Rose, Orange, Sugar or Fiesta: Which College Football Bowl Game Is Most Coveted? | Bleacher Report Rose, Orange, Sugar or Fiesta: Which College Football Bowl Game Is Most Coveted? By Josh Martin , NBA Lead Writer Jul 28, 2011 Use your ← → (arrow) keys to browse the slideshow Mark Wilson/Getty Images 22 Comments When it comes to the college football postseason, there is a clear divide between the BCS bowls and the rest in terms of both compensation and prestige. The Rose Bowl, Orange Bowl, Sugar Bowl and Fiesta Bowl each pay out hefty, eight-digit checks to their participants each year while hosting only the very best teams in the sport. Nowadays, there is also a measure of separation between the BCS National Championship Game and the other four BCS bowls. Where once, each of the original four doubled as the national title game on a rotating basis, now the champion of college football is decided in a fifth and final game, with each site taking its turn every fourth year. But what of those original four? How do they stack up against one another, and which grades out as the best overall?

Each one carries its own distinct history and tradition, its own atmosphere, its own illustrious line of national champions, its greatest games and its fair share outstanding performances. With that in mind, let's take an in-depth look at each of the four BCS bowls, and when all is said and done, we'll crown one as the most coveted of all. Read on to find out which one wins out! Rose Bowl: History and Tradition What better to game with which to begin than the "Grand Daddy of Them All." The Rose Bowl Game is not only the oldest BCS bowl game around but also is in fact the oldest bowl game of all. The game itself serves as the culmination of the Tournament of Roses Parade, known colloquially as "America's New Year's Celebration." The first unofficial Rose Bowl was played on New Year's Day of 1902 and was originally known as the "Tournament East-West football game." That game pitted East representative Michigan, coached by the legendary Fielding H. Yost, against West representative Stanford. Yost's team triumphed rather easily, 49-0, as Stanford ditched the game in the third quarter.

The first official Rose Bowl Game was played in 1916, with Washington State defeating Brown 14-0 at Tournament Park in Pasadena. The game remained at that location until 1923, when the Rose Bowl finally opened to the football-hungry masses on New Year's Day. Since then, the Rose Bowl Game has been staged on the very same field every year except for 1942, when the game was moved to Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, North Carolina amidst fears during World War II that the Japanese might strike somewhere on the West Coast. The game's famed partnership between the now 12-team Big Ten and the Pac-12 began in 1946, back when the conferences were known as the Big Nine and the PCC, respectively. That relationship remains today, with the alignment shifting only when the champion from either conference is instead chosen to participate in the BCS National Championship Game. Next » Rose Bowl: Location and Stadium As mentioned previously, the Rose Bowl Game has been played at the historic Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California every year since 1923, except for 1942.

The Rose Bowl Game has been the most heavily attended bowl game since 1945, and the Rose Bowl itself is still the largest stadium of any that currently plays host to a postseason game. Aside from the "Grand Daddy of Them All," the Rose Bowl is home to the UCLA Bruins football team and has played host to a slew of high profile events, including two Olympic Summer Games (1932 and 1984), five Super Bowls, the 1994 FIFA World Cup and the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup. The stadium itself is located in the Arroyo Seco, less than an hour from downtown Los Angeles. As such, the Rose Bowl Game is often frequented by celebrities and football luminaries, as southern California has long been and remains one of the most prolific hot beds of athletic talent in the country. With the venue being in such close proximity to the "entertainment capital of the world," the glitz and glamour of the Rose Bowl Game is unmatched, at least as far as bowl games are concerned. Rose Bowl: Host of National Champions Harry How/Getty Images As one might expect, the longest-running bowl also happens to be the one that has hosted the most national champions.

Going by the number of titles claimed by the schools themselves, the Rose Bowl has hosted 43 national championship teams. That total, though mostly consisting of Rose Bowl games, also includes some losers who were nonetheless given the overall crown (for example, SMU in 1936) as well as some teams that competed against each other in the very same game. The most notorious example, of course, belongs to the 1927 edition, which saw Alabama and Stanford finish the game in a 7-7 tie and subsequently, a split national championship. Even in this age of rotating national title games, the Rose Bowl has managed to host an eventual champion in an off year, when the USC Trojans defeated the Michigan Wolverines in 2004 to claim the No. 1 ranking in the AP poll at season's end. The Trojans also boast the most appearances (32) and wins (24) in Rose Bowl history by far, with nine of those victories capping national championship seasons. Surprisingly enough, Alabama still stands as the second-most frequent national champion to have played in the Rose Bowl, with the win over Texas in 2010 giving the Crimson Tide their fifth title claimed in Pasadena.

Rose Bowl: Best Game Harry How/Getty Images The Rose Bowl has played host to more than its fair share of unbelievable games, though none can quite hold up against the 2006 edition that pitted No. 2 Texas against No. 1 USC. The Longhorns, led by quarterback Vince Young on offense and safety Michael Huff on defense, defeated the heavily favored Trojans, 41-38, thereby preventing USC and its pair of Heisman Trophy winners, Reggie Bush and Matt Leinart, from capturing their third consecutive AP national championship. The game proved to be a back-and-forth affair, with the two teams combining for 53 points in what was a spectacular display of football in the second half. In the end, the victory gave the Longhorns their fourth national championship and 800th overall win in school history. And, for good measure, what was arguably one of the greatest games in the history of college football also happened to be the last one on the mic for Hall of Fame announcer Keith Jackson, who retired from the booth shortly thereafter. Rose Bowl: Best Performance Harry How/Getty Images The Rose Bowl's best game also happened to see its best performance, put forth by Texas' Vince Young.

The Longhorns quarterback accounted for a Rose Bowl-record 479 yards of total offense—267 passing and 200 rushing—along with three touchdowns. The last of those scores came on a brilliant run by Young into the end zone with 19 seconds left to seal the victory for Texas. With that performance, Young became only the fourth two-time MVP in the history of the Rose Bowl, and the first to come from a school outside of the Pac-10 and the Big Ten, after having put up a similarly brilliant performance against Michigan in the 2005 Rose Bowl Game. Next » Orange Bowl: History and Tradition The Orange Bowl isn't quite as old as the Rose Bowl, though it owes its inspiration to the "Grand Daddy of the Them All." The roots of the game stem back to 1926, when the city of Miami decided to host its own New Year's Day showcase like that put on by the Tournament of Roses. The idea began as the "Fiesta of the American Tropics" and was revived in 1933 as the "Palm Festival," with an adjoining game geared toward boosting the city's ailing economy amidst the Great Depression.

The game officially became the Orange Bowl in 1935 when it was first played at Miami Field, later giving way to the Orange Bowl and now what is known as Sun Life Stadium. The Orange Bowl helped to usher college football into the television age when, in 1965, it became the first bowl game ever broadcast in prime time. That edition featured a stellar matchup between Texas and Alabama, with the Longhorns coming out on top, 21-17. As far as tie-ins are concerned, the Orange Bowl first partnered up with the Big Eight (later the Big 12) in 1968 and became the official "Home of the ACC Champion" in 2006. Orange Bowl: Location and Stadium Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images The first three editions of the Orange Bowl were played at Miami Field until the official opening of the Miami Orange Bowl in 1938. From then on, the game was held continuously at its namesake stadium until 1996, when it moved to what was then known as Dolphins Stadium in Miami Gardens (now Sun Life Stadium).

