Michigan shocked the college football world by upsetting the top-ranked Buckeyes 24–12 to tie for the conference title and receive the Rose Bowl bid.
Just days before the Rose Bowl, first-year head coach Bo Schembechler, age forty, suffered a mild heart attack and had to miss the game;[9][10] defensive coordinator Jim Young was the acting head coach.
[3] Aided by a pass interference penalty on fourth down followed by a controversial last-minute touchdown, USC earned the Rose Bowl berth with a 14–12 win over rival UCLA in their regular season finale.
[12] The Trojans were making their record fourth consecutive Rose Bowl appearance, as the Pac-8 did not have a "no repeat" rule.
With three minutes to play in the third quarter, USC quarterback Jimmy Jones threw a 33-yard touchdown pass to Bob Chandler to give the Trojans a 10–3 lead.