1986 Rose Bowl
| 1986 Rose Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 72nd Rose Bowl Game | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | January 1, 1986 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 1985 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Rose Bowl | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Pasadena, California | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Eric Ball (UCLA RB) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National anthem | The UCLA Solid Gold Sound Band | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Tom Quinn (Big Ten) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Halftime show | UCLA Band and Hawkeye Marching Band | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 103,292 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Network | NBC | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers: | Dick Enberg, Merlin Olsen | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nielsen ratings | 22.7[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rose Bowl
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The 1986 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 1, 1986. It was the 72nd Rose Bowl Game. The UCLA Bruins defeated the Iowa Hawkeyes 45-28. UCLA tailback Eric Ball was named the Rose Bowl Player Of The Game.[2] He ran for a Rose Bowl record four touchdowns.
Pre-Game Activities
The game was presiding over by the 1986 Rose Queen Aimee Richelieu, San Marino High School, the Royal Court (Shannon Guernsey, Christine Huff, April Lake, Tracey Langford, Julene Penner and Loreen Weeks), the Tournament of Roses President Frederick D. Johnson, Jr., and Rose Parade Grand Marshal Erma Brombeck.
Teams
The 1986 Rose Bowl would match the winners of the Big Ten Conference and the Pacific 10 Conference. Each conference had tie-breaker rules in place should there be conference co-champions.
Iowa Hawkeyes
Iowa spent a number of weeks ranked number one. On October 19, 1985, they defeated the #2 Michigan Wolverines 12-10 in the thirteenth regular season matchup between a #1 and #2 team.[3] Mike Haight, Chuck Long, and Ronnie Harmon were the stars for the Hawkeyes. They eventually lost one game on November 2, 1985 to Ohio State 13-22.[4] Iowa came into the game with a record of 10-1.
After much consideration, Chuck Long delighted Iowa Hawkeye fans by declaring that he would return for his senior season. He became an instant Heisman Trophy candidate, and Iowa was a pre-season top five team. After three weeks in 1985, the Hawkeyes ascended to #1 in the national rankings.
In Iowa's first game at #1, the Hawkeyes played Michigan State. A seesaw game had Michigan State leading, 31-28, in the waning minutes. Long drove Iowa the length of the field, and the Hawkeyes faced fourth and goal from the two-yard line with just 27 seconds remaining. Since there was no overtime rule, Iowa needed to go for the touchdown and the win. Chuck Long faked a handoff to running back Ronnie Harmon and then ran to his right. His fake had fooled the Spartan defenders, and Long ran into the endzone, holding the ball high above his head as he crossed the goal line to give Iowa a 35-31 victory. He completed a school record 30 passes on 39 attempts for 380 yards and scored five touchdowns (four passing and the game winning score rushing) in the game.
Two weeks later, #1 Iowa faced #2 Michigan in Kinnick Stadium. Iowa trailed 10-9 as the Hawkeyes regained possession of the football at their own 22-yard line with just 5:27 remaining in the game. Long led Iowa on a 66-yard drive against the nation's top ranked defense, twice converting third-and-eight situations by completing passes to tight end Mike Flagg. Long drove the Iowa team to the 12-yard line with two seconds remaining to set up kicker Rob Houghtlin's game winning field goal as time expired. Chuck Long completed 26 of 39 passes for 297 yards in Iowa's 12-10 win.
A loss to Ohio State cost Iowa their #1 ranking, but the Hawkeyes still won the Big Ten title outright for the first time in 27 years.[5] Chuck Long won many major national awards as a senior, including the 1985 Maxwell Award, given to the nation's top player and the Davey O'Brien Award, given to the nation's top quarterback. He was the Big Ten Player of the Year and a consensus first team All-American. Finally, Chuck Long was the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy to Bo Jackson of Auburn in what used to be the closest margin in Heisman history, losing by just 45 points.
UCLA Bruins
UCLA defeated defending national champion BYU in Provo, 27-24 to start the season. They tied eventual SEC and Sugar Bowl champion Tennessee. The Bruins opened the PAC-10 season by losing at Washington, 21-14. They would later get two key wins, the first against Arizona State, the second at Arizona. For much of the season, the rushing defense was ranked #2 in the nation, behind Oklahoma's.[6][7] They won the rest of their games leading to the 1985 USC vs UCLA game.
