Tournament of Roses - Rose Bowl Game Photo Timeline

2006 - Texas 41 USC 38
Texas and USC met in a much-ballyhooed BCS National Championship Game at the Rose Bowl and the game more than lived up to its hype as Texas prevailed 41-38 in a dramatic offensive shootout. The Longhorn win snapped USC’s 34-game winning streak and deprived the top-ranked Trojans of a third consecutive national championship, instead earning Texas its first national title since 1970.

The combined 79 points made it the second-highest scoring Rose Bowl game in history and the teams combined to set bowl records for most yards (1,130) and most first downs (60). Longhorn quarterback Vince Young earned Offensive Player of the Game honors for the second straight year with one of the greatest performances in Rose Bowl history. Young set a Rose Bowl record with 467 yards total offense as he completed 30 of 40 passes for 267 yards and averaged 10.5 yards per carry on the ground as he rushed for an even 200 yards and three touchdowns. Included was the game-winner on a fourth-down eight yard run with just 19 seconds remaining in the game to give the Horns the victory.

USC, with two Heisman Trophy winners in its backfield, put up some numbers as well. Trojan QB Matt Leinart passed for 365 yards, the fourth-highest total in Rose Bowl history, and one touchdown. Tailback LenDale White rushed for 124 yards and three touchdowns and fellow tailback Reggie Bush had 279 all-purpose yards in rushing, receiving and returns.

In a game that had been close throughout, USC scored on a fourth-quarter touchdown pass by Leinart to take a 38-26 lead with 6:42 left in the game. That proved to be enough time left for Young, who immediately drove the Longhorns down the field and scored on a 17-yard run. Then the Texas defense came up big with a fourth-down stop around midfield to give the ball to Young one final time. He drove the Horns 56 yards, scoring on an eight-yard fourth-down scramble with just 19 seconds left on the clock.

2007 - USC 32 Michigan 18

For two quarters of the 2007 Rose Bowl Game, No. 3-ranked Michigan gave No. 5-ranked USC a taste of Big Ten football. The Wolverines held the Trojans to 19 yards on 15 carries and a 3-3 tie.

However, for the next two quarters, USC gave Michigan a bitter taste of the West Coast.

“We're talking on the headsets,” USC offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin said of his conversation with quarterbacks coach Steve Sarkisian. “We said, 'We're not running the ball another play.'”

On the next 30 plays, the Trojans threw 28 passes and used two quarterback sneaks for first downs. Of those 28 passes, quarterback John David Booty connected with his stellar receiving corps for a Rose Bowl Game record-tying four touchdowns and a runaway victory, 32-18, in front of 93,852.

“It was so awesome,” said Booty, who watched from the sidelines as Matt Leinart and his Trojans fell to Texas in 2006's instantly classic national championship game. “Something I dreamed about was to play in a big-time bowl game, the Rose Bowl probably being one of, if not the, biggest. To be part of that game and for us to play like we did and come out with that victory made the whole waiting worthwhile.”

Booty threw for 391 yards, and the Trojans scored on five consecutive offensive possessions in the second half. Included in those scores were two receiving touchdowns by receiver Dwayne Jarrett. Named Offensive Player of the Game, Jarrett had a career-high 205 yards receiving on 11 catches. His numbers were helped by dynamic scores of 22 and 62 yards. He also became USC's all-time leading receiver (216 catches).

What made Jarrett's performance even more memorable is that he routinely beat Michigan All-American cornerback Leon Hall, most notably on the 62-yard score from Booty.

“Dwayne had an absolute memorable night,” USC coach Pete Carroll said.

However, the Trojan defense deserved just as much credit as Booty, Jarrett and receiving compatriot Steve Smith, who had seven catches for 108 yards and a touchdown.

Helped by six quarterback sacks on Michigan quarterback Chad Henne (26 of 41 for 309 yards, two touchdowns, one interception), the USC defense held the Wolverine running game, which averaged 189 yards per game on the season, to 12 net yards. It also held Michigan back Mike Hart, who ran for more than 1,500 in the regular season, to just 47.

USC defensive end Brian Cushing led the charge. His four tackles for losses, two-and-a-half sacks and forced fumble earned him Defensive Player of the Game honors.

The Trojan defense also kickstarted the offensive onslaught. With the score tied 3-3 early in the second half, Lawrence Jackson picked off a Henne pass. Booty then fired four consecutive completions, the last of which was a 2-yard touchdown pass to Chris McFoy for the 10-3 lead.

