1997 Rose Bowl

The1997 Rose Bowlwas a postseason college footballbowl gamebetween theArizona State Sun Devilsof thePacific-10 Conferenceand theOhio State Buckeyesof theBig Ten Conference.The game was the 83rd edition of the annualRose Bowl Game,held onNew Year's Dayin theRose BowlinPasadena, California.The game resulted in a dramatic 20–17 victory for the Buckeyes whenJoe Germaineled alast-minutetouchdown drive. Joe Germaine was named the Rose Bowl Player Of The Game.The loss remains infamous among Arizona State fans, as the loss cost them a chance at winning their only national championship. Had they won, they would have been the only undefeated team in the nation, and as a result, would have possibly given the Devils at least a share of the national championship.

1997Rose Bowl
83rd Rose Bowl Game
Ohio State Buckeyes Arizona State Sun Devils (10–1) (11–0) 20 17 Head coach: John Cooper Head coach: Bruce Snyder AP Coaches BA 4 4 4 AP Coaches BA 2 2 2
1 2 3 4 Total Ohio State 7 0 7 6 20 Arizona State 0 7 3 7 17
Date	January 1, 1997
Season	1996
Stadium	Rose Bowl
Location	Pasadena, California
MVP	Joe Germaine,QB,Ohio State
Favorite	Ohio State by 1½
Referee	Terry Monk (Big East)
Attendance	100,635
United States TV coverage
Network	ABC
Announcers	Brent Musburger(play-by-play) Dick Vermeil(analyst) Jack Arute(sideline)

Teams

Ohio State

See also:1996 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

The Buckeyes had rolled through the regular season using a two-quarterback system;Stanley JacksonandJoe Germainesplit time in each game at QB. The Buckeye offensive attack was led byOutland Trophy- andLombardi Award-winning tackleOrlando Pace(who would go on to be the #1 pick in theensuingNFL Draft) and true freshman wide receiverDavid Boston,a budding star. The Buckeyes’ only loss was in theregular-seasonfinale againstarchrivalMichigan,which spoiled their undefeated season and national title hopes; however, OSU had clinched a berth in the Rose Bowl one week before The Game with a win overIndiana.The defense was led by the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, lockdown cornerbackShawn Springs,and true freshman middle linebackerAndy Katzenmoyer.

Arizona State

See also:1996 Arizona State Sun Devils football team

The Sun Devils, meanwhile, were undefeated, ranked #2 in the nation, and had hopes of capturing the school's first national championship in football. Leading the way for ASU were senior quarterbackJake Plummer,tailbackTerry Battle,and a stingy defense led by endDerrick Rodgersand linebackerPat Tillman.Perhaps ASU's most impressive regular-season victory came againstdefending national championNebraska,when ASU's defense held the ’Huskers scoreless; Arizona State won by a score of 19–0.

Game summary

First quarter

The Buckeyes scored first midway through the opening period whenquarterbackStanley Jacksonthrew a nine-yard touchdown pass totrue freshmanwideoutDavid Boston,capping a drive that saw Jacksonscramblefor some twenty yards on a third down.Josh Jackson’s PAT was good, making it 7–0 in favor of the Buckeyes. No other scoring ensued in the period, and the Buckeyes led after one, 7–0.

Second quarter

Shortly before halftime, the Sun Devils finally answered via a 25-yard pass play fromJake PlummertoRicky Boyer,tying the game afterRobert Nycz’s extra point.Replaysseemed to show that Boyer had trapped the ball against theend zoneturf, but the touchdown stood. Neither team could manage any more points beforehalftime,and the game went to the break, still tied at 7–7.

Third quarter

After halftime, the Sun Devils would add a 37-yardfield goalby Nycz to take a 10-7 lead on the opening drive of the second half.
The Buckeyes countered only two plays later, whenJoe GermainehitDimitrious Stanleyon apost pattern.ASU cornerJason Simmonsslipped and fell on the turf, and Stanley was off to the races. 72 yards and anextra pointlater, the Buckeyes were back on top with a 14–10 lead.
No more scoring ensued in the third, and the teams went to the fourth quarter with the game very much up for grabs.