The game returned to the Orange Bowl one last unintentional hurrah in 1999, when Dolphins Stadium played host to an AFC Wild Card Game, thereby forcing the bowl game to move back to its long-time location for a day. Since then, the Orange Bowl has been played each year at Sun Life Stadium. The old Orange Bowl, known as Burdine Stadium from 1937 until 1959, was demolished in 2008 to make way for the new home of the soon-to-be-renamed Florida Marlins, set to open in 2012. That stadium hosted the University of Miami Hurricanes football team from 1937 until 2007, the NFL's Miami Dolphins from 1966 until 1986, five Super Bowls, the 1975 Pro Bowl and the 1994 FIFA World Cup. Sun Life Stadium, the current home of the Orange Bowl, is the only stadium in the country that is home to an NFL, MLB and NCAA college football team. It has also hosted five Super Bowls, two World Series and the 2010 Pro Bowl.

As for the city of Miami, it is easily one of the most festive in the entire country, known for exciting nightlife so prevalent on world-famous South Beach. Next » Orange Bowl: Best Game Picking one game from among the greatest played in the Orange Bowl is a difficult task, though the nod ultimately goes to the 1983 edition, in which Miami defeated Nebraska, 31-30. The Cornhuskers rode into that game as the clear favorites, having averaged 52 points per game during the regular season while looking invincible on the gridiron. However, with the backing of 70,000 fans and the spectacular passing of freshman quarterback Bernie Kosar, the Hurricanes stormed out to a big lead and held on for dear life in the end to deliver the first of five national titles in school history. Honorable mention goes to the 1975 Orange Bowl Classic, in which Notre Dame downed heavily favored Alabama, 13-11, in the last game ever coached by the legendary Ara Parseghian.

Orange Bowl: Best Performance Simon Bruty/Getty Images The best and most dramatic performance in the history of the Orange Bowl is undeniably that put on by Nebraska's Tommie Frazier in 1994. The Cornhuskers quarterback spent much of the 1993 season struggling with blood clots in his right leg but was able to return in time for the Orange Bowl against Miami to defend the MVP honors he earned in a losing effort the year before. After not playing in a live game for the better part of three months, Frazier spent most of the game on the bench after throwing an ill-advised pass that resulted in an interception on Big Red's first drive. With seven minutes to go and the Huskers down 17-9, coach Tom Osbourne put Frazier back in the game and watched as his quarterback led two touchdown drives against the vaunted Hurricanes defense to give Nebraska a 24-17 victory and its first national championship since 1971.

Sugar Bowl: History and Tradition Chris Graythen/Getty Images Like the Orange Bowl, the Sugar Bowl originally drew its inspiration from the Rose Bowl, with idea for a New Year's Day football game in New Orleans first being floated in 1927 by Colonel James M. Thomsen. The first Sugar Bowl was played at Tulane Stadium on New Year's Day, 1935, the same day as the first official Orange Bowl, with Tulane triumphing over Temple, 20-14. The Sugar Bowl has seen perhaps the most controversy of any major bowl game, from the debate in 1956 over whether Bobby Grier should be allowed to play with the Pittsburgh Panthers against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets given Georgia governor Marvin Griffith's opposition to integration, to the Pentagon's decision in 1967 to disallow Army from participating in what would've been its first-ever bowl game due to the Vietnam War. The Sugar Bowl has long played host to the champion of the SEC, though the conference's success in sending teams to the BCS National Championship Game has altered that tradition somewhat.

Next » Sugar Bowl: Location and Stadium The Sugar Bowl spent its first 50 years of existence at Tulane Stadium, on the campus of Tulane University. It was from this location that the game derived its name, as Tulane's campus had previously been the sugar plantation of Paul Foucher, whose father-in-law, Etienne de Bore, first discovered how to granulate sugar from cane syrup. The game moved to the Louisiana Superdome in 1976 and has been held there every year since except for 2006, when the tragedy and destruction wrought by Hurricane Katrina forced the organizers to move the game to the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. Tulane Stadium, which was officially closed in 1979 and was fully demolished by 1980, had also hosted three Super Bowls and the NFL's New Orleans Saints from 1967 until 1974. The Superdome has since had quite a run of its own, playing home to the Saints, the Tulane Green Wave and the New Orleans Jazz of the NBA (1975-79) while hosting five NCAA Men's Basketball Final Fours and six Super Bowls.

The city of New Orleans is known and celebrated around the world for its vibrant Creole culture, its rich history of art and music and of course, the party that invades Bourbon Street and the French Quarter during Mardi Gras. Next » Sugar Bowl: Best Game Interestingly enough, the greatest Sugar Bowl game to date featured a team from the SEC on the losing side of the ledger. That game, the 1983 Sugar Bowl, still stands as one of the greatest college football games of all time. In that game, second-ranked Penn State edged top-ranked Georgia, 27-23, on the way to the national championship in what was then a de facto title game in a then-rare postseason meeting between the two top-ranked teams in college football. The Nittany Lions dominated the first half of the game before the Bulldogs narrowed the margin to 20-17 in the third quarter. With his team's lead now tenuous, quarterback Todd Blackledge led Penn State to the end zone in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter to stretch the lead back to 10 points.

Georgia, with Herschel Walker in the backfield, would add one more score with 3:54 remaining in the game, though a failed two-point conversion essentially sealed the deal and gave Joe Paterno his first national championship in Happy Valley. Sugar Bowl: Best Performance Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images Tim Tebow's virtuoso performance in the 2010 Sugar Bowl may not have been particularly dramatic as far as the game was concerned, but it was darn impressive nonetheless. The game served as something of a consolation for Florida after the Gators fell to Alabama in the SEC Championship Game, thereby ceding the opportunity to defend their national championship. Though with the way Tebow played, you'd have never known he wasn't playing for another ring. Tebow torched Cincinnati for 482 yards and three touchdowns through the air along with 51 yards and another score on the ground to help the Gators chomp and stomp all over the poor Bearcats by a final score of 51-24. That performance was more than a fitting end to Tebow's career at Florida, which may one day go down as one of the greatest ever seen in the history of college football.

Fiesta Bowl: History and Tradition Christian Petersen/Getty Images Last but (perhaps) not least is the Fiesta Bowl. The Fiesta Bowl is by far the youngest of the four BCS bowls. It was originally borne out of the frustration of the Western Athletic Conference, which had grown tired of watching member schools and conference champions get passed over for selection in postseason bowl games. Therefore, in 1971, the powers that be in the WAC organized a bowl game with an automatic tie-in for their conference champion and fielded what turned out to be a rather exciting matchup between two ranked teams, Arizona State and Florida State. By 1975, the Fiesta Bowl was attracting big-name schools like Nebraska and Penn State. The WAC's tie-in with the game ended in 1978 when Arizona and Arizona State joined the Pac-10, but the Fiesta Bowl itself continued on, joining the New Year's Day crowd in 1981. The game truly came into its own in 1987, when it hosted a de facto national championship game between Miami and Penn State, both of which were independents at the time.

The Nittany Lions triumphed, 14-10, in what was then the most watched game in the history of college football. From then on, the Fiesta Bowl became a key fixture in the college football postseason, slowly but surely overtaking the Cotton Bow Classic as the fourth-largest bowl game on the way to becoming a key member of the Bowl Championship Series. Like many of the big bowl games, the Fiesta Bowl hasn't exactly escaped from controversy unscathed. As far as prevailing politics are concerned, several invitees boycotted the 1991 edition of the game when the state of Arizona refused to adopt the Martin Luther King Holiday. In 1996, BYU took umbrage with the Fiesta Bowl when its organizers chose Penn State over the more highly ranked Cougars. And most recently, the Fiesta Bowl came under fire when it was discovered that CEO John Junker, along with a number of other bowl officials, spent frivolously to curry favor with the powers that be in the BCS while also encouraging employees to make donations to certain political campaigns, a strict no-no for non-profit organizations.