On the next possession, Booty and the Trojans went 70 yards, capped by the 22-yard Booty-Jarrett touchdown pass. Another field goal closed out a 16-point third quarter, which was all USC needed to win the Rose Bowl Game.

2008 - USC 49 Illinois 17

If the 2007 Rose Bowl Game allowed USC quarterback John David Booty to step out of the considerable shadows of his predecessors - Heisman Trophy winners Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart - the 2008 Game enabled him to take a giant leap into the sunlight.

Booty validated his record-tying four-touchdown performance to beat Michigan in 2007 with a three-touchdown game in 2008 to trounce Illinois, 49-17. Offensive Player of the Game Booty's seven total touchdowns in two years broke the Rose Bowl Game record for career passing touchdowns by two.

“For John to finish his career (like this), this is how we dreamed it,” said USC Head Coach Pete Carroll. “All of the great players and the great games and teams that have been here, to do that is really wonderful.”

But it wasn't just Booty and his ever-talented receiving corps who beat the Illini in 2008, it was an all-around victory, on both sides of the ball.

Led by Defensive Player of the Game linebacker Rey Maualuga, who had three sacks, one forced fumble and an interception, the Trojan defense continuously forced turnovers to halt a high-powered Illinois offense led by running back Rashard Mendenhall and quarterback Juice Williams. The Trojan defense forced six fumbles - recovering two - picked off two passes, had five total quarterback sacks and 15 tackles for a loss of 60 yards.

Then there were the running backs. For USC, freshman Joe McKnight carried 10 times for 125 yards and a touchdown; Stafon Johnson also went over 100 yards, carrying nine times for 104 yards. In all, USC had eight players combine for 344 yards on the ground. This, when added to USC's 289 yards through the air, combined for the highest total yardage by a team in Rose Bowl Game history. The Trojans' 633 yards smashed their old record of 574, set in the 2006 Game. Their 49 points also tied for most ever in a Rose Bowl Game.

Illinois had a chance to stay within striking distance early in the third quarter. On the Illini's previous drive, Mendenhall had broken open for a 79-yard touchdown run to cut USC's lead to 21-10. After USC was forced to punt on its ensuing drive, Illinois advanced to USC's 24-yard line. Williams completed a pass at the 1-yard line to Jacob Willis, who fumbled. Brian Cushing, the 2007 Defensive Player of the Game, recovered, giving USC a touchback and the ball. What could have been 21-17 stayed 21-10, and USC accelerated from there. Three consecutive USC scoring drives and an Illinois interception later, it was 42-10 and well out of the Illini's reach.

At that point, USC put in its “Rudy.” Hershel Dennis started at tailback in 2003 but had been sidelined by continuous knee injuries. From 2003 until he petitioned for a sixth year of eligibility for the 2007-2008 season, Dennis remained as much a part of the team as he possibly could, sticking with the Trojans despite frustrating setbacks in recovery and rehab. And at the end of the 2008 Rose Bowl Game, he got his reward. He ran for 30 yards on six carries and put USC up 49-10 with a 3-yard score. The celebration that erupted resulted in an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
Said Carroll: “We had some penalties I didn't like tonight, but that one I didn't care about. That celebration was worth it. That was a real moment.” USC went to 23-9 all-time in the Rose Bowl Game. The Trojans' 23 wins puts them far ahead of any other team in Rose Bowl Game
history - Michigan is second with eight.

2009 - USC 38 Penn State 24

Over the past decade, USC has had quite the stable of stud quarterbacks light up scoreboards at the Coliseum and stadiums throughout the country. Nowhere has that been more apparent than the yearly New Year's Day soiree at the Rose Bowl.

First there was Carson Palmer, Heisman Trophy winner in 2002. Then there was Matt Leinart, 2004 Heisman winner - to go along with nearly every other award given to a quarterback that year - and national champion. Then there was John David Booty, less heralded than his predecessors but still throwing seven touchdown passes in two victorious Rose Bowl Game appearances (2007 and 2008), the most in history by two.

Mark Sanchez surpassed them all in 2009, at least in the Rose Bowl Game. Sanchez carried the burden of the Trojan brand and faced off against a Penn State defense ranked in the top 10 nationally in rushing (8th, 95.9 ypg), scoring (4th, 12.4 ppg), pass efficiency (6th, 97.3 rating) and total defense (5th, 263.9 ypg) when they clinched the Big Ten.

