1948: Michigan, 49 vs. USC, 0

Didn’t we see this before?

Never mind the fact this was two generations, 46 years and seven presidents removed from the last time Michigan dismantled a West Coast team this ruthlessly, this thoroughly and this convincingly in a Rose Bowl Game.

But didn’t we see this before? Well, sort of.

Unlike 1902, when it became the painful answer to a trivia question, Stanford wasn’t in Pasadena in 1948 to absorb this latest beating from a Michigan team free of weaknesses or pity. No, that would be the exclusive province of USC, which kept up the Pacific Coast Conference’s string of futility by falling hard to the Wolverines 49-0 in the second meeting after Big-10 and PCC officials signed an agreement to send their champions to the Rose Bowl Game.

“The academic bigwigs of the Pacific Coast Conference who perpetuated this unholy union with the Big Nine a year ago should be made to line up on the Rose Bowl turf next January and pay for their perfidy,” wrote the Los Angeles Times’ Braven Dyer.

Instead, the only “paying” being done here was the bill for the PCC’s pride in general and USC’s in particular. And Michigan was eager to collect.

The Wolverines set four Rose Bowl Game records: net yards (491), most completed passes (17), most point-after conversions (seven by Jim Brieske) and most total offense by one player (279 by Bob Chappuis). They tied three others: conversions in a quarter (there by Brieske), most points in a Rose Bowl game by a single player (18 by Jack Weisenburger) and the granddaddy of them all: most points in a game (49).

With that latter record, Michigan tied the mark set by the 1902 team that pole-axed Stanford 49-0 in the first Rose Bowl Game.

“They did it in ‘02 and we proved we could too,” was the slogan the Wolverine players repeated to themselves on an endless loop.

And endless described the afternoon endured by the Trojans. Michigan Coach Fritz Crisler took one look at the 38-7 waxing Notre Dame delivered to USC earlier that season and decided he’d leave his starters in until they bettered it.

Once the Wolverines surpassed that total, someone brought up the 49-0 score from 1902. Crisler dutifully kept piling it on until that standard was reached.

Michigan had been setting lofty standards all season. The Wolverines’ beating of USC was their 10th straight victory that season and 14th consecutive dating to a loss to 1947 Rose Bowl Game winner Illinois midway through the 1946 season.

What had to have been frightening for the Trojans was this wasn’t Michigan’s best game. All-American Chappuis was nursing an injured leg, yet still riddled USC for 188 yards passing and two touchdowns and another 81 rushing.

Weisenburger “ran” for three more touchdowns, none of which covered more than a yard. One of those came from inside the 1-yard line.

“We just outlucked and outmanned you,” Crisler told USC Coach Jeff Cravath after the game” Everything worked for us, including pass catches we wouldn’t ordinarily make.”

“Well, you’ve got a pretty fair team,” Cravath said.
 

Attendance
93,000

Weather
61 degrees

Scoring
First Quarter
Mich – Weisenburger, 1-yard run (Brieske kick good)

Second Quarter
Mich – Weisenburger, 1-yard run (Brieske kick good)
Mich – Elliott, 12-yard pass from Chappuis (Brieske kick good)

Third Quarter
Mich – Yerges, 19-yard pass from Chappuis (Brieske kick good)

Fourth Quarter
Mich – Weisenburger, 1-yard run (Brieske kick good)
Mich – Derricote, 45-yard pass from Fonde (Brieske kick good)
Mich – Rifenburg, 29-yard pass from Yerges (Brieske kick good)

Coaches
Michigan: Fritz Crisler
USC: Jeff Cravath

Fun Fact
In 1947, the first local telecast of the Rose Parade and the Rose Bowl Game was televised on KTLA-TV. In an unprecedented post-bowl games poll, the Associated Press named Michigan No. 1 on the strength of the Wolverines’ decisive win over Southern California in the Rose Bowl Game instead of Notre Dame, who had been ranked No. 1 all season.

Individual Stats
Rushing
Mich: Weisenburger 20-91; Chappius 13-91; Ford 2-21
USC: Garlin 5-25; Curry 3-15; Beta 4-16; McCardle 6-12

Passing
Mich: Chappius 14-24-188; Fonde 1-1-45; Yerges 1-1-29; Derricotte 1-1-10
USC: Powers4-5-22; Robertson 1-1-22

Receiving
Mich: Rifenburg 4-67; Mann 4-56; Derricotte 1-45; Elliott 3-61; Yerges 4-33
USC: Futrell 1-22; Betz 1-12; Willumson 1-4; McCarole 1-4

Punting
Mich: Weisenburger 4-153
USC: Lillywhite 4-157; Dill 2-98; Powers 2-95