1984 Rose Bowl
Encyclopedia
The 1984 Rose Bowl game, played on January 2, was the 70th Rose Bowl game. The UCLA Bruins
UCLA Bruins Football
The UCLA Bruins football program represents the University of California, Los Angeles in college football as members of the Pacific-12 Conference at the NCAA Division I FBS level. The Bruins have enjoyed several periods of success in their history, having been ranked in the top ten of the AP Poll...

 defeated the Illinois Fighting Illini
Illinois Fighting Illini football
The Illinois Fighting Illini are a major college football program, representing the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. They compete in NCAA Division I-A and the Big Ten Conference.-Current staff:-All-time win/loss/tie record:*563-513-51...

 by a score of 45-9. Rick Neuheisel
Rick Neuheisel
Richard Gerald "Rick" Neuheisel, Jr. , is an American football coach, former player, and attorney. He was most recently the head football coach at University of California, Los Angeles, a position he held from 2008 to 2011...

, UCLA quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...

, was named the Rose Bowl Player Of The Game. He completed 22 of 32 passes for 298 yards and four touchdown
Touchdown
A touchdown is a means of scoring in American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.-Description:...

s. Neuheisel, who was named head coach of Bruins in December 2007, threw two touchdown passes to his eventual predecessor as Bruin head coach, Karl Dorrell
Karl Dorrell
Karl Dorrell is a football coach, currently an assistant coach with the Miami Dolphins of the NFL. He was previously the head coach of the UCLA Bruins, the first African American head football coach in the school's history...

. The game was played on January 2, as New Year's Day
New Year's Day
New Year's Day is observed on January 1, the first day of the year on the modern Gregorian calendar as well as the Julian calendar used in ancient Rome...

 fell on a Sunday.

Scoreboard prank

A prank played by students from the California Institute of Technology
California Institute of Technology
The California Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Pasadena, California, United States. Caltech has six academic divisions with strong emphases on science and engineering...

 altered the scoreboard
Scoreboard
A scoreboard is a large board for publicly displaying the score in a game or match. Most levels of sport from high school and above use at least one scoreboard for keeping score, measuring time, and displaying statistics. Scoreboards in the past used a mechanical clock and numeral cards to...

 display, an incident reminiscent of the Great Rose Bowl Hoax
Great Rose Bowl Hoax
The Great Rose Bowl Hoax was a prank at the 1961 Rose Bowl, an annual American college football bowl game. That year, the Washington Huskies were pitted against the Minnesota Golden Gophers...

 of 1961. A pair of Caltech students evaded security at the Rose Bowl, hacked
Hacker (computer security)
In computer security and everyday language, a hacker is someone who breaks into computers and computer networks. Hackers may be motivated by a multitude of reasons, including profit, protest, or because of the challenge...

 into the electronic system and installed a computer that could be remotely controlled to alter the display on the stadium's digital scoreboard. During the game, the students from Caltech remotely altered the scoreboard display to show the teams playing in the game as Caltech and M.I.T.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...

, in place of UCLA and Illinois. One of the prank's perpetrators had received approval from his Caltech professor for the prank, which earned him credit for the course "Experimental Projects in Electrical Circuits".

University of Illinois Fighting Illini

Illinois opened the 1983 season with a loss to Missouri
Missouri Tigers football
The Missouri Tigers football team represents the University of Missouri in NCAA Division I FBS college football. The team has competed in the North Division of the Big 12 Conference since the conference's inception in 1996...

. The Illini then swept through the rest of their games including defeats of #4 Iowa
Iowa Hawkeyes football
The Iowa Hawkeyes football team is the interscholastic football team at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa. The Hawkeyes have competed in the Big Ten Conference since 1900, and are currently a Division I Football Bowl Subdivision member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association...

, a 17-13 win over #6 Ohio State
Ohio State Buckeyes football
The Ohio State Buckeyes football team is an intercollegiate varsity sports team of The Ohio State University. The team is a member of the Big Ten Conference of the NCAA, playing at the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, formerly Division I-A, level. The team nickname is derived from the state...

, and a 16-6 win over #8 Michigan
Michigan Wolverines football
The Michigan Wolverines football program represents the University of Michigan in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Michigan has the most all-time wins and the highest winning percentage in college football history...