Which, ironically enough, the Fiesta Bowl had not been, as it had managed to turn a profit and pass those earnings onto its higher-ups while most of its participants operated at a net loss. Fiesta Bowl: Location and Stadium Christian Petersen/Getty Images The Fiesta Bowl has always found its home in Arizona, with only one move in its 40-year history. For the first 35 years of its existence, the Fiesta Bowl was played at Sun Devil Stadium on the campus of Arizona State in Tempe. Built in 1958, Sun Devil Stadium was once the home of the NFL's Arizona Cardinals and has hosted both the Super Bowl and a mass led by the Pope, though obviously on separate occasions. In 2007, the Fiesta Bowl moved on up to the brand-new University of Phoenix Stadium, where it has been held ever since. Though still quite new, University of Phoenix Stadium has already housed a Super Bowl, two BCS National Championship Games and even WWE's Wrestlemania. Fiesta Bowl: Host of National Champions Todd Warshaw/Getty Images The Fiesta Bowl has hosted far fewer national champions than any of the other three BCS bowls and understandably so.

After all, the Sugar and Orange Bowls are each 36 years older than the Fiesta Bowl and, technically speaking, the Rose Bowl is a whopping 69 years older. Nonetheless, the Fiesta Bowl's nine national champions are nothing to sneeze at. The lead for most frequent visitor to the game consists of a four-way tie between Penn State, Arizona State, Nebraska and Oklahoma, though the Nittany Lions win out by way of their 6-0 record in the Fiesta Bowl and their two national championships earned as a result of said victories. Fiesta Bowl: Best Game Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images That being said, Penn State did not have the privilege of playing the best Fiesta Bowl game, which also happens to be one of the most entertaining games in the history of the sport. The 2007 Fiesta Bowl was about as quintessential a David vs. Goliath matchup as you'll ever see in a bowl game. The role of David was played rather perfectly by WAC champion Boise State, which rode into the game with a 12-0 record under first-year coach Chris Petersen.

Big 12 champion Oklahoma fell in naturally as Goliath, a powerhouse college football program that had persevered through a rather trying season during which the Sooners lost quarterback Rhett Bomar and running back Adrian Peterson, who returned in time for the game. The game itself was explosive to say the least. The Broncos stormed out to a rather commanding 28-10 lead in the third quarter before Bob Stoops' squad answered with 25 unanswered points of their own to pull into the lead with less than two minutes remaining in the game. The last 1:26 of the game was arguably the most exciting ever played in college football, with the Sooners scoring two touchdowns and succeeding with a two-point conversion to go from down eight points to up seven within the span of 24 seconds. Immediately after throwing a pick-six to Oklahoma's Marcus Walker, Boise State quarterback Jared Zabransky managed to regroup and lead the Broncos on a stunning 77-yard drive that culminated in a 35-yard touchdown catch by Jerard Rabb on a hook-and-lateral with a mere seven seconds left in the game.

The game fittingly went to overtime, during which the Sooners scored a touchdown on their opening drive, only to watch the Broncos run two more trick plays—a half-back pass for a touchdown and a Statue of Liberty play for a two-point conversion—to secure a stunning victory and etch Boise State into the history books as only the second school from a non-BCS conference to win in a top-four bowl game. More importantly, the victory gave the Broncos a 13-0 record for the season, thereby reinvigorating the debate in the college football world over whether or not the sport needs a legitimate playoff system and to what extent the BCS should be allowed to exclude teams from outside the Big Six conferences to compete for a national championship. Tweet The Fiesta Bowl has seen some tremendous individual performances in recent years—Zabransky for Boise State, West Virginia's Pat White in the 2008 edition and Ohio State's Craig Krenzel come to mind—though perhaps no one will ever best the show put on by Tommie Frazier on New Year's Day in 1996.

The legendary Nebraska quarterback earned his third straight MVP award in a national championship game by leading the Huskers to a 62-24 demolition of Steve Spurrier's Gators, whose "Fun-N-Gun" offense convinced most pundits to pick Florida over the more traditionally ground-oriented Cornhuskers. Sure, most of the credit could reasonably go to the Black Shirt defense, which held Florida to minus-28 yards rushing. However, that wouldn't do any justice to the sheer brilliance of Frazier, who threw for 105 yards and a touchdown and ran for 199 yards and two more scores. The second of those rushing touchdowns came on perhaps the single most amazing carry in college football history (seen above), as Frazier broke through seven tacklers before scampering 75 yards to the end zone. It's no fluke that Frazier, arguably the most amazing athlete to ever play college football, owns the greatest performance in each of two top bowl games. And the Winner Is... ...the Rose Bowl. C'mon, folks. There's really not much of a debate here, if there's one to be had at all. They don't call it the "Grand Daddy of Them All" for nothing.

The Rose Bowl is far and away the oldest, most storied and most celebrated bowl game of them all, having hosted the most national championships at the most historic venue in college football. And for good measure, the Rose Bowl Game hasn't changed sites since 1942, when fear of another Japanese attack during World War II necessitated a one-year switch to the East Coast. Each of the other three, on the other hand, has found a new permanent home in the last 36 years. One could argue for the other three holding the edge in the "best game" or "best performance" categories, though even then it's not as though the stunning display of football put on by Vince Young and Texas against USC in 2006 can be dismissed as anything close to subpar. Of course, this is but one man's opinion. Feel free to agree, disagree or remain entirely indifferent.

Oregon's integral role in the history of the grandaddy of them all | FishDuck The 1917 EAST-WEST GAME (3rd Rose Bowl) Anticipating a larger crowd than usual, the city had built temporary grandstands to house the 25,000 fans that packed the sidelines at Tournament Park for the Oregon-Penn game, culminating the annual Tournament of Roses event. Meanwhile back in Eugene, the Heilig Theater (located where the Hult Center now stands) was packed to the rafters with folks watching a simulated football field on stage being updated with the assistance of a telegraph and megaphone announcing each play as they were relayed over the wire. Pacific Coast Conference Champions, the 1916 Oregon Webfoots On the field it was a defensive struggle, with Shy Huntington shining. In an era when teams rarely threw the ball, Huntington intercepted three passes on the day, and would have had a fourth pick but it was called back on a penalty.

Even with the turnovers, it was Penn who first threatened to score, moving the ball to Oregon’s 4-yard line after recovering their own blocked kick followed by a 20-yard run by Penn quarterback Bert Bell setting up the Quakers in scoring range. The Quakers would be stymied though, as Bell was sacked forcing a field goal attempt that sailed wide. It remained a scoreless tie at halftime. Shy Huntington brings down a Penn player in the 1917 Rose Bowl The defensive stop was just what the Ducks needed to turn the tide. Howard Angus, a writer for the Los Angeles Times , noted the following: “The Webfoots defense were steadied as if someone had given them a shot of hop. A big grin spread over their faces that never was erased. From then on Oregon was unbeatable.” In the third quarter, Oregon finally broke the game open. Utilizing the same trick pass play that Penn Coach Bob Folwell had invited Coach Bezdek to witness the day prior, Shy Huntington connected with Lloyd Tegart for a 15 yard touchdown. Shy knocked in the extra point to give the Webfoots a 7-0 lead over the much-favored and clearly frustrated Penn Quakers.

