1979 Rose Bowl

Michigan came into the game ranked 5th with a 10–1 record. Their only loss was to Michigan State. Michigan tied for the Big Ten title with Michigan State and earned the Rose Bowl berth because the Spartans were on probation.

USC Trojans

USC came into the game ranked second in the Coaches' Poll and third in the AP Poll with an 11–1 record. USC decisively defeated then #1 ranked Alabama, 24–14, in Birmingham early in the season, but subsequently suffered their lone defeat to Arizona State, 20–7, in Tempe. USC defeated UCLA, 17–10, to win the Pac-10 Conference, and then closed out the regular season by defeating defending national champion, Notre Dame, 27–25. USC had also defeated Big-10 regular season co-champion Michigan State 30-9 earlier in the season.

Charles White's "Phantom Touchdown"

From the Michigan three-yard line during the second quarter, in a dive over the middle towards the goal-line, Charles White fumbled the ball before he entered the end-zone.^[1]^[2] The officials for this game were made up of a Pac-10/Big Ten crew. Upon White's fumble, a Pac-10 official immediately and correctly marked the ball around the one-yard line and signaled that there had been a change of possession. Then a Big Ten official came running in raising his hands signaling that White had scored a touchdown. This touchdown has become known as White's "Phantom Touchdown" as he was awarded the score after first fumbling, then entering the end-zone without the ball. This has been confirmed by White himself.

Scoring

First quarter

USC - Hoby Brenner, 9-yard pass from Paul McDonald (Frank Jordan kick)

Second quarter

Michigan - Gregg Willner, 36-yard field goal
USC - Charles White, 3-yard run (Frank Jordan kick)
USC - Frank Jordan, 35-yard field goal

Third quarter

Michigan - Roosevelt Smith, 44-yard pass from Rick Leach (Gregg Willner kick)

Fourth quarter

No score

Aftermath

In the Sugar Bowl, Alabama (ranked #3 in the UPI and #2 in the AP) upset #1 Penn State, 14–7. Thus, USC vaulted into the #1 spot in the UPI poll while Alabama was #1 in the AP poll.

References

↑ "The List: Worst calls in sports history". ESPN.
↑ "Biggest Blown Calls in Sports History". Bleacher Report. 2011-06-26.

External links

Summary at Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan Athletics History

1978–79 NCAA football bowl game season

Garden State (Dec. 16) Independence (Dec. 16) Hall of Fame Classic (Dec. 20) Holiday (Dec. 22) Sun (Dec. 23) Liberty (Dec. 23) Tangerine (Dec. 23) Peach (Dec. 25) Fiesta (Dec. 25) Gator (Dec. 29) Bluebonnet (Dec. 31) Sugar (Jan. 1) Cotton (Jan. 1) Orange (Jan. 1) Rose (Jan. 1)

Rose Bowl Game

History & conference tie-ins	History Rose Bowl Stadium College Football Playoff Broadcasters Big Ten Conference Pac-12 Conference

Games	1902 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

Notes	No games were held from 1903 to 1915. The 1942 game was played at Duke Stadium in Durham, NC due to the attack on Pearl Harbor. The game was also the national title game for the Bowl Championship Series in 2002 and 2006. The game was a College Football Playoff semifinal in its 2015 edition.

Michigan Wolverines bowl games

USC Trojans bowl games

Pound sign (#) denotes national championship game.

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