1967 USC vs . UCLA football game The 1967 USC vs . UCLA football game was an American College Football game played in the 1967 College Football Season on November 18 , 1967 . The University of California at Los Angeles , 7 – 0 – 1 and ranked Number 1 , with senior quarterback Gary Beban as a Heisman Trophy candidate , played the University of Southern California , 8 – 1 and ranked Number 4 , with junior running back O . J . Simpson as a Heisman candidate . This game is widely regarded as the signature game in the UCLA - USC rivalry as well as one of the 20th century Games of the Century . Introduction . 1965 – 66 . In 1965 , 6th ranked USC ( led by Mike Garrett ) met 7th ranked UCLA ( led by All - Conference sophomore QB Gary Beban ) , with a berth in the 1966 Rose Bowl on the line . The scoring opened with All - American Tailback Mel Farr running 49 yards for a Bruin touchdown . The extra point was blocked , Despite dominating in the statistics , USC led only 16 – 6 with less than 4 minutes left in the game . UCLA linebacker Dallas Grider hit USC quarterback Troy Winslow and caused a fumble . UCLA scored on a Beban touchdown pass to Dick Witcher and successfully converted a two - point conversion to make the score 16 – 14 ( A tie would have sent USC to the Rose Bowl , hence the reason UCLA went for two ) . Then Grider then recovered an on - side kick and two plays later , Beban hit Kurt Altenberg , a decoy for Mel Farr , on a 49 yard touchdown bomb to win the game , 20 – 16 . In the final Poll , UCLA was ranked 4th in the AP and 5th in the UPI . UCLA went on to upset # 1 ranked Michigan State in the 1966 Rose Bowl , 14 – 12 . USC finished ranked # 9 in the AP poll . Mike Garrett would go on to win the Heisman Trophy , but would not ever get to play in the Rose Bowl . In 1966 , due to uneven scheduling that left out new AAWU members Oregon and Oregon State , UCLA was 3 – 1 in conference games . The Bruins lost only one game , at Washington 16 – 3 . USC was 5 – 0 , but lost out of conference to Miami ( Florida ) . It was widely assumed that the winner of the 1966 game between 8th ranked UCLA and 7th ranked USC would go to the 1967 Rose Bowl . UCLA star QB Gary Beban was out with a broken ankle , but backup Norman Dow , making his first and only start at QB , led UCLA to a 14 – 7 win . A vote the next Monday among the AAWU conference athletic directors put USC in the Rose Bowl . It was speculated that this was to make up for 1964 when Oregon State was controversially voted in ahead of USC , and also because the directors believed Beban could not play for UCLA in the Rose Bowl due to the broken ankle , thereby giving the Big 10 representative ( Purdue ) a better chance to win . UCLA students protested by blocking the Northbound lanes of Interstate 405 at Wilshire Boulevard . A week after the vote , USC made the voters look really bad as they lost to Notre Dame 51 – 0 . This still stands as the worst defeat in USC Trojan football history . USC entered the Rose Bowl unranked and lost to Purdue , 14 – 13 . Ironically , Beban ' s ankle had healed and he could have played . UCLA finished fifth in both polls . In matches with the Rose Bowl on the line for both teams , UCLA was 6 – 1 – 1 . 1967 season . USC and UCLA began the season ranked seventh and eighth respectively . USC had been ranked # 1 for six weeks since beating # 5 Texas and later Michigan State . USC notched a 24 – 7 victory over # 5 Notre Dame on October 14 , 1967 . UCLA also had been ranked in the top ten , reaching # 2 before tying Oregon State 16 – 16 on November 4 . A week later in a downpour in Corvallis , Oregon , Oregon State would beat top - ranked USC 3 – 0 , as O . J . Simpson could not get going on the muddy field . USC dropped to # 2 in the UPI and # 4 in the AP , while UCLA ascended to the top ranking after their 48 – 0 win over Washington . It was the first time since the 1955 season that UCLA was ranked # 1 , and only the fourth AP weekly poll in the history of the school . UCLA ' s tie and USC ' s loss were both inflicted by the Oregon State Beavers and their famed " Giant Killers " team . This same Oregon State team had defeated # 2 ranked Purdue . But a 13 – 6 loss to Washington earlier in the season combined with the UCLA tie relegated the Beavers to second place . What was at stake . This game was for the championship of the AAWU ( then informally known as the Pac - 8 and now the Pac - 12 ) , a berth in the Rose Bowl game , and for the likelihood that the winner of the game would be the AP Poll National Champion , as the final poll was published at the end of the regular season . The next year , the final poll would be published after the bowl games . Aside from conference standings , the top Heisman vote getter from the previous season , Beban , would meet Simpson , one of the most explosive running backs of that season . And as with all USC - UCLA games , the " championship " of Los Angeles and bragging rights within the