. They became the first team in Big Ten
Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...

 history to defeat all nine of their conference opponents. This was the fourth appearance for the Illini in the Rose Bowl, with previous appearances in the 1947 Rose Bowl
1947 Rose Bowl
The 1947 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game. It was the 33rd Rose Bowl Game. The Illinois Fighting Illini defeated the UCLA Bruins, 45–14. Illinois halfbacks Claude "Buddy" Young and Julius Rykovich shared the Rose Bowl Player Of The Game award. They were named the Rose Bowl Players...

, 1952 Rose Bowl, and 1964 Rose Bowl. The Illini were 3-0 in Rose Bowl appearances.

UCLA Bruins

UCLA opened the season with a loss at Georgia
Georgia Bulldogs football
The Georgia Bulldogs football team represents the University of Georgia in football. The Bulldogs are a member of the Southeastern Conference and are frequently a top-25 team. The University of Georgia has had a football team since 1892 and has an all-time record of 738–398–54...

, a tie with Arizona State
Arizona State Sun Devils football
The Arizona State Sun Devils' football program represents Arizona State University in college football, and competes in NCAA Division I FBS as a member of the Pacific-12 Conference....

 and then a 42-10 loss at #1-ranked Nebraska
Nebraska Cornhuskers football
The Nebraska Cornhuskers represent the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in college football. The program has established itself as a traditional powerhouse, and has the fourth-most all-time victories of any NCAA Division I-A team. Nebraska is one of only six football programs in NCAA Division I-A...

. Starting quarterback Rick Neuheisel was benched after the Nebraska loss in favor of Steve Bono
Steve Bono
Steven Christopher Bono is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League.-Collegiate career:Bono attended the University of California at Los Angeles, where he received a degree in sociology. As a Bruins quarterback, Bono posted collegiate career numbers of 177...

. On October 1, the Bruins lost to BYU to start the season 0-3-1. Bono was injured during the BYU game, and Neuheisel came back to finish the season. The Bruins then won five straight Pac-10
Pacific Ten Conference
The Pacific-12 Conference is a college athletic conference that operates in the Western United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I; its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision , the higher of two levels of NCAA Division I football competition...

 games, including a defeat of #11 Washington
Washington Huskies football
College football has a long history at the University of Washington. The Washington Huskies have won 15 Pacific-10 Conference championships, seven Rose Bowl titles, and three national championships. Washington's all-time record of 653-398-50 ranks 20th by all-time winning percentage and 21st by...

. The Bruins then lost at Arizona
Arizona Wildcats football
The Arizona Wildcats football team is the football team of the University of Arizona, located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The team competes in the Pacific-12 Conference at the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision level.-Early years:...

. They came back to defeat USC 27-17. A win by Washington State
Washington State Cougars football
The Washington State Cougars football team is the intercollegiate football team of Washington State University. The team is a member of the Pacific-12 Conference...

 over Washington in the Apple Cup
Apple Cup
The Apple Cup is the trophy awarded to the winner of an American college football rivalry game played annually by the teams of the two largest universities in the U.S. state of Washington: the University of Washington Huskies and the Washington State University Cougars...

 game put UCLA in sole possession of first place in the Pac-10. UCLA became the only four-loss team to play in the Rose Bowl. This was the eighth appearance for UCLA in the Rose Bowl. They were previously in the 1943 Rose Bowl
1943 Rose Bowl
The 1943 Rose Bowl game, played on January 1, 1943 was the 29th Rose Bowl game. The University of Georgia Bulldogs defeated the UCLA Bruins 9-0. The game returned to the Rose Bowl stadium after being played at Duke Stadium the year before...

, 1947 Rose Bowl
1947 Rose Bowl
The 1947 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game. It was the 33rd Rose Bowl Game. The Illinois Fighting Illini defeated the UCLA Bruins, 45–14. Illinois halfbacks Claude "Buddy" Young and Julius Rykovich shared the Rose Bowl Player Of The Game award. They were named the Rose Bowl Players...

, 1954 Rose Bowl, 1956 Rose Bowl, 1966 Rose Bowl
1966 Rose Bowl
The 1966 Rose Bowl, played on January 1, 1966 was the 52nd Rose Bowl Game. The UCLA Bruins defeated the #1 ranked Michigan State Spartans by a score of 14–12. UCLA defensive back Bob Stiles was named the Rose Bowl Player Of The Game.-Teams:...