In response, Offensive Player of the Game Sanchez lit up the Nittany Lion defense, throwing for four touchdowns on 28-of-35 passing and 413 yards. His 80-percent completion rate tied the best Rose Bowl Game performance ever (best by a Trojan), as did his four touchdowns. His 413 yards was the second best in Rose Bowl Game history and the best ever for a USC quarterback. He and his fifth-ranked Trojans came out on top of the eighth-ranked Nittany Lions, 38-24.

“(Sanchez)'s had as big a night as ever,” said USC Head Coach Pete Carroll, who won his fourth Rose Bowl Game that day. “He played the same kind of football that Carson and Booty and Leinart played. There's nothing about his game that holds him back. He's a great player in all areas. It was great to see him come through tonight and let everybody see it one last time for the season.”

(The prepositional phrase “for the season” would end up to be a telling one, as Sanchez, a junior, entered the NFL Draft that year.)

The first quarter was somewhat subdued - both teams traded touchdowns for a 7-7 tie at the break. However, when the clock started down from 15:00 the second time around, the flood gates opened. USC ran up 24 points to Penn State's 0. The Trojans scored on five straight drives - four of those touchdowns - starting with their game-opening score, to take what would become an insurmountable 31-7 halftime lead. Sanchez threw for three of those scores and ran for the other, with David Buehler adding a 30-yard field goal in the middle of the barrage.

“Honestly, all of a sudden, when we go, we go, and we start firing on all cylinders,” Carroll said of the second-quarter run.

JoePa's gang, however, didn't lie down. They fought back with 17 fourth-quarter points, keeping the game within reach. However, after getting the ball back late in the fourth quarter when the Trojan punt team launched the snap over its punter's head, Penn State fell just short - Daryll Clark's final pass was intercepted in the end zone to close the game.

Although in Sanchez's shadow, Clark put up respectable numbers, completing 21 of 36 for 273 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.

With the win, USC became the first team to ever win three straight Rose Bowl Games; the Trojans also bettered their record to 24-9, which is the most wins by any school by 16 (Michigan is second, at 8-12).

© 2010 Pasadena Tournament of Roses. All rights reserved. All images contained within this site are copyrighted materials and are not to be used without the express permission of the Pasadena Tournament of Roses.