Fourth quarter

Late in the fourth quarter, the Buckeyes looked to put the game away.Pepe Pearsonbroke a long run, leading the Buckeyes from inside their own five-yard line deep into ASU territory. However, the drive stalled only three plays later, and OSU had to settle for a Josh Jackson field goal attempt.
That was not to be, as ASU'sBrent Burnsteinblocked the kick. ASUDefensive endDerrick Rodgerstook what appeared to be a lateral and ran the ball into the end zone, but the play was called back: Rodgers had taken an illegalforwardlateral. The Sun Devils, however, had the ball with less than five minutes to play.
Jake Plummer, who had built a reputation over his college career for leading late comeback drives, did just that. The key play was a fourth down conversion when Plummer hit wideoutLenzie Jacksonfor a big gain. With just over a minute remaining, Plummerscrambledfor eleven yards and a touchdown on third-and-goal, and ASU took the lead, 17–14.
However, Germaine was not done. He led the Buckeyes on a remarkablelast-minute drive.Dimitrious Stanley caught two third-down passes from Germaine, and then, with the help of two pass interference penalties against ASU, the Bucks had the ball on the Devils’ five-yard line. Germaine then flipped a pass to the aforementioned Boston, who was left undefended on a zig-out route — ASUredshirt freshmancornerCourtney Jacksonhad blown the coverage. Boston walked into the end zone untouched, and the Buckeyes, with 19 seconds left, retook the lead, 20–17. On the next play, Burnstein blocked Josh Jackson's extra point, leaving the Sun Devils within a field goal.

Ultimately, Lenzie Jackson would be tackled in bounds by OSU's Antoine Winfield after catching a pass from Plummer on the second play of the ensuing drive, and time ran out. The Buckeyes had won the Rose Bowl — their first victory in the Rose Bowl sinceArchie Griffin’s sophomore season.

Scoring summary

Scoring play	Score
1st Quarter
OSU -David Boston9-yard pass fromStanley Jackson(Josh Jackson kick) 5:04	OSU 7, ASU 0
2nd Quarter
ASU - Ricky Boyer 25-yard pass fromJake Plummer(Robert Nycz kick) 10:04	ASU 7, OSU 7
3rd Quarter
ASU - Nycz 37-yard field goal 9:12	ASU 10, OSU 7
OSU -Dimitrious Stanley 72-yard pass fromJoe Germaine(J. Jackson kick) 8:23	OSU 14, ASU 10
4th Quarter
ASU - Plummer 11-yard run (Nycz kick) 1:40	ASU 17, OSU 14
OSU - Boston 5-yard pass from Germaine (kick blocked) 0:19	OSU 20, ASU 17

Aftermath

The Buckeyes would finish #2 in the nation after winning their first Rose Bowl since January 1, 1974, handing the Sun Devils their only loss of the season. The previously-third-rankedFlorida Gatorswould end up winning the national championship after defeating the then-top-rankedFlorida State Seminoles52–20 in theSugar Bowl.FSU had defeated the Gators earlier in theseasonby a score of 24–21. Had the Sun Devils won the game, they would likely had a claim to at least the AP national championship, since they would have been the only undefeated team in the nation. They ultimately finished fourth in both polls, behind Florida, Ohio State and Florida State.

Buckeye quarterback Joe Germaine, who was named the game's Most Valuable Player, would go on to be named theBig Ten's Most Valuable Playerduring his senior season of1998.Many of the players on both teams’ rosters would go on to pro careers: notably,Jake Plummer,Pat Tillman,Derek Smith,Jason Simmons,Scott Von Der Ahe,Steve Bush,andDerrick Rodgersof Arizona State, andMike Vrabel,Shawn Springs,Orlando Pace,Antoine Winfield,Rob KellyandDamon Mooreof Ohio State.

Game notes

• The game was played in the rain
• Ohio State head coachJohn Cooperbecame the first coach to lead a Big Ten and a Pac-10 team to Rose Bowl victories. Previously, Cooper had led the Sun Devils to their onlyRose Bowlvictory, defeatingMichiganin the1987 Rose Bowlby a score of 22–15.