1977 Rose Bowl

The 1977 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 1, 1977. It was the 63rd Rose Bowl Game. The USC Trojans, champions of the Pacific-8 Conference,^[3] defeated the Michigan Wolverines, champions of the Big Ten Conference, 14–6.^[4][5][6]

1977 Rose Bowl
63rd Rose Bowl Game
Michigan Wolverines USC Trojans (10–1) (10–1) Big Ten Pac-8 6 14 Head coach:  Bo Schembechler Head coach:  John Robinson AP Coaches 2 2 AP Coaches 3 3
1 2 3 4 Total Michigan 0 6 0 0 6 USC 0 7 0 7 14
Date	January 1, 1977
Season	1976
Stadium	Rose Bowl
Location	Pasadena, California
MVP	Vince Evans (USC QB)
Favorite	Michigan by 4 to 6 points[1][2]
Referee	James Mercer (Pac-8); (split crew: Pac-8, Big Ten)
Attendance	106,182
United States TV coverage
Network	NBC
Announcers	Curt Gowdy, Don Meredith
Nielsen ratings	26.9
Rose Bowl  ← 1976  1978 →

USC quarterback Vince Evans was named the Rose Bowl Player of the Game, and Trojan freshman tailback Charles White, subbing for Heisman Trophy runner-up Ricky Bell, who was injured in the first quarter, rushed for 114 yards and a touchdown.^[4][5][6] It was the third consecutive win for the Pac-8 in the Rose Bowl, and the seventh of the last eight.

Teams

Michigan

Michigan won their first eight games and spent most of the season ranked first in the polls, until a 16–14 upset loss to Purdue on November 6. They capped off their Big Ten championship with a 22–0 shutout of arch rival Ohio State; they were ranked second in both major polls at the end of the regular season.

USC

Under first-year head coach John Robinson, USC was upset in the season opener at home by Missouri, 46–25.^[7] It was the Trojans' fifth-straight regular season loss, dating back to the prior season when John McKay had announced his end-of-season resignation (leaving for the expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the NFL). USC won the rest of their games in 1976, climaxed by a 24–14 win over #2 UCLA to clinch the conference championship,^[3] and a subsequent 17–13 victory over Notre Dame.^[8]

Scoring

First quarter

• No scoring

Second quarter

• Michigan - Rob Lytle, 1-yard run (Bob Wood kick blocked)
• USC - Vince Evans, 1-yard run (Walker kick)

Third quarter

• No scoring

Fourth quarter

• USC - Charles White, 7-yard run (Walker kick)

Source:^[4][5]

Aftermath

Undefeated Pittsburgh, led by Heisman Trophy winner Tony Dorsett, was the consensus #1 team entering the bowls and played #4 Georgia in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. USC and Michigan hoped Georgia would upset Pitt to set up the Rose Bowl as a national championship showdown,^[9] but Pitt had a dominant 27–3 win earlier in the day to keep its top ranking in the final polls;^[10][11] USC finished second and Michigan dropped only to third.^[12]