback Danny O'Neil in

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. The 1964 Cotton Bowl Classic was the next #1 versus #2 bowl game, while the second #1 versus #2 Rose Bowl came in 1969. Both of the consensus

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end End, END, Ending, or variation, may refer to: End *In mathematics: ** End (category theory) ** End (topology) **End (graph theory) ** End (group theory) (a subcase of the previous) **End (endomorphism) *In sports and games **End (gridiron footbal ...

s played in this game. Pat Richter (Wisconsin) and

Hal Bedsole Harold Jay "Hal" Bedsole (December 21, 1941 – December 22, 2017) was an American football player. He played as a tight end and end early in his career during the single platoon days. High school career Bedsole prepped at Reseda High School ...

(USC) were inducted into the

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, in 1996 and 2012, respectively. This was Richter's last college game, while Bedsole was an underclassman. Three players from this game (Beathard, Vander Kelen, and Richter) have been inducted into the

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

. John McKay has also been inducted as a coach. The game is considered by many to be among the greatest games in college football history, along with the 2006 Rose Bowl, among others. USC's next Rose Bowl was four years later, the first of four consecutive; Wisconsin did not return for 31 years.

References

Bibliography

*University of Southern California football media guide. (PDF copy available a
www.usctrojans.com
*University of Wisconsin football media guide. (PDF copy available a
www.uwbadgers.com
*Stiegman, Pat �
1963: The greatest Rose Bowl ever
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, December 23, 1993 *Crowns, Crystal �
A Rose Bowl for the ages, Wisconsin’s last shot at a national title
. The Daily Cardinal, September 27, 2007 * * Murray, Jim �
A Close Second
Los Angeles Times, January 2, 1963. Reprinted as "One Flinging Badger Made Trojans Sweat", January 4, 2006 *

External links

*
UW-Madison Archives 1963 Rose Bowl photostream
at

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{{Historic college football games Rose Bowl Rose Bowl Game USC Trojans football bowl games Wisconsin Badgers football bowl games Rose Bowl January 1963 sports events in the United States