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1995 - Penn State 38 Oregon 20
Penn State rules in Pasadena but not the nation. After outlasting Oregon, 38-20, in the Rose Bowl, the Nittany Lions find themselves out-voted in both coaches and sports writers polls as Nebraska takes the national championship. Penn Staters feel they deserve at least a share of the crown but do get half of the Rose Bowl Player of the Game honors. Ki-Jana Carter gains 156 yards in 21 carries and scores three touchdowns, one an 83-yard dash on the first Penn State offensive play of the day. Quarterback Danny O'Neil of Oregon is also accorded Player of the Game honors. He breaks five Rose Bowl records: most passes completed (41), most attempts (61), most yardage (465), most plays (74) and total offense (456). Safety Chuck Penzenik of Penn State intercepts two of O'Neil's passes although the Duck passer finishes with two touchdown passes, one to Josh Wilcox (tight end, 11 catches for the day) and another to Cristin McLemore (10 catches for the day). Oregon makes it a tough game for Penn State but the Lions break it open after the score is tied 14-14 late in the third period. Ambrose Fletcher's 72-yard kickoff return sets up a Carter score and Penzenik's second interception and 44-yard return leads to another Carter tally from the three.
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1996 - USC 41 Northwestern 32
USC has two players who stand above all others -- the reason the Trojans defeat the popular Northwestern Wildcats 41-32 in the 50th anniversary game of the Pac-10, Big Ten, Tournament of Roses pact. Wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson makes 12 catches for a Rose Bowl record 216 yards (and Player of the Game status), and quarterback Brad Otton completes 29 of 44 passes for 391 yards, including two touchdowns. The key Johnson catch is good for 56 yards and a score when Northwestern rallies in the second half, the play Wildcat coach Gary Barnett admits "parted the seas," before 100,102 spectators. Darnell Autry scores three touchdowns for Northwestern while gaining 110 tough yards on 32 carries. Quarterback Steve Schnur passes for 336 yards on a 23 for 39 passing day, and D'Wayne Bates catches seven, but USC gives John Robinson his fourth Rose Bowl victory during his career by making the big plays at the crucial moment. One of these plays occurs when Sammy Knight strips the ball from Brian Musso and Daylon McCutcheon races 53 yards for a touchdown to make the score 24-7 late in the second quarter. The other comes when a Schnur pass sails too high with Northwestern trailing only 34-32 in the fourth quarter. The ball is intercepted by Trojan safety Jesse Davis, who returns it 41 yards and sets up the clinching touchdown by Delon Washington.
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1997 - Ohio State 20 Arizona State 17
The boy next door returns to defeat the local heroes he once played for -- Joe Germaine of Mesa, Arizona, who lives just a few miles from the Arizona State campus, is the big gun of the 83rd Rose Bowl Game, as Ohio State defeats the Sun Devils 20-17. Germaine, who wasn't recruited as a quarterback by Arizona State because it already had Plummer, tosses a five-yard winning touchdown pass to freshman David Boston with only 19 seconds left to play. Germaine is named Player of the Game for driving his team 65 yards after Plummer seems to have the game locked up with a zig-zagging 11-yard touchdown scramble. This comes with 1:40 to play and puts Arizona State ahead 17-14, likely to remain undefeated if the defense can stop any Buckeye rebound. However, two third-down catches and two pass interference penalties set up the Germaine miracle.
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1998 - Michigan 21 Washington State 16
Michigan defeats Washington State 21-16 in the 84th Rose Bowl Game. The 11-0 Wolverines win the writers' version of the national championship by a large margin in the Associated Press poll. Nebraska, also undefeated, captures the coaches' poll by a mere two points and takes half the national crown. Brian Griese, son of 1967 Rose Bowl star Bob Griese, is named Player of the Game. He completes 18 of 30 passes for three touchdowns and a total of 251 yards. A crowd of 101,219 sees split end Tai Streets catch 53 and 58-yard touchdown passes, and Jerame Tuman pull in the game-clinching pass of 23 yards. Washington State quarterback Ryan Leaf makes a desperate attempt to snatch an upset comeback, but runs out of time trying to stop the clock by spiking the ball on Michigan's 26 with two seconds to play. Leaf ends a great day by completing 17 of 35 passes for 331 yards. His 15-yard pass to Kevin McKenzie gives WSU an early 7-0 lead. Heisman winner Charles Woodson of Michigan prevents matters from getting worse when he intercepts a Leaf aerial in the end zone, which leads to the first Griese to Streets touchdown bomb and a 7-7 tie. A third quarter 99-yard Cougar drive produces a 14-yard touchdown slice by Shawn Tims for another Cougar lead, which is held to 13-7 by a James Hall block of Rian Lindell's try for the extra point. Michigan responds with touchdown catches by Streets and Tuman. With the score 21-16 after Lindell's 48-yard field goal, the final dramatics of time ensue.
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1999 - Wisconsin 38 UCLA 31
Wisconsin running back Ron Dayne rushed for 246 yards and four touchdowns, leading No. 9 Badgers to a 38-31 triumph over the UCLA Bruins in the 85th Rose Bowl, January 1, 1999. Named Player of the Game, Dayne came just short of the Rose Bowl record of 247 rushing yards, but tied a record with his touchdowns and certainly not without the help of freshman defensive back Jamar Fletcher and freshman defensive lineman Wendell Bryant. Fletcher intercepted a pass thrown by UCLA quarterback Cade McNown and returned it for a touchdown to give the Badgers a 38-28 lead with 14:08 left in the Game. UCLA cut the Badgers' lead to 38-31 and had one last chance with less than two minutes remaining. But on fourth-and-3 from the Badgers' 47 yard line, McNown was sacked by Bryant, leaving UCLA with its second consecutive Rose Bowl loss to Wisconsin (the previous in 1994 Game.) Wisconsin finished the season with a school-record 11 wins to go with one loss. No. 6 UCLA finished 10-2.
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