1963 Rose Bowl

The 1963 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 1, 1963 at the end of the 1962 college football season. It was the 49th Rose Bowl Game. The USC Trojans defeated the Wisconsin Badgers, 42–37. This was the first #1 versus #2 match-up to occur 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"). Ron Vander Kelen, the Wisconsin quarterback and Pete Beathard, the USC quarterback, were both named the Rose Bowl Player of the Game. Down 42–14 in the fourth quarter, Wisconsin quarterback Ron 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 time in the Rose Bowl where the #1 and #2 teams on the AP Poll played – it was the first time this happened in any bowl game. It was the seventh time overall that the #1 and #2 team faced each other since the inception of the AP Poll in 1936. The Bowl Championship Series (BCS) was created much later to ensure a bowl game matchup of the top two teams in the nation: prior to the BCS, #1 versus #2 games were rare—especially in bowl games. 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 opened the season by defeating New Mexico State and Indiana. On October 13, they defeated Notre Dame 17–8, which would propel them to a #10 ranking. The Badgers then defeated the Iowa Hawkeyes 42–15, which left them ranked #5 in the nation. A 14–7 loss to Ohio State the next week dropped Wisconsin out of the polls (dropping out of the top 10, not the top 25 as the polls are currently structured). On November 3, the Badgers won in Michigan Stadium over the Wolverines 34–12. This set up the November 10th homecoming game with the Badgers ranked #8 and the #1 ranked Northwestern Wildcats at Camp Randall. Wisconsin smashed Northwestern 37–6. A win at Illinois set up a #3 Wisconsin versus #5 Minnesota battle for Paul Bunyan's Axe. Minnesota had represented the Big Ten the previous two years in the Rose Bowl. Wisconsin was victorious 14–9, and was awarded the Big Ten Rose Bowl berth. They finished the season ranked #2 in the nation.

USC Trojans
After two consecutive losing season in 1960 and 1961, John McKay turned the Trojans around in his third season as head coach. The team opened with a defeat of number 8 ranked Duke. Consecutive wins against SMU, at Iowa, California, and at Illinois got the Trojans ranked higher in the top 10. On November 3, 1962, the Trojans played their biggest game of the season against the Washington Huskies, who were ranked #9. In the homecoming game, the Trojans blanked the Huskies 14–0. With that win, the Trojans were ranked number two behind Northwestern. On November 17, by beating Navy and with Alabama losing to Georgia Tech 7–6, USC ascended to the number one spot in the AP poll. In the UCLA-USC rivalry game, the Bruins led 3–0 until the fourth quarter, when the Trojans scored two touchdowns. In what would be the final game for Notre Dame football coach Joe Kuharich, USC shut out a 5–4 Notre Dame team at the Coliseum. The Trojans finished undefeated and ranked number 1 for the first time since the 1939 USC Trojans team played in the 1940 Rose Bowl.

Game summary
USC tackle Marv Marinovich, the father of USC and Los Angeles Raiders QB Todd Marinovich, 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 TD pass with 14:54 left in the game to put USC up 42–14. Then the Badgers scored 23 unanswered points before time ran out.

First quarter

 * USC touchdown Pete Beathard to Ron Butcher
 * Wisconsin Touchdown 1-yard run by Ralph Kurek fullback

Second quarter

 * USC touchdown Ben Wilson run
 * USC touchdown Ron Heller 25-yard run

Third quarter

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

Fourth quarter

 * USC touchdown pass by Pete Beathard to Fred Hill
 * Wisconsin touchdown Lou Holland (13-yard run)
 * Wisconsin touchdown Gary Kroner (4-yard reception)
 * 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

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 the 1991 Rose Bowl). The omitted records stood for more than thirty years were broken by Danny O'Neil of the Oregon Ducks in the 1995 Rose Bowl.

The 1964 Cotton Bowl Classic subsequently became the second #1 versus #2 bowl game, while the 1969 Rose Bowl became the second #1 versus #2 Rose Bowl.

Both of the consenus 1962 All-America ends played in this game. Pat Richter (Wisconsin) and Hal Bedsole (USC) would later be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, in 1996 and 2012, respectively. This was Richter's last college game, while Bedsole was an underclassman.