Needing a win against 4-5 USC, UCLA struggled. UCLA was leading in the fourth quarter 13-10 when Eric Ball fumbled at the USC 1 as he was about to score the what would have been the clinching touchdown. Freshman quarterback Rodney Peete led USC on a drive, converting a key fourth down along the way. In the last 2 minutes, USC again faced a 4th down, this time at UCLA's 2-yard line. USC scored to take a 17-13 lead, then intercepted UCLA quarterback David Norrie as he tried to lead a Bruin comeback. UCLA's loss opened the door for Washington to grab the Rose Bowl berth, but they were upset by Washington State the same day, 21-20. Washington lost the advantage due to the loss in the 1985 Oregon State vs. Washington football game. This put Arizona State in position to win the conference as they entered their game with Arizona with only one conference loss (40-17 to UCLA). But later that evening, Arizona defeated Arizona State 16-13 to cause a tie between UCLA, Arizona State, and Arizona.[8] UCLA won the tiebreaker and the Rose Bowl berth by virtue of its wins over Arizona and Arizona State.[9][10]
UCLA came into the 1986 Rose Bowl game with a record of 8-2-1. Coach Terry Donahue was named Pac-10 Coach of the year.[11] Five Bruin players were first team All Pac-10: defensive tackle Mark Walen, offensive tackle Mike Hartmeier, kicker John Lee, nose guard Terry Tumey and inside linebacker Tommy Taylor. Walen was named Pac-10 defensive player of the year. UCLA finished ranked #1 in the nation in rushing defense, at 70.3 yards per game. Oklahoma was second with 89.9 yards per game.[12]
Game summary
The weather was overcast and 71 degrees. The UCLA Bruins wore white visitor jerseys, and the Iowa Hawkeyes wore their black home jerseys. Both teams wore Rose Bowl patches on their uniforms. The Iowa Hawkeye helmets bore a sticker with the letters "ANF" for "America Needs Farmers". Coach Hayden Fry had the players wear these stickers to bring attention the plight of American farmers.[13]
- Humorist Erma Bombeck was the grand marshal for the 97th Tournament of Roses Parade held on January 1, 1986. The parade theme was "A Celebration of Laughter."[14]
- Tournament of Roses President Lay Leishman presided over the coin toss. Iowa won the toss and deferred to UCLA.
- Hayden Fry was tied with Forest Evashevski in all time wins as an Iowa head coach coming into the 1986 Rose Bowl.
- Iowa recovered a fumble at the UCLA 5 from a bad snap of a UCLA punt on the first series of downs. In the first play from scrimmage, Chuck Long gave the ball to Ronnie Harmon, who fumbled the ball and UCLA recovered.
- Eric Ball, a freshman for UCLA, ran for 227 yards and tied a Rose Bowl record by scoring four touchdowns. Eric was in for the injured Gaston Green, who had started, but pulled a hamstring.
- Matt Stevens was the UCLA quarterback. After sharing the #1 QB job with David Norrie for the first half of the season, he eventually lost the starter's job after playing poorly vs. Washington. Stevens did not find out he was starting until a few minutes before the game, when Norrie couldn't play due to an injury.
- Iowa quarterback Chuck Long was sacked four times. A loophole with the redshirting rule allowed Long to play in his fifth bowl game. He is believed to be the only collegiate player to participate in five bowl games.
- Iowa running back Ronnie Harmon fumbled the ball four times and later dropped a pass while wide open in the end zone as Iowa attempted a late comeback. He had only fumbled one time in the regular season.
Scoring
First Quarter
- Iowa—David Hudson, one-yard run. Rob Houghtlin PAT (Point after touchdown).[15][16]
- UCLA—Eric Ball, 30-yard run. John Lee (placekicker) PAT.
- UCLA—Lee, 42-yard field goal.
Second Quarter
- Iowa—Houghtlin, 24-yard field goal.
- UCLA—Ball, 40-yard run. Lee PAT.
- UCLA—Ball, six-yard run. Lee PAT.