, 1976 Rose Bowl
1976 Rose Bowl
The 1976 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 1, 1976. It was the 62nd Rose Bowl Game. The UCLA Bruins defeated the number one ranked and undefeated Ohio State Buckeyes 23-10. UCLA quarterback John Sciarra was named the Rose Bowl Player Of The Game...

 and most recently the 1983 Rose Bowl
1983 Rose Bowl
The 1983 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game, played on January 1, 1983. It was the 69th Rose Bowl game. The UCLA Bruins defeated the Michigan Wolverines by a score of 24-14. Tom Ramsey, UCLA quarterback and Don Rogers, UCLA defensive back, were named the Rose Bowl Players Of The Game...

. The Bruins had a 3-4 record in previous Rose Bowl games. This was the second season for the Bruins with the Rose Bowl stadium
Rose Bowl (stadium)
The Rose Bowl is an outdoor athletic stadium in Pasadena, California, U.S., in Los Angeles County. The stadium is the site of the annual college football bowl game, the Rose Bowl, held on New Year's Day. In 1982, it became the home field of the UCLA Bruins college football team of the Pac-12...

 as their home stadium.

Game summary

The weather was sunny and 74 degrees. As the "visiting team", UCLA wore their white road jerseys with gold pants, and the Illinois Fighting Illini wore their navy blue home jerseys with orange pants. The game was the second Rose Bowl meeting between the two schools. They met in the 1947 Rose Bowl
1947 Rose Bowl
The 1947 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game. It was the 33rd Rose Bowl Game. The Illinois Fighting Illini defeated the UCLA Bruins, 45–14. Illinois halfbacks Claude "Buddy" Young and Julius Rykovich shared the Rose Bowl Player Of The Game award. They were named the Rose Bowl Players...

 following the Big 10-PCC
Pacific Coast Conference
The Pacific Coast Conference was a college athletic conference in the United States which existed from 1915 to 1959. Though the Pacific-12 Conference claims the PCC's history as part of its own, the older league had a completely different charter and was disbanded in 1959 due to a major crisis...

 agreement in 1947. This was the eighth overall meeting between the two schools with Illinois having a 5-2 edge since the first meeting in 1947. The game was played on a Monday due to the Rose Bowl tradition of not holding the Tournament of Roses Parade
Tournament of Roses Parade
The Tournament of Roses Parade, better known as the Rose Parade, is "America's New Year Celebration", a festival of flower-covered floats, marching bands, equestrians and a college football game on New Year's Day , produced by the non-profit Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association.The annual...

 and Rose Bowl on a Sunday.

Quarterback Neuheisel and several other Bruins awoke with food poisoning that morning. Some UCLA players were unable to play, including starting defensive tackle David Randle, punter Kevin Buenafe and reserve defensive lineman Tory Pankopf. Bruin Coach Terry Donahue realized that Rick Neuheisel was so sick that his presence on the team bus might psych out the rest of the team. Donahue put Neuheisel into a private car for the trip to the stadium.

The Bruins kicked off. Don Rogers, the 1983 Rose Bowl
1983 Rose Bowl
The 1983 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game, played on January 1, 1983. It was the 69th Rose Bowl game. The UCLA Bruins defeated the Michigan Wolverines by a score of 24-14. Tom Ramsey, UCLA quarterback and Don Rogers, UCLA defensive back, were named the Rose Bowl Players Of The Game...

 player of the game, intercepted a pass from Jack Trudeau
Jack Trudeau
Jack Francis Trudeau is a former professional American football player and current morning show co-host on Fox Sports Radio. He was selected by the Indianapolis Colts in the 2nd round of the 1986 NFL Draft. A 6'3",...

 on the third play of the game with only 43 seconds off the clock. At the end of the drive, John Lee attempted the field goal. It was blocked by Luke Sewall of the Illini, and was picked up by the Illini safety Craig Swoope. Swoope ran with the ball and fumbled, which was recovered by the Bruins. The first score by the Bruins came on the following drive. The first of four touchdown passes by Rick Neuheisel
Rick Neuheisel
Richard Gerald "Rick" Neuheisel, Jr. , is an American football coach, former player, and attorney. He was most recently the head football coach at University of California, Los Angeles, a position he held from 2008 to 2011...

 was to Paul Bergmann.