	2006 - Texas 41 USC 38 Texas and USC met in a much-ballyhooed BCS National Championship Game at the Rose Bowl and the game more than lived up to its hype as Texas prevailed 41-38 in a dramatic offensive shootout. The Longhorn win snapped USC’s 34-game winning streak and deprived the top-ranked Trojans of a third consecutive national championship, instead earning Texas its first national title since 1970. The combined 79 points made it the second-highest scoring Rose Bowl game in history and the teams combined to set bowl records for most yards (1,130) and most first downs (60). Longhorn quarterback Vince Young earned Offensive Player of the Game honors for the second straight year with one of the greatest performances in Rose Bowl history. Young set a Rose Bowl record with 467 yards total offense as he completed 30 of 40 passes for 267 yards and averaged 10.5 yards per carry on the ground as he rushed for an even 200 yards and three touchdowns. Included was the game-winner on a fourth-down eight yard run with just 19 seconds remaining in the game to give the Horns the victory. USC, with two Heisman Trophy winners in its backfield, put up some numbers as well. Trojan QB Matt Leinart passed for 365 yards, the fourth-highest total in Rose Bowl history, and one touchdown. Tailback LenDale White rushed for 124 yards and three touchdowns and fellow tailback Reggie Bush had 279 all-purpose yards in rushing, receiving and returns. In a game that had been close throughout, USC scored on a fourth-quarter touchdown pass by Leinart to take a 38-26 lead with 6:42 left in the game. That proved to be enough time left for Young, who immediately drove the Longhorns down the field and scored on a 17-yard run. Then the Texas defense came up big with a fourth-down stop around midfield to give the ball to Young one final time. He drove the Horns 56 yards, scoring on an eight-yard fourth-down scramble with just 19 seconds left on the clock.
	2007 - USC 32 Michigan 18 For two quarters of the 2007 Rose Bowl Game, No. 3-ranked Michigan gave No. 5-ranked USC a taste of Big Ten football. The Wolverines held the Trojans to 19 yards on 15 carries and a 3-3 tie. However, for the next two quarters, USC gave Michigan a bitter taste of the West Coast. “We're talking on the headsets,” USC offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin said of his conversation with quarterbacks coach Steve Sarkisian. “We said, 'We're not running the ball another play.'” On the next 30 plays, the Trojans threw 28 passes and used two quarterback sneaks for first downs. Of those 28 passes, quarterback John David Booty connected with his stellar receiving corps for a Rose Bowl Game record-tying four touchdowns and a runaway victory, 32-18, in front of 93,852. “It was so awesome,” said Booty, who watched from the sidelines as Matt Leinart and his Trojans fell to Texas in 2006's instantly classic national championship game. “Something I dreamed about was to play in a big-time bowl game, the Rose Bowl probably being one of, if not the, biggest. To be part of that game and for us to play like we did and come out with that victory made the whole waiting worthwhile.” Booty threw for 391 yards, and the Trojans scored on five consecutive offensive possessions in the second half. Included in those scores were two receiving touchdowns by receiver Dwayne Jarrett. Named Offensive Player of the Game, Jarrett had a career-high 205 yards receiving on 11 catches. His numbers were helped by dynamic scores of 22 and 62 yards. He also became USC's all-time leading receiver (216 catches). What made Jarrett's performance even more memorable is that he routinely beat Michigan All-American cornerback Leon Hall, most notably on the 62-yard score from Booty. “Dwayne had an absolute memorable night,” USC coach Pete Carroll said. However, the Trojan defense deserved just as much credit as Booty, Jarrett and receiving compatriot Steve Smith, who had seven catches for 108 yards and a touchdown. Helped by six quarterback sacks on Michigan quarterback Chad Henne (26 of 41 for 309 yards, two touchdowns, one interception), the USC defense held the Wolverine running game, which averaged 189 yards per game on the season, to 12 net yards. It also held Michigan back Mike Hart, who ran for more than 1,500 in the regular season, to just 47. USC defensive end Brian Cushing led the charge. His four tackles for losses, two-and-a-half sacks and forced fumble earned him Defensive Player of the Game honors. The Trojan defense also kickstarted the offensive onslaught. With the score tied 3-3 early in the second half, Lawrence Jackson picked off a Henne pass. Booty then fired four consecutive completions, the last of which was a 2-yard touchdown pass to Chris McFoy for the 10-3 lead. On the next possession, Booty and the Trojans went 70 yards, capped by the 22-yard Booty-Jarrett touchdown pass. Another field goal closed out a 16-point third quarter, which was all USC needed to win the Rose Bowl Game.
	2008 - USC 49 Illinois 17 If the 2007 Rose Bowl Game allowed USC quarterback John David Booty to step out of the considerable shadows of his predecessors - Heisman Trophy winners Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart - the 2008 Game enabled him to take a giant leap into the sunlight. Booty validated his record-tying four-touchdown performance to beat Michigan in 2007 with a three-touchdown game in 2008 to trounce Illinois, 49-17. Offensive Player of the Game Booty's seven total touchdowns in two years broke the Rose Bowl Game record for career passing touchdowns by two. “For John to finish his career (like this), this is how we dreamed it,” said USC Head Coach Pete Carroll. “All of the great players and the great games and teams that have been here, to do that is really wonderful.” But it wasn't just Booty and his ever-talented receiving corps who beat the Illini in 2008, it was an all-around victory, on both sides of the ball. Led by Defensive Player of the Game linebacker Rey