2018 Rose Bowl
The 104th Rose Bowl Game was a semifinal for the College Football Playoff (CFP), Georgia of the SEC and Oklahoma of the Big 12.
The Bulldogs won the game 54–48, with a 27-yard run by Sony Michel, shortly after Lorenzo Carter blocked Oklahoma Sooners' field goal attempt in the second overtime.
With 26.8 million viewers on ESPN, the game ranked as the fifth most-viewed cable program of all time.
Pre-game activities were held at the Rose Bowl parking lots and at Brookside Golf Course.
The 2018 Rose Parade's theme was “Making A Difference,” and actor Gary Sinise was its Grand Marshal.
It was the first time since the 2006 edition (BCS National Championship Game) in which one of the participants was a Power 5 team outside of the two traditional conferences.
The matchups for the semifinals are geographically selected to ensure the top two teams do not play in road environments.
[7] Georgia won their only previous Rose Bowl appearance when their 1942 team, which claims a national championship, beat the Pacific Coast Conference (predecessor to the Pac-12) champion UCLA 9–0 in 1943, a matchup which occurred prior to the Big Nine-PCC agreement.
Oklahoma won their only previous Rose Bowl appearance when their 2002 team beat the then Pac-10 champion Washington State 34–14 in 2003, a matchup which occurred since Big Ten champion Ohio State was selected for the Fiesta Bowl, which was being used as that year's BCS National Championship Game, and Oklahoma was selected to replace them.
[9] During the first quarter, starting quarterback Jacob Eason was injured in an out-of-bounds hit that strained his knee.
7 Georgia traveled to Knoxville to play longtime SEC East rival the Tennessee Volunteers after losing to them at home in 2016.
[8] Oklahoma opened the season against the University of Texas at El Paso Miners, winning 56–7 and showcasing a strong offense.
[43][44] The 54–48 score made this the highest-scoring Rose Bowl, edging out 2017's University of Southern California 52–49 win over Penn State.
[46] Georgia was forced to punt the ball on the first drive of the game, giving Oklahoma its first possession.
Oklahoma's quarterback Baker Mayfield completed three passes, the third to Marquise Brown in the end zone, scoring the first touchdown of the day.
[47] At the end of the second quarter, the Sooners employed a double reverse, and Baker Mayfield caught his first pass in college to score a 2-yard touchdown.
[43] Georgia received its possession with only 6 seconds on the clock, and Rodrigo Blankenship scored a 55-yard field goal.
[43] Blankenship set a Rose Bowl record for longest field goal kick.
[43] Jake Fromm completed a 4-yard pass to Javon Wims, taking the lead for the first time in the game, at 38–31.
[47] With fifty-five seconds left in the game, Nick Chubb took a direct snap and rushed for two yards for a game-tying touchdown.
[47][45] When Georgia had the ball, Sony Michel took a direct snap on a second down and rushed for a 27-yard touchdown, winning the game for the Bulldogs.
