The federal government prohibited large public gatherings on the West Coast for the duration of World War II; the first significant canceled event was the Rose Bowl Game scheduled for New Year's Day, 1942.

Donald Durdan of Oregon State was named the Player of the Game when the award was created in 1953 and selections were made retroactively.

The Indians were nicknamed the Wow Boys, because they implemented the seldom-used T-formation, forerunner to the modern football offense.

Oregon State was led by Lon Stiner; at age 38, he became the youngest head coach in Rose Bowl history.

Duke was a logical second choice, but Coach Wallace Wade had rubbed a lot of Californians the wrong way due to his antics following his 7–3 loss in the 1939 Rose Bowl.

[8] Unable to invite their three first choices, the Beavers settled on second-ranked and undefeated Duke, much to the chagrin of Southern California, which was announced on December 1, 1941.

Multiple FBI agents informed Oregon State coach, Lon Stiner that no exception would be made for Yoshihara.

Teammates, students, the acting Oregon State president, and the campus ROTC commandant protested the decision to no avail.

The train with the Beavers' equipment and uniforms did not arrive by practice time, so Oregon State players wore maroon warmups borrowed from the University of Chicago during kicking and passing drills.

The equipment and uniform train arrived just in time for Martin Chaves, Bob Dethman, Donald Durdan, and Joe Day to dress in full pads for press pictures.

To simulate Oregon State, Duke practiced against what Brian Curtis of Sports Illustrated later called "the most talented scout team in the country."

On New Year's Day in Pasadena, the Rose Bowl Court and Queen, all clad in regular street clothes, drove down a deserted Colorado Boulevard, and later to a reception at the Huntington Hotel.

Eisan could not find a silver dollar in North Carolina, so he borrowed a 50-cent piece from Oregon State's Martin Chaves.

The Blue Devils would threaten again late in the first half after an Oregon State fumble gave Duke a first down at the Beaver 32.

The head coach for Oregon State, Lon Stiner, gave an impassioned halftime speech, which was interrupted by an inebriated fan looking to urinate in the Beaver locker room.

After an incomplete pass, the Oregon State defense forced another sack of Duke quarterback Prothro, which ended the threat.

Oregon State retook the lead when Zellick scored on a 31-yard pass from Bob Dethman, set up by a 24-yard Gene Gray run.

Duke would respond on the very next drive, getting 39 yards on a Lach reverse around left end before scoring on a one-yard run by Winston Siegfried three plays later.

The Blue Devils' coach, Wallace Wade, who had won the 1926 Rose Bowl while at Alabama after a comeback against Washington, remarked to an assistant that, "It looks like 1926 all over again."

In the following drive, Bob Dethman found streaking reserve halfback, Gene Gray, on a 33-yard pass.

Gray faked inside and went outside, which confused Moffatt Storer, the Blue Devil cornerback, so badly that he fell down.

On the final play of the game, the Beavers' Dethman (who had thrown two touchdown passes as OSU's quarterback) came up with a game-saving interception on defense, ending Prothro's and Duke's hopes of a comeback.

Donald Durdan, who showed his all-around skill by rushing for 54 yards and a touchdown, passing, and punting, was named the game's most valuable player.

Although many others argue that Columbia's 1934 victory over Stanford was bigger, Sid Feder of the Associated Press labeled it the biggest upset in the Rose Bowl's early history.

As a result of the prohibition against playing football in West Coast stadiums, the East–West Shrine Game was moved to New Orleans, Louisiana.

Both teams lost halfbacks in the Pacific Theater in 1942, Walter Griffith of Duke and Everett Smith of Oregon State.

Tommy Prothro, who was later the head coach of Oregon State and UCLA in successive Rose Bowls, played quarterback for the Blue Devils.

Prothro's backup, Charlie Haynes, and Oregon State left guard, Frank Parker (himself the starting quarterback on the 1940 Beaver team), were rifle platoon leaders in different companies, sailing from Africa to Italy in 1944, when the two recognized each other.

In 1945, during the Battle of the Bulge, Oregon State right tackle, Stan Czech, shared some coffee and food with a fellow soldier who had not eaten in two days.

[25] As of February 2017, the last surviving Oregon State player, who made the trip to Durham, is reserve halfback Andy Landforce, age 100.