| 1989 Rose Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||
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| 75th Rose Bowl Game | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | January 2, 1989 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 1988 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Rose Bowl | ||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Pasadena, California | ||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Leroy Hoard (Michigan FB) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | USC by 6½ points[1][2] | ||||||||||||||||||
| National anthem | Michigan Marching Band | ||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Gordon Riese (Pac-10) (split crew between Pac-10 and Big Ten) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Halftime show | Michigan Marching Band, Spirit of Troy | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 101,688 | ||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||
| Network | ABC | ||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Keith Jackson, Bob Griese | ||||||||||||||||||
The 1989 Rose Bowl was the 75th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, on Monday, January 2. This year marked the 100th anniversary of the Tournament of Roses parade. The Michigan Wolverines of the Big Ten Conference upset the fifth-ranked USC Trojans of the Pacific-10 Conference, 22–14.[3][4] Down by 11 points at halftime, the Wolverines shut out the Trojans in the second half and won by eight. Michigan fullback Leroy Hoard was named the Player of the Game.[5][6][7][8]
It marked consecutive Rose Bowl wins for the Big Ten, which had only two victories (1974, 1981) in the previous eighteen (1970–1987). Michigan head coach Bo Schembechler's record in the game improved to 2–7 (.222).[6][7] Under second-year head coach Larry Smith, USC lost consecutive Rose Bowls for the only time in its history; with the Pac-12 Conference’s demise in 2024, it marked the last time that would happen. The previous western team to lose consecutively was California, which lost three straight (1949–1951) while representing the Pacific Coast Conference (PCC).
This was the first of 22 Rose Bowls televised by ABC; it had been on NBC since the first television broadcast in January 1952. Because New Year's Day was on a Sunday in 1989, the game was played the next day. Both teams returned the following year for a rematch, with a different result.