| 1949 Rose Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 35th Rose Bowl Game | |||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
| Date | January 1, 1949 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 1948 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Rose Bowl | ||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Pasadena, California | ||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Frank Aschenbrenner (Northwestern HB) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | Northwestern by 6½ points[1][2] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | James M. Cain (Pacific Coast; split crew: Pacific Coast, Big Nine) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 93,000 | ||||||||||||||||||
The 1949 Rose Bowl was the 35th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, on Saturday, January 1. The seventh-ranked Northwestern Wildcats of the Big Nine Conference defeated the #4 California Golden Bears, champions of the Pacific Coast Conference, 20–14.[3][4]
Northwestern halfback Frank Aschenbrenner was named the Player of the Game when the award was created in 1953 and selections were made retroactively.[5]
It was the third Rose Bowl since the Big Nine and PCC made an exclusive agreement to match their conference champions; the Big Nine team won for the third straight year.
Northwestern has played in just one Rose Bowl since, 47 years later in January 1996. Until the 2013 Gator Bowl, this was the program's only bowl game win.
- ^ "Rose Bowl squads set for grid fray". Pittsburgh Press. United Press. December 31, 1948. p. 12.
- ^ "Rose Bowl squads in shape for tilt: Wildcats rule as favorites". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. January 1, 1949. p. 9.
- ^ "92,000 fans see Northwestern defeat California, 20-14". Youngstown Vindicator. (Ohio). United Press. January 2, 1949. p. 1, section 4.
- ^ Myers, Bob (January 2, 1949). "Northwestern tops California, 20 to 14, in Rose Bowl with late score". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. p. 1, sports.
- ^ "Bowl Championship Series - Rose Bowl Info & History". ESPN. Archived from the original on July 25, 2008. Retrieved July 17, 2008.