“Imagine what we thought and said when Oregon scored its first touchdown on our own play,” said Bert Bell to reporters after the game, as quoted in the Los Angeles Times . Shy Huntington and Johnny Parsons in action vs. Penn in the 1917 Rose Bowl The battle continued, highlighted by Huntington’s great defensive play and John Beckett’s tremendous job in the trenches controlling the line of scrimmage. In 1953 when MVPs of the Rose Bowl were first assessed, Beckett was retroactively awarded the MVP of the 1917 East-West Game (3rd Rose Bowl). With each defensive stop the Oregon Webfoots’ confidence grew. Penn’s much ballyhooed passing attack was stopped in its tracks by Shy Huntington’s interception hat trick, held to only 32 passing yards on the day while Oregon racked up 131 through the air, while Beckett was leading the push up front to allow for the Oregon ground game to grind it out. In the 4th quarter, the Webfoots broke through again. A 40-yard run by Johnny Parsons set up Oregon at the 1-yard line, where Shy Huntington ran it in for the second touchdown.

Huntington added the extra point, making it 14-0. Charles “Shy” Huntington, quarterback/kicker/safety and later coach at Oregon Taunts emanated from the Oregon team, “Are the city boys getting tired? Came west to teach us football, did you?” (source: Los Angeles Times ) in the wake of the stunning score, while back in Eugene it was jubilation as the score was announced inside the Heilig Theater . The score would stay, Oregon had shut out their opponent for the fifth game in a row to end the season, stunning the Penn Quakers in a 14-0 upset victory in the East-West Game at Tournament Park, the third Rose Bowl. Fittingly the game ended with Huntington intercepting a Pennsylvania pass at the end of a long 79-yard drive, and the Webfoots ran out the remainder of the clock to seal the victory. Oregon had barely outgained Penn, with the Webfoots totaling 242 yards of offense to Penn’s 230, but it was the staunch defensive effort that Oregon displayed that made the game feel like a rout.

Completely bewildered, Coach Folwell said after the game, “We ran into a batch of football that was a cross between a zip of forked lightning and the roll of a fast freight.” Folwell would not be the last to grossly underestimate the University of Oregon’s abilities and will to fight against superior talent. Harry A. Williams of the LA Times joyfully wrote after the game, “west coast teams would lick the stuffing out of every eastern team which ventures far enough away from home to make the discovery that all the football in the world is not bounded on the west by the Mississippi River.” That sentiment may have been proven by the game outcome at the time, yet as we all know the now infamous ‘east coast bias’ still rings very true nearly a hundred years later. Hugo Bezdek, as manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates Three months later the United States officially entered The Great War, and campuses across the country drastically changed, including the University of Oregon. So many young men enlisted or were drafted that the following season Oregon could barely field enough bodies to practice much less play, while military bases sported their own teams comprised of former collegiate superstars.

Bezdek meanwhile had a big change as well, as he was hired to be the manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates and commuted between Pennsylvania and Oregon. The Huntington brothers entered the military along with the vast majority of the male student body at Oregon to serve their country in the call to arms. However, an odd twist of fate would keep Oregon’s ties close to the Rose Bowl during America’s involvement in World War I in 1917 and 1918. After the 1917 baseball season ended, Hugo Bezdek was asked by the United States Marine Corps to become the football coach for a USMC team, the Mare Island Marines of California. The team just happened to feature two new enlistees that Bezdek was particularly familiar with, Hollis Huntington and John Beckett, Bezdek’s former stars at the University of Oregon. The Mare Island Marines of California finished the year 5-0, and with the nation caught up in patriotic fervor it was decided that for the 1918 East-West Game (Rose Bowl) two military teams would be featured. Sure enough, Bezdek’s Mare Island Marines were asked to play against the Camp Lewis Army team (5-1-1) from American Lake, WA.

BEZDEK, BECKETT & HUNTINGTON RETURN DURING WAR TIME Crowd shot from the 1918 East-West Game, Mare Island vs. Camp Lewis It was an odd but familiar site as the former coach and former players accompanied the rest of the Mare Island USMC team to Pasadena, CA and Tournament Park, the field where exactly a year prior Bezdek had tutored Beckett, Hollis and his brother Shy to a victory over Penn. President Woodrow Wilson had personally approved the two military teams playing each other in the East-West Game, with the vast majority of America’s premier football players already overseas in the trenches of the European western front or preparing to leave shortly. The fact that a war was raging overseas hung a dark cloud over the game, while jubilant and patriotic in nature there was also a sense that this game was just a temporary respite before the young men fighting on the field would soon be instead fighting in the trenches of the war to end all wars, with most scheduled to go overseas within weeks of the game’s completion.

John Beckett played in two East-West Games, for Oregon (1917) and Mare Island (1918) “This would be the last battle that we would fight in the name of sports,” said John Beckett to reporters prior to the game. There was no scoring in the first quarter, but in the 2nd quarter Bezdek’s boys from Mare Island got on the board thanks to a 31-yard drop-kick field goal to take the lead 3-0. The Army team responded with a 6-yard touchdown run by E.L. Romney, the primary weapon in Camp Lewis’ arsenal, taking the lead 7-3. It would prove to be Camp Lewis’ only bright spot on the day, as the Webfoot trio now in military garb were simply too powerful. The first half finished with Mare Island quarterback Jap Brown running in for a 5-yard touchdown, though the extra point attempt failed, leaving the score 9-7. In the fourth quarter Mare Island would extend their lead, scoring with a 1-yard touchdown plunge by Hollis Huntington, and finishing off the game with a 33-yard field goal to defeat Camp Lewis 19-7.

It was Mare Island of California Military Base going down in the record books as the victor, but it might as well have been the University of Oregon credited with being back-to-back champions with Beckett and Huntington being such integral parts of the game while being coached by Bezdek. Hollis Huntington would be retroactively named the game’s MVP when the award started being given out in 1953, making the Mare Island teammates Huntington and Beckett the owners of two of the first four MVP titles. Indeed Beckett’s pre-game prediction held true, while Bezdek returned to his coaching duties for both the Pittsburgh Pirates and the University of Oregon, the men who played in the 1918 East-West Game later known as the Rose Bowl would mostly go overseas to fight for their country. The parade grounds of Mare Island during WWI, near Vallejo, CA Armistice Day, the day the war officially ended, was November 11th, 1918, though some sporadic fighting continued on into 1919. There was still a great deal of post-war work to be done by the military with the wounds of the conflict still fresh, while the world simultaneously was losing millions of lives to a global influenza pandemic.

Once again, for the 1919 game it was military teams squaring off against each other. This time it was a US Navy team (Great Lakes Naval Training Station) defeating the USMC team (once again represented by Mare Island of California), 17-0. However, this was not the same Mare Island team, none of the same players were there, as they had all been shipped out for the war. Not even Hugo Bezdek returned, instead William H. Dietz coached Mare Island in 1919. The US Navy team was led by fullback George Halas, named MVP of the game, who later known as “Papa Bear” became an NFL Hall of Famer for his time as head coach of the Chicago Bears. The US Navy Team defeated the USMC team in the 1919 game As for Hugo Bezdek, the strain of coaching at Oregon, and running a major league baseball team in Pittsburgh, and coaching the Mare Island team was too much of a strain. By 1918 he had enough of cross-country travel and wrote a letter to the University of Oregon from his home in Chicago, IL.

