The 1980 Rose Bowl was It was the 66th

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of the

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, played on Tuesday, January 1, at the Rose Bowl in

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. The

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

, champions of the Pacific-10 Conference, defeated the

Ohio State Buckeyes The Ohio State Buckeyes are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Ohio State University, located in Columbus, Ohio. The athletic programs are named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Ohio and after the state tree ...

, champions of the

Big Ten Conference 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 ...

, 17–16. USC's

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Charles White was named the Player of the Game (for a second time, having shared the previous game's award with

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), rushing for a record 247 yards, including the game-winning touchdown with little more than a minute remaining in the contest. Ohio State went into the game with an 11–0 record, and was one of two undefeated and untied teams in the nation, along with

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. Had the Buckeyes won the game, they would have likely won at least a share of the national championship, as they were ranked first in the AP Poll at kickoff. The game received a 28.6

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, making it one of the highest-rated college football games of all time. USC, having suffered a shocking 21–21 tie with

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(a home game in which they led 21–0 at halftime) that cost them the #1 ranking in mid-October, was runner-up in both final polls, behind Alabama. This was the sixth consecutive Rose Bowl win for the Pac-10, with ten wins in the last eleven.

Scoring

First quarter *USC – Eric Hipp 41-yard field goal Second quarter *USC – Kevin Williams 53-yard pass from Paul McDonald (Hipp kick) *OSU –

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35-yard field goal *OSU –

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67-yard pass from

Art Schlichter Arthur Ernest Schlichter (, born April 25, 1960) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for four seasons with the Colts franchise. He also played one Canadian Football League (CFL) season wit ...

(Janakievski kick) Third quarter *OSU – Janakievski 37-yard field goal Fourth quarter *OSU – Janakievski, 24-yard field goal *USC – Charles White 1-yard run (Hipp kick)

References

Rose Bowl Rose Bowl Game Ohio State Buckeyes football bowl games USC Trojans football bowl games Rose Bowl January 1980 sports events in the United States {{California-sport-stub