1955 Rose Bowl

Teams

Ohio State

USC

Game summary

Scoring

First quarter

Second quarter

• OSU – Dave Leggett 3-yard run
• OSU – Bob Watkins 21-yard pass from Leggett
• USC – Aramis Dandoy 86-yard punt return

  Third quarter

Fourth quarter

• OSU – Dick Harkrader 9-yard run

  Aftermath

• Ohio State shared the national championship with UCLA for the 1954 season. It was the first "split" championship in college football, when the writers selected the Buckeyes and the coaches chose the Bruins.
• This was the first time a West Coast team had been affected by the "no-repeat" rule, which was not in place when California appeared in three straight. It happened once more, when Oregon State had to stay home three years later. When the PCC disbanded in 1959, the "no-repeat" rule was dropped by the new AAWU and Washington won the next two Rose Bowls in 1960 and 1961. The Big Ten kept the rule in place from the late 1940s into the early 1970s, although Minnesota made consecutive appearances, the 1961 game was as an "at-large" selection. After the rule was dropped, the first to return in successive years was Ohio State in 1974, the sole win for the Big Ten in that decade.

  Game notes

• The game was played in the rain; Coach Hayes was not happy that the bands performed the halftime show on the already muddy field