“I am in too nervous a condition and unable to think or concentrate.” With that, Hugo Bezdek’s days leading the Oregon Ducks were over. However, Bezdek’s time at the Rose Bowl was not. Choosing to find a position a bit closer to home that wouldn’t involve quite as much cross-country rail travel, Bezdek took the job as the new football coach at Penn State University, where he stayed from 1918 to 1936 as both coach and athletic director. During his time at Penn State he turned the program into a national powerhouse, a stature it retains today despite the recent sex scandal that has rocked Penn State to its foundations. Bezdek led Penn State to two undefeated seasons, and a trip to the Rose Bowl in 1923 (a 14-3 loss to USC), the inaugural game in the newly built Rose Bowl stadium, the construction of which had begun in 1921 when the city of Pasadena realized that the annual football game was becoming larger than what Tournament Park could hold.

Construction of the Rose Bowl began in 1921, completed in time for the 1923 game The 1923 game in the new stadium would also mark the first time that the ‘East-West Championship Game’ as it had become known would thereafter be referred to as ‘The Rose Bowl,’ the first official college football bowl game. Bezdek at Penn State resumed his multi-sport ways, coaching the Penn State basketball and baseball teams as well. Hugo Bezdek remains the only person to have coached three different teams in the Rose Bowl, with a record of 2-1. He also remains the only person to coach a major league baseball team and national football league team, and was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1954. 1920 ROSE BOWL: THE HUNTINGTON’S RETURN While Bezdek’s departure from the Oregon program was difficult, it also was somewhat of a relief as his hefty salary had become a strain on the University and student body, who had to flip the majority of the bill. The question remained though, who would replace the genius who had turned Oregon into a west coast powerhouse?

With the war now over and the country settling back into a somewhat-normal routine, it seemed a natural fit that Oregon’s first All-American and the hero of the 1917 Rose Bowl would return home the conquering hero, Charles “Shy” Huntington. While Bezdek’s ominous shadow was a large one to overcome, Huntington went about his work as both new football coach and also baseball coach for the University of Oregon. Huntington would remain at the helm for six seasons, leading Oregon to a 26-12-6 record, finishing 4-2 in 1918 his first year, 2nd best in the Pacific Coast Conference. Oregon’s 1919 team, led by coach Shy Huntington (far left) In 1919 with the boys returning from overseas, Huntington’s team was bolstered by the return of a familiar face to the University of Oregon, his brother Hollis. There were a few other returning players from the 1918 team, and just like in 1916 the Webfoots were led in part by multiple pairs of brothers; Francis & Vince Jacobberger, Earl & Keith Leslie, and Bill & W.H. Steers.

Also rounding out the roster was Neil Morfitt, the grandfather of Neil Everett (Morfitt), the ESPN sportscaster and Oregon alumnus who often includes Oregon references in his nightly sports highlights on Sportscenter. Oregon also had a proud new gem of a stadium to demonstrate their dominance, as the newly built Hayward Field replaced Kincaid Field to house Oregon’s athletics, though bigger games were often played in Portland at Multnomah Stadium to accommodate the larger crowds expected. Hayward Field Huntington’s team started the 1919 campaign out well, defeating MAAC, Idaho (a game in which Huntington scored 4 TDs), and Washington all in convincing fashion. But a 7-0 loss to Washington Agricultural College (WSU) was a disappointing shocker, in part due to a series of crushing injuries suffered the week prior vs. UW. Oregon would finish the year defeating their rival, Oregon Agricultural College (Oregon State University today), and MAAC once more for a 5-1 record, tying with Washington as Pacific Coast Conference co-champions.

During the game against rival OAC (OSU), a ceremony had been held officially naming the new structure Hayward Field after track coach and trainer Bill Hayward (who coached at Oregon from 1903-1947). However, nobody notified him of the honor being bestowed upon him, and he was not present for the event, busily tending to his duties as team trainer back in the locker room at the time. He found out of the honor the next day while reading the newspaper recap of the game. Behind the scenes there was grumbling about Huntington not being cut out for the coaching job, and an effort was made to entice Bezdek to return to Oregon. Huntington’s teams were winning, but not in the same dominating fashion that Bezdek’s Webfoots had been known for, and a longing eye was cast eastward to the success Bezdek was having with his new team, the Penn State Nittany Lions. Bezdek declined the offer, he would remain at Penn State and Huntington like it or not would stay as Oregon’s coach.

Despite a tie at the top of the conference, once again it was Oregon selected to participate in the Tournament East-West Football Game over Washington for the January 1st, 1920 affair. This time east coast powerhouse Harvard would be the foe, the eventual national champions (a title that it shared with Illinois). Harvard was undefeated, with a tie to Princeton their only blemish. The 1920 Rose Bowl, Harvard vs. Oregon With older brother Charles “Shy” Huntington as coach and younger brother Hollis leading the way as star fullback, the Webfoots seemed a solid foe, yet once again east coast bias raised its ugly head. The faces may have been familiar from the 1916 shocking defeat of Penn, but Harvard was the pride of the east coast and once more the media overwhelmingly chose the east coast team as the clear favorite. No matter to the Huntington’s, they had been through all of this before, Hollis especially having played not only in the 1917 game but the 1918 matchup as well while a member of Mare Island. Program from the 1920 Rose Bowl, Harvard vs.

Oregon The game would have special distinction for Hollis Huntington, as the only player in history to participate in three East-West (Rose Bowl) games, and the only one to ever do so for two different teams. The game began exactly as the previous ones had, with no scoring in the first quarter as each side fought to achieve supremacy over the opponent. And just like in 1917 and with Mare Island in 1918, it was the Webfoots striking first. The scoring began in the 2nd quarter when quarterback Bill Steers nailed a 25-yard drop kick to take a 3-0 lead. Oregon was moving the ball well, but once the Webfoots got within scoring range the big Harvard Crimson defense would stiffen, stifling their attack. Hollis Huntington was scorching the Crimson defenders, he would finish the day with 122 yards on 29 carries, but the endzone eluded Hollis and the Webfoots. Harvard responded with one long drive in the 2nd quarter following Steers’ dropkick, resulting in a touchdown, a 13-yard run by Fred Church.

Harvard took the lead 7-3, and on this day it would prove to be enough. It wasn’t without great effort by Huntington’s Webfoots, but yardage churned up in the middle of the field couldn’t result in points at each end against the Harvard defense. Additional grandstands were built at Tournament Park for the large crowd to witness the Oregon-Harvard game Late in the 2nd quarter Oregon did manage to score again, on a 30-yard drop kick by diminutive backup quarterback C.R. “Skeet” Manerud, who weighed in at barely 128 pounds, making the score 7-6. The remainder of the game was a repetitive affair, Oregon would stop Harvard only to storm down the field, but couldn’t convert on kick attempts. Three times Oregon’s attempts to take the lead resulted in a kick either missed or blocked. Harvard was barely clinging to a 7-6 lead while clearly getting outplayed by Oregon. As the game wore on, Skeet Manerud again had a chance to take the lead, but his kicked sailed barely a foot wide of the goal posts.