Maualuga, who had three sacks, one forced fumble and an interception, the Trojan defense continuously forced turnovers to halt a high-powered Illinois offense led by running back Rashard Mendenhall and quarterback Juice Williams. The Trojan defense forced six fumbles - recovering two - picked off two passes, had five total quarterback sacks and 15 tackles for a loss of 60 yards. Then there were the running backs. For USC, freshman Joe McKnight carried 10 times for 125 yards and a touchdown; Stafon Johnson also went over 100 yards, carrying nine times for 104 yards. In all, USC had eight players combine for 344 yards on the ground. This, when added to USC's 289 yards through the air, combined for the highest total yardage by a team in Rose Bowl Game history. The Trojans' 633 yards smashed their old record of 574, set in the 2006 Game. Their 49 points also tied for most ever in a Rose Bowl Game. Illinois had a chance to stay within striking distance early in the third quarter. On the Illini's previous drive, Mendenhall had broken open for a 79-yard touchdown run to cut USC's lead to 21-10. After USC was forced to punt on its ensuing drive, Illinois advanced to USC's 24-yard line. Williams completed a pass at the 1-yard line to Jacob Willis, who fumbled. Brian Cushing, the 2007 Defensive Player of the Game, recovered, giving USC a touchback and the ball. What could have been 21-17 stayed 21-10, and USC accelerated from there. Three consecutive USC scoring drives and an Illinois interception later, it was 42-10 and well out of the Illini's reach. At that point, USC put in its “Rudy.” Hershel Dennis started at tailback in 2003 but had been sidelined by continuous knee injuries. From 2003 until he petitioned for a sixth year of eligibility for the 2007-2008 season, Dennis remained as much a part of the team as he possibly could, sticking with the Trojans despite frustrating setbacks in recovery and rehab. And at the end of the 2008 Rose Bowl Game, he got his reward. He ran for 30 yards on six carries and put USC up 49-10 with a 3-yard score. The celebration that erupted resulted in an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Said Carroll: “We had some penalties I didn't like tonight, but that one I didn't care about. That celebration was worth it. That was a real moment.” USC went to 23-9 all-time in the Rose Bowl Game. The Trojans' 23 wins puts them far ahead of any other team in Rose Bowl Game history - Michigan is second with eight.
	2009 - USC 38 Penn State 24 Over the past decade, USC has had quite the stable of stud quarterbacks light up scoreboards at the Coliseum and stadiums throughout the country. Nowhere has that been more apparent than the yearly New Year's Day soiree at the Rose Bowl. First there was Carson Palmer, Heisman Trophy winner in 2002. Then there was Matt Leinart, 2004 Heisman winner - to go along with nearly every other award given to a quarterback that year - and national champion. Then there was John David Booty, less heralded than his predecessors but still throwing seven touchdown passes in two victorious Rose Bowl Game appearances (2007 and 2008), the most in history by two. Mark Sanchez surpassed them all in 2009, at least in the Rose Bowl Game. Sanchez carried the burden of the Trojan brand and faced off against a Penn State defense ranked in the top 10 nationally in rushing (8th, 95.9 ypg), scoring (4th, 12.4 ppg), pass efficiency (6th, 97.3 rating) and total defense (5th, 263.9 ypg) when they clinched the Big Ten. In response, Offensive Player of the Game Sanchez lit up the Nittany Lion defense, throwing for four touchdowns on 28-of-35 passing and 413 yards. His 80-percent completion rate tied the best Rose Bowl Game performance ever (best by a Trojan), as did his four touchdowns. His 413 yards was the second best in Rose Bowl Game history and the best ever for a USC quarterback. He and his fifth-ranked Trojans came out on top of the eighth-ranked Nittany Lions, 38-24. “(Sanchez)'s had as big a night as ever,” said USC Head Coach Pete Carroll, who won his fourth Rose Bowl Game that day. “He played the same kind of football that Carson and Booty and Leinart played. There's nothing about his game that holds him back. He's a great player in all areas. It was great to see him come through tonight and let everybody see it one last time for the season.” (The prepositional phrase “for the season” would end up to be a telling one, as Sanchez, a junior, entered the NFL Draft that year.) The first quarter was somewhat subdued - both teams traded touchdowns for a 7-7 tie at the break. However, when the clock started down from 15:00 the second time around, the flood gates opened. USC ran up 24 points to Penn State's 0. The Trojans scored on five straight drives - four of those touchdowns - starting with their game-opening score, to take what would become an insurmountable 31-7 halftime lead. Sanchez threw for three of those scores and ran for the other, with David Buehler adding a 30-yard field goal in the middle of the barrage. “Honestly, all of a sudden, when we go, we go, and we start firing on all cylinders,” Carroll said of the second-quarter run. JoePa's gang, however, didn't lie down. They fought back with 17 fourth-quarter points, keeping the game within reach. However, after getting the ball back late in the fourth quarter when the Trojan punt team launched the snap over its punter's head, Penn State fell just short - Daryll Clark's final pass was intercepted in the end zone to close the game. Although in Sanchez's shadow, Clark put up respectable numbers, completing 21 of 36 for 273 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. With the win, USC became the first team to ever win three straight Rose Bowl Games; the Trojans also bettered their record to 24-9, which is the most wins by any school by 16 (Michigan is second, at 8-12).

	1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010

	Home \| History \| Photo Gallery \| Merchandise \| Applications \| Marketing \| Media