This was only the second time in the Rose Bowl where the #1 and #2 teams in the AP Poll played and only the third time in a bowl game: the 1963 Rose Bowl was the first and the 1964 Cotton Bowl Classic was the second. It was the 12th time overall that the #1 and #2 team faced each other since the inception of the AP Poll in 1936. The Bowl Championship Series was created later to make at least one matchup of the top two teams in the nation.
The Trojans finished undefeated with one tie, which occurred at the end of the regular season against ninth-ranked Notre Dame. They had been ranked first since October 14, but dropped to second after Ohio State routed #4 Michigan; USC stayed in that runner-up position even after the 21-21 tie on November 30. They were captained by Heisman Trophy winner O. J. Simpson; it was the third of four consecutive Rose Bowl appearances for USC.
Game summary
This Rose Bowl was also the beginning of a celebration of a century of college football. Later during the 1969 season, many teams wore uniform patches or helmet stickers with "100" to signify the centennial. A number of celebrities were present, including President-electRichard Nixon, Bob Hope, and former Oklahomahead coach and then-ABC analyst Bud Wilkinson. First LadyPat Nixon was a graduate of USC, but President Nixon spent time on both sidelines. Richard Nixon called the Rose Bowl Game, "the prize game of all bowl games." After O. J. Simpson scored on an 80-yard run to give USC a 10–0 lead, a Trojans fumble at their 21-yard line set up a Rex Kern pass to Leo Hayden for the final four yards. A fumbled reception cost Southern Cal the ball again at its own 16. USC had five turnovers, including two by Simpson. Simpson, besides having a fumble and interception, also underestimated the speed of Jack Tatum, the Ohio State cornerback. This happened on a swing pass that should have been a touchdown, and then on the same series when Simpson overthrew a touchdown pass to Ted DeKraai. Ohio State had one fumble, but managed to keep possession.
Scoring
First quarter
No scoring
Second quarter
USC - Ron Ayala 21 field goal, 9:40
USC - O. J. Simpson 80 run, 6:38
OSU - Jim Otis 1 run, 1:45
OSU - Roman 26 field goal, 0:03
Third quarter
OSU - Roman 25 field goal, 1:40
Fourth quarter
OSU - Leo Hayden 4 pass from Rex Kern, 13:52
OSU - Ray Gillian 16 pass from Kern,10:05
USC - Sam Dickerson 19 pass from Steve Sogge, 0:45
Aftermath
The following season, Ohio State was stunned in defense of their national title against Michigan, led by first-year head coach Bo Schembechler, in one of the most notable games in the rivlary. When the Super Sophomores were seniors in 1970, OSU went undefeated in the regular season and returned to Pasadena in January 1971, but was upset by Stanford, led by Heisman Trophy winner Jim Plunkett, the first pick of the 1971 NFL Draft. After losing this Rose Bowl, the Pac-8/10 dominated the series for the next two decades, winning the next four Rose Bowls, ten of the next eleven, and sixteen of the next eighteen. The next Rose Bowl that matched the #1 and #2 teams was thirty-three years later in January 2002, with Miami and Nebraska, in the BCS National Championship Game.