The Illini barely used their rushing game passing 79% of the time, and Trudeau threw 14 straight passes in the first half. They had the ball on the UCLA 28-yard line starting the second period. Trudeau threw two incomplete passes and a four-yard completion. Chris White kicked a 41-yard field goal to make the score 7-3 with 13:59 left in the half. Kevin Nelson completed the next score for the Bruins with a 28 yard run. Don Rogers got a second interception from Trudeau, which tied a Rose Bowl record. On the following drive Neuheisel finished off with a 16 yard touchdown pass to Karl Dorrell to take a 21-3 lead. On the Bruins next drive, Mike Young scored another touchdown from a Neuheisel pass.

In the second half, Neuheisel threw his record-setting fourth touchdown pass to Karl Dorrell to put the Bruins up 35-3. The Illini were still struggling to get the passing and ground game going and failed to convert on third down. Another Bruin field goal by John Lee put the Bruins up 38-3. This is when the scoreboard was changed to read Caltech 38, M.I.T. 3. The Rose Bowl officials could not get the scoreboard straightened out, so time and score were kept on the field spoken over the public address system. At this point, Illini coach Mike White was battling the clock. The Bruins allowed the Illini short passes and Thomas Rooks of the Illini would score. UCLA finished off with one more running touchdown to make the final score 45-9.

First quarter

  • UCLA — Paul Bergmann, three-yard pass from Rick Neuheisel
    Rick Neuheisel
    Richard Gerald "Rick" Neuheisel, Jr. , is an American football coach, former player, and attorney. He was most recently the head football coach at University of California, Los Angeles, a position he held from 2008 to 2011...

    . John Lee
    John Lee (placekicker)
    John Lee is a former two-time All-American placekicker for the UCLA Bruins football team from 1982–1985. He was the 32nd pick selected in the 1986 NFL Draft and later played one year for the St. Louis Cardinals. He was inducted to the UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame in 2001. Lee is the first player...

     converts.

Second Quarter

  • Illinois — Chris White, 41-yard field goal.
  • UCLA — Kevin Nelson 28-yard run. Lee converts.
  • UCLA — Karl Dorrell
    Karl Dorrell
    Karl Dorrell is a football coach, currently an assistant coach with the Miami Dolphins of the NFL. He was previously the head coach of the UCLA Bruins, the first African American head football coach in the school's history...

     reception touchdown on 16-yard pass from Neuheisel. Lee converts.
  • UCLA — Mike Young reception touchdown on 53-yard pass from Neuheisel. Lee converts.

Third quarter

  • UCLA — Dorrell, 15-yard pass from Neuheisel. Lee converts.
  • UCLA — Lee, 29-yard field goal.

Fourth quarter

  • Illinois — Thomas Rooks, five-yard pass from Jack Trudeau
    Jack Trudeau
    Jack Francis Trudeau is a former professional American football player and current morning show co-host on Fox Sports Radio. He was selected by the Indianapolis Colts in the 2nd round of the 1986 NFL Draft. A 6'3",...

    . Pass failed.
  • UCLA — Bryan Wiley, eight-yard run. Lee converts.

Aftermath

Illinois finished with 0 rushing yards on 17 carries. Jack Trudeau completed 23 passes on 39 attempts for 178 yards with 3 interceptions. Trudeau's 3 interceptions tied a Rose Bowl single-game record (set in the 1963 Rose Bowl
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...

) which still stands as of 2008. Rick Neuheisel completed 22 of 31 passes for 298 yards with 4 touchdowns and no interceptions. Terry Donahue was later to state that the man-to-man pass coverage by the Illini was one of the reasons that they were able to be successful. Karl Dorrell in particular was able to beat Illinois freshman cornerback Keith Taylor. Rick Neuheisel's 4 touchdown passes tied the Rose Bowl record, set by Pete Beathard
Pete Beathard
Peter Falconer Beathard is a former American collegiate and Professional Football quarterback who played professionally in the American Football League , the National Football League , and the World Football League ....

 in 1963
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...