city were also at stake . USC was the established football power with seven national championships , the most recent in 1962 . UCLA was regarded as an upstart , but had one national championship in 1954 . " Home " game . Both teams played their home games at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum until 1982 , when UCLA first went outside the city of Los Angeles to play at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena . The 1967 game would be a USC " home " game , which meant that USC fans sat on the North side of the Coliseum , while the UCLA fans sat on the South ( press box ) side of the Coliseum . Both teams also wore their home uniforms when meeting at the Coliseum , UCLA in Powderkeg blue and USC in Cardinal . National television coverage . The American Broadcasting Company began showing College football on television in color the previous season . By the NCAA rules , only 8 national and 5 regional telecasts were allowed during the season . This game would be the ABC - TV game of the week and would be presented live in color and feature the ABC sports " Slo Mo replay " . ABC ' s number one broadcast team of Chris Schenkel and Bud Wilkinson called the action . Scoring . UCLA opened the scoring when running back Greg Jones scored on a 12 yard run . Sophomore Zenon Andrusyshyn kicked the extra point to make it 7 – 0 . After a USC punt , Beban had the Bruins on the move again at the USC 41 yard line . The next play , Beban took a one step drop and faked a sideline pass to the right , then wheeled around and blindly threw a pass in the left flat intended for running back Greg Jones . However , USC linebacker Pat Cashman was not fooled by the fake to the right and jumped in front of Jones to take an interception return 55 yards for a USC touchdown . Rikki Aldridge kicked the extra point to tie the game . While O . J . Simpson ' s 64 yard run became famous , this play by Cashman turned the game around . In the second quarter , after a UCLA missed field goal , Earl McCullouch would run 52 yards on a flanker reverse , and catch another 13 yard pass . This set up O . J . Simpson for a weaving 13 yard touchdown run through most of the UCLA defensive unit . He dragged two tacklers to the end zone . In the third quarter Gary Beban hit George Farmer for a touchdown pass for 53 yards to tie the score . UCLA continued to dominate in the second half , despite the fact Beban had to be helped off the field numerous times after getting hit on his badly bruised ribs . Twice he drove the Bruins into field goal range . However , USC head coach John McKay had noticed that UCLA kicker Andrusyshyn kicked with a low trajectory , so he put 6 ' 8 " Bill Hayhoe in the middle of the line on the Trojans field goal defense unit ; Hayhoe blocked two field goals to keep the game tied . With the game tied 14 – 14 early in the fourth quarter , an injured Beban gamely threw a touchdown pass to Dave Nuttall . The extra point attempt by Andrusyshyn was tipped by Hayhoe and went wide , resulting in a 20 – 14 UCLA lead . The big play . With 10 : 38 left in the game , USC faced a 3rd and 7 from its own 36 yard line . Trojan quarterback Toby Page , who had replaced an ineffective Steve Sogge , called a pass play , then saw the Bruin linebackers drop back into pass coverage . He changed the signals before the snap , calling an audible ( " 23 blast " ) , and handed off to Simpson . Simpson would later recall standing in his halfback position , hearing the audible and thinking to himself " Toby , it ' s 3rd and 7 ; this is a terrible call . " Simpson veered to the left sideline , got a key block from fullback Dan Scott , and then cut back to the middle to run 64 yards for a touchdown . Rikki Aldridge kicked the extra point , and the Trojans led , 21 – 20 . John McKay stated , " I believe it was the most exciting college run I ' ve ever seen . " By now Beban could barely move or breathe , and UCLA never crossed midfield again as USC won . Other key players were Ron Yary , Tim Rossovich , and Adrian Young for the Trojans . Famed Los Angeles Times columnist Jim Murray wrote a memorable column after the game , stating among other things that he was " glad he didn ' t go to the opera after all , " and that if " Beban wins the Heisman Trophy , they should give it to him and fill it with aspirin . " Beban did beat out Simpson for the 1967 Heisman Trophy ; Simpson would win it the following year . Aftermath . Playing with badly bruised ribs , Beban passed for 301 yards . Simpson had a phenomenal run and finished with two touchdowns , 177 yards and 30 carries . Commenting on Beban ' s heroic effort playing through injury , Famed L . A . Times columnist Jim Murray wrote that if " Gary Beban wins the Heisman Trophy , they ought to fill it with aspirin " Keith Jackson , who was in his first year in ABC football broadcasting narrating the taped highlights of the game , declared it many years later to be the greatest game he has