1990 Rose Bowl

The 1990 Rose Bowl was the 76th Rose Bowl Game. The game was a rematch of the 1989 Rose Bowl, won by Michigan, 22-14. Gaining a measure of revenge, the USC Trojans defeated the Michigan Wolverines 17-10. USC running back Ricky Ervins was named the Rose Bowl Player of the Game. The contest was Bo Schembechler's final game as Michigan's head coach.

Michigan Wolverines
The Wolverines lost their opening game, at home, to Notre Dame 24-19. The UCLA Bruins under Terry Donahue and the Michigan Wolverines under Bo Schembechler met for the only time since the 1983 Rose Bowl in a UCLA home game at the Rose Bowl Stadium on September 23, 1989. The #5 ranked Michigan Wolverines defeated #24 ranked UCLA 24-23. This was the first win in a 10-game winning streak. The biggest win was a 24-10 win at Illinois that ultimately gave the Big 10 title to Michigan over the 2nd place Illini.

USC Trojans
USC lost their opener to Illinois 14-13, but won the rest with the exception of a 28-24 mid season loss at Notre Dame and a 10-10 tie in their regular season finale with rival UCLA. They won the Pac-10 title by 2½ games over Washington.

Game summary
The game was expected to be a tight physical defensive struggle and it was. USC had leads of 7-0 first when Todd Marinovich ran for a touchdown and 10-3 with a field goal, but each time Michigan came back to tie the score. Midway through the 4th quarter, Michigan faced a 4th down and 2 yards to go at its own 46 yard line. The normally conservative Bo Schembechler called for a fake punt and it worked to perfection as punter Chris Stapleton rambled 24 yards for what would have been a first down. However, Michigan was called for holding on what is currently a disputed penalty in the USC-Michigan rivalry history. On the resultant drive, USC scored the winning touchdown with just over a minute to play. At the end of the game Schembechler walked off the field refusing interview requests. It was the legendary coach's last game at Michigan.

First quarter
None 0-0 tie

Second quarter
USC Marinovich, 1-yard run (Rodriguez kick) USC 7-0 MI Carlson, 19-yard field goal USC 7-3 USC Rodriguez, 34-yard field goal USC 10-3

Third quarter
MI Jefferson, 2-yard run (Carlson kick) 10-10 tie

Fourth quarter
USC Ervins, 14-yard run (Rodriguez kick) 17-10 USC