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The 1968 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 1, 1968. It was the 54th Rose Bowl Game. The USC Trojans defeated the Indiana Hoosiers 14-7. O.J. Simpson, the USC tailback, was named the Rose Bowl Player Of The Game.

Teams

This was the first and to date, only Rose Bowl appearance for Indiana. Being an even-numbered year for the bowl game, Indiana wore their crimson jerseys as the home team and USC wore their white shirts as the designated visiting team.

USC Trojans

The top-ranked and Pac-8 champion Trojans came into the game with a 9-1 record, losing only to Oregon State in a close 3-0 game. They earned the #1 ranking after claiming a close 21-20 win over rival and then-#1 UCLA in the last week of their season, guaranteeing their spot in the Big Ten/Pac-8 classic. They were led by their powerful tailback O.J. Simpson.

Indiana Hoosiers

The fourth-ranked and Co-Big Ten champion Hoosiers also came into the game with a 9-1 record, losing to Minnesota a week before defeating Purdue. A three-way league title championship was created when Indiana, Minnesota, and Purdue all finished with 6-1 league records, each defeating and losing to one of the other. Indiana's better overall record (9-1 compared with two 8-2 records) gave them the Rose Bowl berth. Quarterback Harry Gonso led the Hoosiers into their first ever bowl game.

Scoring

First quarter

• USC - Simpson 2 run (Aldredge kick)

Second quarter

• Indiana - Kornawa 27 field goal

Third quarter

• USC - Simpson 8 run (Aldredge kick)

Fourth quarter

• None

External links

• Highlights of the 1968 Rose Bowl.
• Summary at Rosebowlhistory.org