At the half, the score is UCLA 24, Iowa 10. The story of the game so far is Ronnie Harmon's four fumbles and Eric Ball's three touchdowns.
Third Quarter
- Iowa—Chuck Long four-yard run. Houghtlin PAT.
- UCLA—Mike Sherrard, six-yard pass from Matt Stevens. Lee PAT.
Fourth Quarter
- UCLA—Ball, 32-yard run. Lee PAT.
- Iowa—Houghtlin, 52-yard field goal. (This tied the record for longest field goal made in the Rose Bowl.)
- UCLA—Stevens, one-yard run. Lee PAT.
- Iowa—Bill Happel, 11-yard pass from Long. Harmon run for two points.
Statistics
| Team Stats | UCLA | Iowa |
|---|---|---|
| First Downs | 29 | 25 |
| Net Yards Rushing | 299 | 82 |
| Net Yards Passing | 189 | 319 |
| Total Yards | 488 | 401 |
| PC–PA–Int. | 16–26–1 | 29–38–1 |
| Punts–Avg. | 2–38.5 | 2–32.5 |
| Fumbles–Lost | 3–2 | 4–4 |
| Penalties–Yards | 6–36 | 5–40 |
Aftermath
Final polls
Iowa missed an outside shot at the final #1 ranking, with #2 Miami losing to Tennessee 35-7 in the Sugar Bowl and #3 Oklahoma defeated #1 Penn State 25-10 in the Orange Bowl.[17] Oklahoma had leapfrogged Iowa on December 10 in the poll. Michigan finished at #2 after their Fiesta Bowl win, the highest final poll ranking ever achieved by Michigan coach Bo Schembechler.
Television ratings
This game had a 22.7 television ratings share. Through 2007, only the 1987 Fiesta Bowl game has a higher U.S. television rating at 24.9. Only the 1988 Orange Bowl at a 20.8 and the 2006 Rose Bowl at a 21.7 have over a 20 share since the 1986 Rose Bowl.[1]
Chuck Long
Though Iowa lost in Chuck Long's final game in the 1986 Rose Bowl a 45-28 loss to UCLA, the loophole with the redshirting rule allowed Long to play in his fifth bowl game. He is believed to be the only collegiate player to participate in five bowl games. Chuck Long's Iowa teams compiled a 35-13-1 record. He graduated with 10,461 passing yards and 74 touchdowns on 782 completions. He held every passing record at the University of Iowa except one (passes attempted in a game) when he graduated. Long holds the best completion percentage of any college quarterback all-time who has attempted more than 1,000 career passes. He was also the first Big Ten player and just the second player in college football history to throw for more than 10,000 yards in a career. Chuck Long was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1999 and the Iowa Sports Hall of Fame in 2001.
Ronnie Harmon
It has been implied that Harmon was actually throwing the game with the fumbles and dropped pass.[18] Coach Hayden Fry commented on the issue in his book High Porch Picnic:[19]"Harmon took a lot of heat because he lost four fumbles, all in the first half. That was uncharacteristic of him; I think he fumbled once during the regular season. The game film reveals that every fumble he lost was caused by a UCLA defender making a hard hit. They just knocked the ball loose. They [UCLA] did a great job of tackling. UCLA made bad things happen to Iowa; Iowa didn’t self-destruct. Ronnie Harmon had a tremendous football career with the Hawkeyes, and I hated to see it end that way."
Harmon had 14 carries for a total of 55 yards.[16]
Terry Donahue
This was Coach Donahue's third and final win in the Rose Bowl Game. It was the fourth New Year's Day win in a row for Donahue and the Bruins. It would culminate in an NCAA record 7 straight bowl game wins for Donahue and the Bruins following the 1989 Cotton Bowl. Donahue coached in 13 bowl games, second only in the Pac-10 to Don James' 14 bowl games.[20] As of the 2013 season, the Bruins have not won again in the Rose Bowl game.
