The USC Trojans will watch the Michigan Wolverines and Washington Huskies compete for the national championship of college football on Monday night in Houston. USC denied Washington the national title in the 1984 season. Eight years earlier, USC made sure Michigan would not claim a share of the national championship, though other events also ensured the Wolverines did not stand at the top of the sport.
Michigan would not have won or shared the 1976 national championship primarily because No. 1 Pittsburgh completed its unbeaten season with a win over Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. However, if the Panthers had lost that game to the Bulldogs, the national title would have been in play for Michigan as the No. 2 team in the country heading into the 1977 Rose Bowl versus No. 3 USC. The Trojans were also hoping Pitt would lose to Georgia, but when Pitt prevailed, USC’s national title hopes also took a hit.
Still: This was No. 2 versus No. 3 in the Granddaddy. It was a huge game. It also marked John Robinson’s first Rose Bowl as USC head coach.
Ricky Bell was the top running back on the 1976 Trojans, but a freshman named Charles White scored a fourth-quarter touchdown for USC to power the Men of Troy to a bruising 14-6 win over the Wolverines in the Arroyo Seco. This was one of many USC victories over Michigan in the Rose Bowl. They are all historic and significant. Only the 1979 and 2004 Rose Bowls are bigger, given that both games sealed a national championship for the Trojans.
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