It was so close in fact that the scoreboard operator deemed it good, temporarily giving Oregon a 9-7 lead, but the referees overruled it and took the points off the board. Despite Oregon’s overwhelmingly dominant performance, the game would end with no points scored in the 2nd half, and an agonizing 7-6 loss to Harvard. The Harvard Crimson barely escaped the East-West game vs. Oregon with a 7-6 victory Despite the loss, Oregon was clearly the better team that day, and in the papers they were coined “The Team That Outplayed Harvard.” The bitter loss only increased the behind-the-scenes awkwardness as Oregon officials continued to believe they could lure Bezdek back to Eugene to take over for his protégé Shy Huntington. This futile pursuit of Bezdek continued intermittently for several years. While Huntington’s teams continued to win, never losing more than two games in a season, Oregon officials pestered Bezdek to leave Penn State and come back to Eugene.

At one point Bezdek did make a cross-country trip to visit his old school, where he was welcome by a crowd of nearly 2,000 hailing him as a hero, honoring him during a ceremony where Huntington was awkwardly prodded to address the crowd and state “He is the best coach in the United States and I hope that Oregon may hope someday to have Hugo Bezdek come back.” By the 1923 season, Shy Huntington had enough of the unwelcome attitude. In his letter of resignation he wrote, “Each year my teams have been with me, but the alumni have not. They have demanded a high-priced coach, and not for a moment does it appear to have entered their heads that a hometown boy might possibly be a good coach.” In the wake of Huntington’s resignation, Oregon officials again tried to bring Bezdek back to Eugene, again he declined.

Hugo Bezdek chose to stay a Nittany Lion despite Oregon’s repeated attempts to bring him back to Eugene 2010 Rose Bowl Preview: Ohio State vs Oregon 2010 Rose Bowl Preview #7 Oregon Ducks (10-2, Pac Ten Champions) versus #8 Ohio State (10-2, Big Ten Champions) January 1st, 2010 4:30 PM EST in Pasadena, California The Rose Bowl is rightfully known as the ‘Granddaddy of them All’ as it is the oldest bowl game and is the most prestigious outside of the BCS National Championship. The first Rose Bowl Game took place in 1902 and has been played continuously since 1916. This year will mark the 96 th renewal of the Tournament of Roses’ signature event and as usual the entire country will be watching. While most people associate the Rose Bowl with the Pac Ten and Big Ten, the Rose Bowl’s traditional matchup between the two leagues didn’t actually come into effect until 1947. The conferences had met before but the game had featured many other teams from around the country.

The most prolific non-Big Ten or Pac Ten team in the Rose Bowl is Alabama, who played in six Rose Bowls and actually references it in their fight song. However, since 1947 the Rose bowl has become synonymous with the two leagues and this year’s game will be their 63 rd meeting. The Pac Ten holds the all-time lead in the showdown with a narrow 33-29 record against the Big Ten, making the Rose Bowl one of the most exciting games every year. YEAR IN REVIEW #7 Oregon (10-2) The Oregon Ducks are making their 5th appearance in the Rose Bowl and their first appearance in 15 years. Oregon’s record all time is 1-3 in the ‘Granddaddy of them All’. This is Oregon’s 2nd BCS bowl (since the BCS began in 1998), their first being a 38-16 victory over Colorado in the 2001 Fiesta Bowl. The Ducks are coached by Chip Kelly, who is in his first season in charge in Eugene.

Kelly led the Ducks to a 10-2 record, including an 8-1 mark in the Pac Ten, after serving as the Ducks’ offensive coordinator for the previous two seasons. After Murphy’s Law reigned supreme in their season-opening loss at Boise State, the Ducks turned around their year in a major way and their only blemish throughout the rest of the season was a 51-42 loss at Stanford. The Ducks’ season was highlighted by a dominating 47-20 win over USC on Halloween and a stirring 37-33 victory over Oregon State on the final Thursday of the season in a game which served as the de-facto Pac Ten Championship Game. Oregon is best known nationally for their explosive offense. The Ducks run an innovative spread option offense that has racked up an average of 37.7 points per game! Senior quarterback Jeremiah Masoli is the perfect pivot for their offense as he has passed for over 2,000 yards and 15 touchdowns while rushing for 659 yards and 12 touchdowns. He’s joined in the Oregon backfield by star freshman LaMichael James, whose 1,476 rushing yards set a Pac Ten record.

Oregon has rushed for over 2,833 yards this season, which is the 8 th best total in the country! Their offense averaged 42.8 points per game in the second half of the season, so it is safe to say that the Ducks are one definitely one of the country’s hottest units. However, Oregon’s defense doesn’t stack up as well. While they’re allowing an average of 23.6 points per game on the year, their defense struggled severely down the stretch, giving up an average of 36.5 points per game after Halloween. The Ducks have also only created 15 turnovers on the season, 13 of which were interceptions, so they’re no better than average at forcing opponents into mistakes. Oregon has had some unfortunate injury issues, especially in their secondary, and their defense is certainly not the reason that they won the Pac Ten. #8 Ohio State (10-2) The Buckeyes are making their 14th Rose Bowl appearance, which will tie them with the Washington Huskies for 3 rd all time. However, this is their first appearance since 1997!

Ohio State’s record on New Year’s Day in Pasadena is 6-7 in the ‘Granddaddy of them All’. The Buckeyes have significantly more BCS appearances than Oregon and they have missed the Rose Bowl three times (2002, 2006, 2007) because they were playing in the National Championship Game. Ohio State is 4-3 in BCS bowls, highlighted by their 2002 Fiesta Bowl victory for the National Championship. The Buckeyes are coached by Jim Tressel, who is in his 9 th season in charge in Columbus. Ohio State’s 10-2 record produced Tressel’s 6 th Big Ten title and 7 th ten win season. The sweater vest-loving coach has an impressive career record of 93-21 at Ohio State, which is the highest winning percentage of coaches with three or more years of tenure in the school’s illustrious history! Tressel led the Buckeyes to the 2002 National Championship and his teams are 3-3 in BCS Bowls and 4-4 overall in bowl games.

Ohio State’s early season was defined by a heartbreaking defeat at home against USC, who rallied late to take an 18-15 decision in Columbus. However, the Buckeyes finished the season on a 9-1 run, the only blemish being a turnover-ridden defeat at Purdue. Ohio State’s year was highlighted by an impressive closing kick in November, which saw them win at Penn State, home against Iowa (to clinch the Big Ten in overtime) and at Michigan to finish the year. The Buckeye victory over the Wolverines moved Tressel-led teams to 8-1 against their hated rivals. Ohio State’s offense is very young and spent much of the season trying to find an identity. While the Buckeyes are best known for their sophomore quarterback, Terrelle Pryor, their five game winning streak to close out the season was largely the byproduct of a resurgent rushing attack. The Buckeyes rushed for over 200 yards in each game during that stretch, highlighted by a 251 yard effort against Michigan.

While an injury to Pryor’s ankle might have been a factor in Tressel’s decision to revert to his well-known Tresselball strategy (ball control and opportunistic defense), the Buckeyes were absolutely dominant on the ground. Despite their struggles, Ohio State still managed to finish the season averaging 29.3 points per game and their rushing attack finished 19 th in the country with 2,387 yards, an average of 199 yards per game! The Ohio State offense of the final five games was extremely effective (31 points per game) and will pose a big challenge behind a very strong run-blocking line. However, there is no doubt that Ohio State’s strength lies with their defense. The Buckeyes have allowed an average of 12.2 points per game this year, good for 5 th best in the country. Even more dangerously, Ohio State leads the nation in interceptions with 23, so this defense makes a lot of game-changing plays. The Buckeyes might have the deepest defensive line in the country, linebackers Ross Homan and Brian Rolle are mobile and hit like a brick wall and their secondary can cover one on one as well as any team in America.

