It featured the undefeated SMU Mustangs against the Stanford Indians, which had one loss.
[1] This was the first Rose Bowl to features two teams that were both located west of the Mississippi River, as the bowl game typically pitted the best teams from the eastern and western United States.
This was the third consecutive Rose Bowl appearance for Stanford's class of 1936 players, nicknamed the "Vow Boys".
SMU had a record of 12–0 and was top-ranked with a defense that had shut out their opponents in eight of 12 games.
Not wanting to lose for the third consecutive time in the Rose Bowl, Stanford strove to score first, which they did with Bill Paulman's touchdown run in the first quarter.