1963 Rose Bowl The 1963 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 1 , 1963 at the end of the 1962 college football season . It was the 49th Rose Bowl Game . The USC Trojans defeated the Wisconsin Badgers , 42 – 37 . This was the first # 1 versus # 2 match - up to occur in a bowl game , although # 1 versus # 2 match - ups had occurred previously as regular season games ( typically referred to as " Games of the Century " ) . Ron Vander Kelen , the Wisconsin quarterback and Pete Beathard , the USC quarterback , were both named the Rose Bowl Player of the Game . Down 42 – 14 in the fourth quarter , Wisconsin quarterback Ron Vander Kelen put together a number of drives to score 23 unanswered points and put the Badgers in position to win the game . Due to the historic # 1 versus # 2 bowl match - up , the number of Rose Bowl records set , and the furious fourth quarter rally by Wisconsin , this game frequently appears on lists of " greatest bowl games of all time . " Teams . This was the first bowl game to pair the # 1 and # 2 teams in the AP Poll , although there had previously been six regular season # 1 versus # 2 games since the inception of the poll in 1936 . This was the second Rose Bowl meeting between USC and Wisconsin ( the first being the 1953 Rose Bowl ) and the fourth meeting , overall . Wisconsin Badgers . Wisconsin opened the season by defeating New Mexico State and Indiana . On October 13 , they defeated Notre Dame 17 – 8 , which would propel them to a # 10 ranking . The Badgers then defeated the Iowa Hawkeyes 42 – 15 , which left them ranked # 5 in the nation . A 14 – 7 loss to Ohio State the next week dropped Wisconsin out of the polls ( dropping out of the top 10 , not the top 25 as the polls are currently structured ) . On November 3 , the Badgers won in Michigan Stadium over the Wolverines 34 – 12 . This set up the November 10th homecoming game with the Badgers ranked # 8 and the # 1 ranked Northwestern Wildcats at Camp Randall . Wisconsin smashed Northwestern 37 – 6 . A win at Illinois set up a # 3 Wisconsin versus # 5 Minnesota battle for Paul Bunyan ' s Axe . Minnesota had represented the Big Ten the previous two years in the Rose Bowl . Wisconsin was victorious 14 – 9 , and was awarded the Big Ten Rose Bowl berth . They finished the season ranked # 2 in the nation . USC Trojans . After two consecutive losing season in 1960 and 1961 , John McKay turned the Trojans around in his third season as head coach . The team opened with a defeat of number 8 ranked Duke . Consecutive wins against SMU , at Iowa , California , and at Illinois got the Trojans ranked higher in the top 10 . On November 3 , 1962 , the Trojans played their biggest game of the season against the Washington Huskies , who were ranked # 9 . In the homecoming game , the Trojans blanked the Huskies 14 – 0 . With that win , the Trojans were ranked number two behind Northwestern . On November 17 , by beating Navy and with Alabama losing to Georgia Tech 7 – 6 , USC ascended to the number one spot in the AP poll . In the UCLA - USC rivalry game , the Bruins led 3 – 0 until the fourth quarter , when the Trojans scored two touchdowns . In what would be the final game for Notre Dame football coach Joe Kuharich , USC shut out a 5 – 4 Notre Dame team at the Coliseum . The Trojans finished undefeated and ranked number 1 for the first time since the 1939 USC Trojans team played in the 1940 Rose Bowl . Game summary . USC tackle Marv Marinovich was ejected when he got caught elbowing Steve Underwood , the Wisconsin captain . Wisconsin , under the direction of quarterback Ron Vander Kelen put together an incredible comeback attempt in the fourth quarter . Pete Beathard had completed his fourth TD pass with 14 : 54 left in the game to put USC up 42 – 14 . Then the Badgers scored 23 unanswered points before time ran out . Aftermath . Eleven Rose Bowl records were set and five still stand as of 2008 : most intercepted passes ( 3 by Ron Vander Kelen ) , most touchdown passes ( 4 by USC , and six overall ) , most first downs by one team ( 32 by Wisconsin ) , and most penalties ( USC 12 for 93 yards ) . The Rose Bowl record 79 total points scored in this game stood for nearly thirty years ( subsequently broken in the 1991 Rose Bowl ) . The omitted records stood for more than thirty years were broken by Danny O ' Neil of the Oregon Ducks in the 1995 Rose Bowl . The 1964 Cotton Bowl Classic subsequently became the second # 1 versus # 2 bowl game , while the 1969 Rose Bowl became the second # 1 versus # 2 Rose Bowl . Both of the consenus 1962 All - America end s played in this game . Pat Richter ( Wisconsin ) and Hal Bedsole ( USC ) would later be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame , in 1996 and 2012 , respectively . This was Richter ' s last college game , while Bedsole was an underclassman . Three players from this game ( Beathard , Vander Kelen , and Richter ) have been inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame . John McKay has also been inducted as a coach .