The vaunted Duck rushing attack will have to deal with a unit that has allowed the 4th lowest number of rushing yards in the country! The Buckeye defense will be the best defense, by a wide margin, that Oregon has faced this year. KEY MATCHUP: OREGON’S #8 RUSH OFFENSE vs. OHIO STATE’S #4 RUSH DEFENSE This will be a classic showdown between a prolific offense and an exceptional defense. Both units are among the elite when it comes to the ground game and if one side can emerge victorious then it will almost surely decide the outcome. Normally, when you look at this kind of matchup, you immediately gravitate towards the offensive and defensive lines. However, this matchup isn’t that simple: Oregon runs so much misdirection that it really takes a complete defensive effort on all three levels of the defense to slow down the Ducks. Oregon does a few things really well. First off, Jeremiah Masoli is one of the best in the country at faking a handoff and that usually leads to opponents chasing after ghosts. But it gets even more interesting if he doesn’t hand the ball off to one of his extremely capable backs.

Masoli is a big man who runs very well and can power through a lot of tackles. However, he doesn’t always run the ball after the initial fake: Oregon’s wide receivers often get the ball pitched to them! Needless to say, play action is extremely effective for the Ducks and they’ve hit a lot of deep passes because defensive backs cheat up to defend the run. So that means that Ohio State’s defense has to be extremely disciplined in terms of carrying out their assignments. The exceptional Buckeye defensive line should win the majority of one on one battles against Oregon’s linemen, who are typically smaller but more mobile (though center Max Unger was a top NFL draft pick last year). Expect Cam Heyward and company to make some plays but the vast majority of Ohio State’s stops should fall to their back seven. One of the worst things that a team can do against Oregon is miss tackles and rival Oregon State’s inability to wrap up the Ducks was the biggest reason that the Beavers aren’t in Pasadena for this game! Luckily for the Buckeyes, they are very strong tacklers, even in the secondary.

Expect Ohio State to cheat safety Jermale Hines up to the line to help mobile linebackers Homan and Rolle and put the Duck receivers into man coverage. While it would be improbable to suggest that Ohio State will make every tackle, they’re almost certainly the best tackling team that Oregon will face in this season. Who will win this matchup? I keep coming back to two games for Oregon: Their 19-8 loss to begin the year at Boise State and their 38-36 victory against Purdue. Both teams had a very solid defensive line and tackled well. In fact, both teams forced multiple turnovers because their line was disruptive and Oregon had two of their worst offensive games of the year (The Ducks had two return touchdowns against Purdue). However, neither line was nearly as talented and accomplished as Ohio State’s line, which leads me to believe that the Buckeyes will have a lot success in slowing the Oregon rushing attack. Expect Oregon to move the ball because they’re too good to be stopped outright but I think they’ll have to hit some big pass plays to win this game because Ohio State is just too strong against the run.

In the end, just like great pitching beats great hitting in baseball, a great defense will beat a great offense in football. With Ohio State’s clear advantage along the line of scrimmage and excellent tackling ability from their back seven, the advantage in this key matchup goes to the Buckeyes. THE BREAKDOWN While the outcome of many bowl games can be dependent upon each team’s motivation heading into the game, this game simply doesn’t apply. Both teams are thrilled to be a part of it and both are ending Rose Bowl dry spells that are longer than a decade. Expect both teams to be hyped up and prepared. On the other hand, let’s look at the recent bowl history of both teams. Ohio State has lost their last three postseason games while the Ducks have won their last two. However, all of Ohio State’s games were BCS bowls while Oregon’s last two bowls were the Holiday and Sun Bowls, so there is a significantly different level of competition. In fact, I would argue that Ohio State’s experience playing in big games (their seniors have been part of multiple national championship games) gives the Buckeyes an advantage in terms of bowl experience. But this is 2010 and this season is where we really need to look for our trends.

So here are a few: Heading into championship weekend, Ohio State was the 23rd least penalized in the country while Oregon was the 23 rdmost penalized squad! The Ducks enter the Rose Bowl with 224 more penalty yards than the Buckeyes, so clearly Ohio State is the more disciplined team and that could make a huge difference. While Oregon’s offense has been more explosive this season, Ohio State has actually been more productive in the clutch. The Buckeyes have converted on 3rd down 40. 7 percent of the time, good for 54th in the country. Meanwhile, Oregon only converted on 3 rd down 36.3 percent of the time, which was only 87 thoverall! The Buckeyes might only be an average team on 3rd down but Oregon is surprisingly among the worst in America. When common opponents are looked at, Oregon has a clear advantage. Oregon beat Purdue and USC, who happened to provide the Buckeyes with their only losses on the season. While it isn’t the wisest strategy to employ transitive comparison in college football, it certainly bears out in Oregon’s favor.

PREDICTION After all of the smoke is cleared and the field is laid bare before both teams, who will emerge victorious? Oregon is certainly the darling in the national media due to their connection with Nike and their television-friendly offense. An early ESPN poll showed that 70% of the country was picking the Ducks! So clearly the nation favors Oregon. Looking at both teams, there is one overwhelming reality: Regardless of which offense is on the field, Ohio State has a big advantage along the line of scrimmage. That’s usually a very telling advantage as most games are won in the trenches. Furthermore, Oregon has a number of negative indicators heading into this matchup. Their run defense is only ranked 36 th in the country and Ohio State’s strategy will undoubtedly be the same as their successful stretch drive: Run the ball and control the clock. Under Jim Tressel, the Buckeyes have never lost a game when they’ve run for over 200 yards and I will be surprised if the Buckeyes didn’t rush for that many against the Ducks in this game! After all, they rang up over 200 yards against Iowa and Penn State in November and both teams are ranked ahead of the Ducks in run defense.

On the other hand, Oregon has a quick-strike offense that can score from anywhere on the field. However, Ohio State is among the leaders in the country at preventing plays of more than 20 yards, so expecting the Ducks to rely on the big play seems to be a recipe for failure. It is also very important to compare Ohio State’s performances against top offenses. The one truly comparable team that they’ve faced this year in terms of system is Michigan. The Wolverines threw for more yards than the Ducks and their running game was a little bit less effective, but Ohio State forced five turnovers and held Michigan to a mere ten points. On the season, Michigan was averaging 195 yards per game on the ground and only managed to rush for 80 against the Buckeyes! While no one is arguing that the Ducks are a significantly better oiled machine than Michigan, Ohio State has clearly had a lot of success against a very similar scheme this year. On top of that, Oregon’s 3 rd down conversion rate is shockingly bad.

While there is no doubt some credence to the argument that the Ducks has earned a lot of yards on their first two downs and aren’t as reliant on 3 rd down conversions, if the Ducks only convert a third of their 3 rd downs against the Buckeyes then they’re going to be in trouble. Their conversion rate has to make Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Heacock salivate. I think that a lot of the country has been wowed by Oregon’s great offense and turned off by Ohio State’s recent bowl struggles and that’s why there seems to be an overwhelming sentiment that the Ducks will win this game. However, here’s how I expect this game to go: Ohio State will come out and control the clock and protect the football. Meanwhile, Oregon will hit some big plays and move the ball but I don’t expect them to move it with a lot of consistency. The Ducks also seem much more likely to turn the ball over as Masoli has a tendency to hold the ball away from his body while running and I think the opportunistic Buckeye defense will take advantage. The Buckeyes are also more disciplined and won’t but themselves in any self-inflicted holes.