, and later tied by Chad Henne
Chad Henne
Chad Steven Henne is an American football quarterback for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League.He graduated from Wilson Senior High School and attended the University of Michigan...

 in the 2005 Rose Bowl
2005 Rose Bowl
The 2005 Rose Bowl Game was the 91st edition of the college football bowl game, held on January 1, 2005 at the self-named stadium in Pasadena, California. The Texas Longhorns, second place finishers of the Big 12 Conference's South Division, defeated the Michigan Wolverines, co-champions of the...

. Don Rogers two interceptions tied eight other individuals, and has been tied again by four more. Jack Trudeau would later go on to set an NCAA record of 215 pass attempts without an interception in the 1985 football season.

The loss by Illinois paved the way for the #5 Miami Hurricanes
Miami Hurricanes football
The Miami Hurricanes football program competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference of the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision for the University of Miami. The program began in 1926 and has won five AP national championships...

, who defeated the #1 Nebraska Cornhuskers
Nebraska Cornhuskers
The Nebraska Cornhuskers is the name given to several sports teams of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. The university is a member of the Big Ten Conference...

 in the Orange Bowl
1984 Orange Bowl
The 1984 Orange Bowl was the 50th annual Orange Bowl Classic, played on January 2, 1984, between the unbeaten Nebraska Cornhuskers and the once-beaten Miami Hurricanes, for the national championship. After leading 31-17 in the fourth quarter, Miami held on for a 31-30 victory...

, to win their first national championship.

The international broadcast of the Rose Bowl also helped introduce the world to the audience wave
Audience wave
The wave or the Mexican wave is an example of metachronal rhythm achieved in a packed stadium when successive groups of spectators briefly stand and raise their arms...

, as UCLA and Illinois fans kept the wave going around the Rose Bowl stadium.

Eventual Minnesota
Minnesota Golden Gophers football
The University of Minnesota Golden Gophers are one of the oldest programs in college football history. They compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision and the Big Ten Conference. The Golden Gophers have claimed six national championships and have an all time record of 646–481–44 as...

 head coach Tim Brewster
Tim Brewster
Tim Brewster is an American football player and coach. He most recently served as the head coach of the University of Minnesota from 2007 until he was fired midway through the Golden Gophers' 2010 season.-Playing career:...

 was the captain of the Fighting Illini. Rick Neuheisel would eventually become coach of the Washington Huskies
Washington Huskies
Washington Huskies is the nickname of the University of Washington's athletic teams. The school is a member of the Pacific-12 Conference. The athletic program is made up of 9 men's sports and 10 women's sports Washington Huskies is the nickname of the University of Washington's athletic teams. The...

 and coach them to victory in the 2001 Rose Bowl
2001 Rose Bowl
The 2001 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 1, 2001. It was the 87th Rose Bowl game. The University of Washington Huskies football team defeated the Purdue University Boilermakers football team 34-24...

, the first time a Rose Bowl MVP coached a Rose Bowl winning team. Neuheisel eventually became the coach of the UCLA Bruins, replacing Rose Bowl teammate Karl Dorrell.

It was the first time that an unranked team defeated a top five team in a bowl game. The only other time this has happened was in when Purdue won on an 80 yard drive led by Drew Brees
Drew Brees
Drew Christopher Brees is a quarterback for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League. He was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the second round of the 2001 NFL Draft. He played college football at Purdue....

 with 1:25 left in the 1998 Builders Square Alamo Bowl
Alamo Bowl
The Alamo Bowl is a major American college football bowl game played annually since 1993 in the 65,000-seat Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. It matches the second choice team from the Pacific-12 Conference and the third choice team from the Big 12 Conference.Traditionally, the Alamo Bowl has been...

 versus #4 ranked Kansas State. Drew Brees and Purdue would later meet the Washington Huskies coached by Rick Neuheisel in the 2001 Rose Bowl.

On June 27, 1986, Don Rogers died of a cocaine overdose at his mother's home, only eight days after Maryland basketball player Len Bias
Len Bias
Leonard Kevin "Len" Bias was a first team All-American college basketball player at the University of Maryland. He was selected by the Boston Celtics as the second overall pick in the 1986 NBA Draft on June 17, but died two days later from cardiac arrhythmia induced by a cocaine overdose...

died also of a cocaine overdose.

External links

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