Future NFL players
Future NFL Players James Washington, Mike Sherrard,Mark Walen, Ken Norton, Jr., Jim Wahler, Carnell Lake, Darryl Henley, Chuck Long, Ronnie Harmon, Larry Station, Devon Mitchell, and Mike Haight played in this game.[16]
Future Head Coaches
Kirk Ferentz, Bill Snyder, and Barry Alvarez were assistant coaches for Hayden Fry.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Rose Bowl Game(R) National Championship Scores Championship Rating of 21.7. The 2006 Rose Bowl Game National Championship, presented by Citi was broadcast by ABC Sports and earned the highest-rated Rose Bowl Game ratings in 20 years. PRNewswire, January 6, 2006. The final national HH [household] rating of 21.7 for Wednesday night's game makes it the highest-rated Rose Bowl Game in 20 years -- since the 1986 Rose Bowl (UCLA-Iowa) which reported a HH rating of 22.7.
- ↑ 2008 Rose Bowl Program, 2008 Rose Bowl. Accessed January 26, 2008.
- ↑ No. 1 vs. No. 2. CBS Sportsline
- ↑ University of Iowa Football 2007 Media Fact Book
- ↑ Big Ten Football Media Guide. Note that Michigan had a 6-1-1 record in second place to Iowa's 7-1 record. Michigan also had tied with Illinois.
- ↑ Dodds, Tracy - True Grit on Ground : Walen Anchors UCLA's Ranked Rushing Defense. Los Angeles Times, November 6, 1985
- ↑ Dodds, Tracy - 're UCLA Bruins, Alias Smith and Jackson : Sophomore Outside Linebackers Have Earned the Respect of Their Coaches - Los Angeles Times, November 13, 1986
- ↑ Oates, Bob - Strange Plays Beat Sun Devils : To UCLA's Benefit, Arizona State Was Own Worst Enemy. Los Angeles Times, November 25, 1985
- ↑ Dodds, Tracy - Donahue Says UCLA Didn't Back In : Coach Points Out Bruins Finished With the Best Record. Los Angeles Times, November 25, 1985
- ↑ UCLA had a record of 6-2, both ASU and Arizona were 5-2 having played one fewer conference games. The University of Arizona football Media Guide in the 2013 season lists the Wildcats as finishing tied for second place. The Arizona State University Media Guide in the 2013 season listed the Sun Devils as having finished in third place. The Pac-12 Media guide lists ASU and Arizona having tied for second with UCLA in sole possession of first place.
- ↑ Donahue and Walen Win Honors in Pacific 10 Conference. Los Angeles Times, November 27, 1985
- ↑ University of Oklahoma Football Media Guide. University of Oklahoma Athletic Department. Norman, Oklahoma: University Printing Services 1986
- ↑ ANF History / Hayden Fry Iowa Farm Bureau 2013
- ↑ Leading Lady : Humorist Erma Bombeck to Be Marshal of Rose Parade. Los Angeles Times, September 5, 1985
- ↑ Historical Media Guide, Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association, 2009
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 UCLA Football Media Guide
- ↑ White, Gordon S. (jr.) - THE MAJOR BOWL GAMES; ON NEW YEAR'S DAY, A SCRAMBLE TO BE NO.1. New York Times, December 30, 1985. Quote: "Then there is Iowa out in the Rose Bowl. The once-beaten Hawkeyes are probably not serious contenders for No. 1, but they may get a lot of votes if they beat U.C.L.A. in the Rose Bowl and Penn State loses."
- ↑ Ron Maly: Hawkeye Past and Hawkeye Future. July 25, 2002. Scout.com Abstract: Accusations by a mobster, Michael Franzese, a thug who was associated with sports agent Norby Walters, and was interviewed on HBO's Real Sports, implicated Ronnie Harmon in throwing the 1986 Rose Bowl.
- ↑ Fry, Hayden (2001)
- ↑ Pacific 12 conference football media guide, 2013 edition
Bibliography
- University of Iowa Football 2007 Media Fact Book - (PDF copy available at hawkeyesports.cstv.com/)
- UCLA Football Media Guide (PDF Copy available at www.uclabruins.com)
- The 1986 ROSE BOWL GAME IOWA VS. UCLA. Touchdown Publications, January 1, 1986 (Game Program)
- Fry, Hayden; Wine, George (2001). A High Porch Picnic. Sports Publishing LLC. ISBN 1-58261-373-7.
- "1986 Rose Bowl Telecast" (in English). January 1, 1986. NBC.
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