Finally, the Ducks will get a taste of their own medicine as Ohio State’s Terelle Pryor should have a big day running the ball. Remember, Oregon dearly wanted him two years ago during recruiting because of his ability to run. This season, when you remove yardage lost due to sacks, Pryor has rushed for 922 yards! Expect Pryor’s legs (he leads the Buckeyes in rushing yards and touchdowns) to be the difference against the Ducks. In the end, Ohio State’s ability to win the turnover battle and their dominance on the lines will be the biggest factors in the game and I think that Oregon won’t approach their season average in scoring. Oregon is going to need turnovers to put up a solid score and I just don’t see that happening against a Buckeye team that only turned the ball over twice in their final five games. Ohio State will slay the demons of their last three BCS games by winning the first Rose Bowl of Jim Tressel’s tenure. Rose Bowl Pick: OHIO STATE 34, OREGON 24 by Matt Baxendell Bax is collegesports-fans.com’s football writer. Keep an eye out for all 34 of his bowl previews!

If you want to get in touch with him, email him at Matt.Baxendell@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @MattBaxendell CollegeSports-fans.com is the home of the Dash Fans Network of independent college sports fan sites. If you are interested in having a link to your site from College Sports Fans or in joining the Dash Fans Network, or if you are interested in advertising on the Dash Fans Network, please visit our Contact Info page . The Rose Bowl Turns 100 | Only A Game The Rose Bowl Turns 10008:11 Play By Doug Tribou Share When Florida State and Auburn meet in the national title game on Monday, it will be the second major college football event in Pasadena, Calif. this year. On New Year’s Day, Michigan State beat Stanford, 24-20, in the 100th Rose Bowl. This season there are 35 bowl games, but in 1902 the Rose Bowl was the first. The second Rose Bowl didn’t happen until 1916. That gap is just one of the many quirks and highlights in the game’s storied history.

The 2014 Edition Coming into the 100th Rose Bowl, the Michigan State Spartans were ranked No. 4 in the nation and Stanford was No. 5. But for Dublin, Calif. resident Ellen Silky and her fellow Cardinal fans, the teams were playing for the ultimate prize. “The Rose Bowl is the college championship,” she said. “That’s it, period. No matter what they say. I don’t care about the playoff. It says it on the T-shirts: The Rose Bowl is the ‘Granddaddy of them all.’” In the 100th edition of the Rose Bowl, No. 4 Michigan State beat No. 5 Stanford, 24-20. (Jae C. Hong/AP) Stanford’s about 350 miles north of Pasadena, but Hollywood’s close by, so when James Caan pulled up next to me in the Rose Bowl parking lot, I thought he might be a regular at the game. But the actor best known for his roles in "The Godfather" and "Misery" showed up for one reason. “Michigan State. I went there," Caan said. "I didn’t graduate.

I’m too stupid." Caan played quarterback on the MSU freshman team in 1956. This year's team was just the fifth in school history to the reach the Rose Bowl. "It’s great, man. That’s what we play for. It’s been a while,” Cann said. A while – as in 26 years since the Spartans’ last Rose Bowl appearance. That’s a long wait, but we’re talking about the oldest college football game. Sports and Roses Sports have always been a part of the New Year’s Day festivities in Pasadena. When the Valley Hunt Club staged the first Rose Parade in 1890, tug of war, foot races and jousting were on the agenda. By 1902 the Tournament of Roses was in charge and decided it was time for a different sport: football. They invited Michigan to face Stanford in “The Tournament East-West Game.” “They thought they’d only get about 1,000 people showing up for it,” said Scott Jenkins, the current Tournament of Roses President. The game was played at Tournament Park, where Cal Tech is located today. “They had about 8,000 people show up,” he said.

“There weren’t nearly enough grandstands. Apparently it was quite chaotic." The forward pass had yet to be invented in 1902, but the crowd still saw plenty of scoring – all by one team. I don’t care about the playoff. It says it on the T-shirts: The Rose Bowl is "the Granddaddy of them all." Ellen Silky, Stanford fan So, organizers took a break from football. Michelle Turner is the collections manager at the Pasadena Museum of History and the author of a book about the Rose Bowl . She says one year they tried racing ostriches, but for about 12 years they staged chariot races. “They were inspired by the Broadway production of ‘ Ben-Hur ,’” she explained. “And one year, in 1913, they even raced an elephant against a camel. They really were doing whatever they could to get people’s attention." But in 1916, football returned, and in 1923, the Rose Bowl got a new home. Modeled after the Yale Bowl in Connecticut, the Rose Bowl was originally shaped like a horseshoe.

The project was so unusual construction workers mounted a huge sign that said “STADIUM” to help confused local residents. Football with a Spectacular View Legendary announcer Keith Jackson called many memorable moments — including Texas quarterback Vince Young’s game-winning run in 2006 — in the game he nicknamed “the Grandaddy of them all.” But he says the stadium’s stunning location at the base of Pasadena’s Arroyo Seco and its mountain vistas are as memorable as the games. “And the setting is so spectacular because you see the sun sinking in the West,” Jackson said. “Dramatic, always dramatic. And then you watch a ballgame that’s being played, as I’ve oftentimes said, under the shadow of the broad-shouldered San Gabriels." Pasadena has hosted every Rose Bowl except one, and that was held in North Carolina. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, the 1942 contest was canceled because of concerns that the game could be a target for the Japanese. Then Duke offered to host, but despite having home-field advantage lost to Oregon State.

The Midwest and the West Later that decade, the Rose Bowl began its tradition of welcoming the champions from the predecessors to the Pac-12 and Big 10 conferences. In 1978, the Washington Huskies were the underdogs (pun intended) against mighty Michigan. Behind quarterback and Los Angeles native Warren Moon, the Huskies prevailed. Moon was named Most Valuable Player, an honor also earned by George Halas, Jim Plunkett, O.J. Simpson and Mark Sanchez. After his 17-year NFL career and induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame , Moon says that victory still stands out. It was a spectacular day, a spectacular scene. To me, [the Rose Bowl] was probably the highlight of my career. Warren Moon, 1978 Rose Bowl MVP, Pro Football Hall of Famer And as Michigan State closed out its victory over Stanford Wednesday, it was a huge moment for the sections of fans dressed in green and white, too. After the game, Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio said the work done by the Tournament of Roses volunteers makes the Rose Bowl unique. “The Rose Bowl to me is the pinnacle,” he said.

“If you win the Big 10 championship, you’re gonna be here, and then you can play this football game. Some of other things are taken out of our hands with polls and these type of things, so I always try and focus on the things we can control. And I can just tell you, the experiences we had this week are really unparalleled, and I’ve been to a lot of bowls.” Next year, a new four-team playoff format will begin, with the Rose Bowl in the rotation as a semi-final game. Keith Jackson says the game’s place in the sport may change, but its appeal will not. “There’s always been something happening in the context of the Rose Bowl and the Tournament of Roses that makes it all worthwhile, makes it a real, true festival.” And no matter how the new system plays out, Pasadena’s days of chariot races are gone for good.

Question: What college football bowl is known as The Grandaddy of them all, having been continuously played since 1916?
Answer: The Rose Bowl