ever seen . So did Giles Pellerin , a USC graduate who attended every game USC played from 1926 until his death at the 1998 USC - UCLA game at the Rose Bowl , 797 straight games over 72 years , almost certainly a record for any college football fan . Both Beban and Simpson were featured on the cover of the November 20 issue of " Sports Illustrated " magazine . UCLA had still beat the point spread , they were a three point underdog despite being ranked number 1 . UCLA vs . Syracuse . With Beban out due to the rib injury , a disheartened UCLA would lose the next week to Larry Csonka led Syracuse 32 – 14 . UCLA would not be invited to any bowl games due to the exclusive Big Ten / AAWU Rose Bowl agreement – only the conference champions could go to a bowl game until 1975 . UCLA finished second in the AAWU tied with Oregon State at 4 – 1 – 1 , ranked 10th in the Coaches ' poll . Heisman trophy . Despite the losses , Gary Beban would win the Heisman Trophy . O . J . Simpson would win the Heisman trophy the next season . The most common reason given is that Simpson was a junior , and would have a chance the next year . At the time , the Heisman trophy was rarely given to an underclassman . UCLA became the first school to have a top winner in both basketball and football in the same year with Gary Beban winning the Heisman Trophy and Lew Alcindor ( now Kareem Abdul - Jabbar ) winning the U . S . Basketball Writers Association player of the year award in 1968 . Rose Bowl . USC would go on to the 1968 Rose Bowl ranked # 1 and defeat the # 4 ranked Big Ten champion Indiana Hoosiers 14 – 3 . # 3 Oklahoma would defeat # 2 Tennessee in the 1968 Orange Bowl . National championship . USC would finish ranked # 1 and win the national championship for 1967 . Simpson and Beban in the NFL . Simpson would go on to have one of the greatest professional careers any running back has ever had , rushing for over 11 , 000 yards , mostly for the Buffalo Bills , at a time when an NFL season was still 14 games . But Beban was a bust as a pro ; he was drafted by the Washington Redskins , who already had a future Hall of Fame quarterback in Sonny Jurgensen . The Redskins moved Beban to wide receiver , and he lasted only two seasons . Arnold Friberg Oils . Artist Arnold Friberg was commissioned by Chevrolet to paint a series commemorating the 100th anniversary of American intercollegiate football in 1969 . He created four paintings , each representing major turning points in the intercollegiate game . Painting number four was titled " O . J . Simpson Breaks for Daylight " and captures a moment in this famous Game of The Century . These paintings were used during the 1969 Chevrolet advertising campaign and were among the most demanding and exciting pieces Mr . Friberg had done . These paintings were such a success that they were taken on tour and shown at universities throughout the country . Legacy . The 1967 USC Trojan football team has been named one of the best teams of the 20th century by the Sporting News and college football historian Richard Whittingham . Number 1 ranked USC would be heavily favored over a rebuilding 3 – 6 UCLA team again in 1968 . UCLA took an early lead and trailed only 21 – 16 midway through the 4th quarter when they had a first and goal inside the USC 5 yard line . But UCLA fumbled and USC , led by Simpson who would win the Heisman Trophy , scored a clinching touchdown to win 28 – 16 . Ironically , UCLA kicker Zenon Andrusyshyn was 3 for 3 on field goals and 1 of 1 on extra points . One week later USC would drop to # 2 in the polls after being tied by Notre Dame , 21 – 21 . The Trojans then lost to Ohio State 27 – 16 in a 1 vs . 2 matchup in the Rose Bowl . In 1969 both teams would be undefeated with the Rose Bowl on the line again . USC would prevail 14 – 12 . The loss in 1969 reportedly affected UCLA coach Tommy Prothro more than the 1967 loss . USC would get a 10 – 2 – 1 record against UCLA through the 1970s , and would win all six matchups in that period where the Rose Bowl was on the line for both teams . The Trojans would win three more National championships in 1972 , 1974 , and 1978 . The 1972 Trojan team also was named one of the best teams of the 20th century . The Trojans would regain the top position again in college football in the 21st century . Since that meeting UCLA would come close to a national championship in 1976 , 1980 , 1988 with a two week # 1 ranking , and 1998 , with a season - ending loss in Miami keeping them out of the first BCS championship . They did beat top ranked Ohio State in the 1976 Rose Bowl , and later won 3 Rose Bowls in 4 years in the early 1980s . In a 1995 vote of the greatest moments in Los Angeles sports history , O . J . Simpson ' s touchdown run ranked # 5 . The 1965 UCLA defeat of USC in the UCLA - USC rivalry game to get to the Rose Bowl ranked # 35 . Bob Stiles stop of Bob Apisa on the goal line to defeat Michigan State in the 1966 Rose Bowl ranked # 26 .