1987 Rose Bowl The 1987 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 1 , 1987 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena , California . It was the 73rd Rose Bowl Game . The , champions of the Pacific - 10 Conference , defeated the Michigan Wolverines , champions of the Big Ten Conference , 22 - 15 . Arizona State quarterback Jeff Van Raaphorst was named the Rose Bowl Player of the Game . This was the first appearance for Arizona State in the Rose Bowl . Teams . Arizona State Sun Devils . Arizona State quarterback Jeff Van Raaphorst looked uncomfortable in the first two games of the season , wins over and SMU . He threw five interceptions in the third game of year against , which ended in a 21 - 21 tie . A 16 - 9 win for Arizona State over UCLA in Pasadena on October 4 later proved to be the deciding game in the race for the Pac - 10 Conference title . The Sun Devils then defeated in Eugene and returned to Southern California to defeat USC at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum , becoming the first Pac - 10 team to beat both Los Angeles area conference members on their home turf . With three straight wins at home over former WAC nemesis , Utah , Washington , and , combined with a UCLA loss to Stanford , Arizona State clinched the Pac - 10 title and a Rose Bowl berth on November 8 . The Sun Devils dropped their final game of the regular season to in - state rival Arizona , 34 - 17 , in the annual battle for the Territorial Cup . Michigan Wolverines . The Michigan Wolverines began the season ranked # 3 in the nation . They opened their schedule with a close 24 - 23 win over Notre Dame in South Bend . Then they won their home opener , 31 - 12 , over and beat an up and coming Florida State squad ranked # 20 , 20 - 18 . The Wolverines then handily defeated Wisconsin and to begin Big Ten play . Michigan then faced # 8 ranked Iowa . A # 1 versus # 2 matchup the previous season between the two schools , which the Wolverines lost , had decided the race for the Big Ten title and the 1986 Rose Bowl . Michigan won the 1986 showdown , 20 - 17 , and then rolled over , , and to improve their record to 9 - 0 and ascend to # 2 in the rankings . Michigan ' s next opponent , Minnesota , had not beaten the Wolverines since 1977 and came into Ann Arbor as a 25 - point underdog . A Michigan touchdown tied the game at 17 - 17 with just two minutes to go , but Minnesota quarterback Rickey Foggie scrambled to put Chip Lohmiller in position to kick the winning field goal . The Gophers prevailed , 20 - 17 , for their first win at Michigan since 1962 . The loss dropped the Wolverines to # 6 as they prepared to face their arch rival , # 7 ranked Ohio State , for a trip to the Rose Bowl . Jim Harbaugh guaranteed a Michigan victory . " We don ' t care where we play the game , " said the senior quarterback early in the week . " I hate to say it , but we could play it in the parking lot . We could play the game at 12 noon or midnight . We ' re going to be jacked up . " With Arizona State having already locked up a Rose Bowl berth , and the Fiesta Bowl and Citrus Bowl scrambling to host a # 1 versus # 2 showdown between Miami and Penn State , the Cotton Bowl struck an agreement to take the loser of the Michigan - Ohio State game . Michigan running back Jamie Morris led the Wolverines to a 26 - 24 victory on the strength of his 216 yards rushing , the most by any player in the rivalry ' s 89 - year history . The Wolverines were Pasadena - bound .