2015 Rose Bowl


The 2015 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 1, 2015, at the Rose Bowl stadium in Pasadena, California. This 101st Rose Bowl Game, as a semifinal for the College Football Playoff, matched the Oregon Ducks against the Florida State Seminoles as selected by the system's selection committee to compete for a spot at the National Championship game to be played on January 12, 2015 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. It was one of the 2014–15 bowl games that concluded the 2014 FBS football season.
The game was televised on ESPN and ESPN Deportes, and broadcast on ESPN Radio and XM Satellite Radio, with the kickoff time set for 5 p.m. ET. The Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association organized the game. The Northwestern Mutual financial services organization sponsored the game.
On the match day, the 126th edition of the annual Rose Parade took place at 8 am Pacific Time with a theme of Inspiring Stories.
Oregon won the game, beating Florida State, the last undefeated team of the season, by the score of 59–20 and advanced to the inaugural College Football Playoff National Championship Game, assuring that no team would finish the season with a perfect record.

Pre-game activities

After the teams' arrival in Southern California, the teams participated in the traditional Lawry's Beef Bowl in Beverly Hills and the Disney Media Day at Disney California Adventure in nearby Anaheim. The teams were also treated to The LA Improv in Hollywood. The Rose Bowl Hall of Fame ceremony luncheon was held prior to the game at the Pasadena Convention Center. Knute Rockne, Notre Dame; Dick Vermeil, UCLA; and Ki-Jana Carter, Penn State headlined the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame Class of 2014.
Pre-game activities were held at the Rose Bowl parking lots and at Brookside Golf Course.

Teams

The two participants were announced on December 7, 2014, based on the final rankings by the CFP committee. The Oregon Ducks will play the Florida State Seminoles. The matchups for the Rose Bowl and the other semifinal, the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, were geographically selected to ensure the top team will be closest to its fanbase. More than one team from the same conference may participate in the game, and avoiding rematches will not be a selection factor.
Traditionally, the Rose Bowl pits the winners of the Big Ten Conference and Pac-12 Conference; however, when the Rose Bowl is a CFP semifinal, any teams may be selected. Oregon was the Pac-12 champion, but the Big Ten champion Ohio State played in the Sugar Bowl. The 2015 edition of the Rose Bowl was the first time since the 2006 edition that the Big Ten Conference was absent from the game. It was also the first ever time in the 101 year history of the Rose Bowl that the Atlantic Coast Conference made an appearance in the game. Duke did appear in 1942, however, the ACC never was established until 1953. Also, while Miami competed and won the 2002 game, which was also a BCS National Championship Game. However, Miami was still a member of the original Big East Conference.

Florida State

Florida State wore its white jerseys and used the east bench on game day.

Oregon

Oregon wore its green jerseys and used the west bench on game day.

Game summary

Scoring summary

Source:

Statistics

Records

Oregon broke the record for the most points scored in a Rose Bowl, surpassing the previous record of 49. Oregon's 41 points in the second half were also the most ever scored in one half of a Rose Bowl. Oregon set the Rose Bowl record for total offensive yards.

Game notes