Top 5 Rose Bowls of the 21st Century

©Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Network

When ABC Sports' Keith Jackson coined the phrase that the Rose Bowl was “The Granddaddy of them All,” it was out of respect for the Rose Bowl game being college football’s first-ever postseason game. 

When you review the history of the 110 previous Rose Bowl games, it is littered with college football immortals who have participated in the game, putting on some of the sport’s most epic clashes.

As Oregon and Ohio State clash in the 111th edition of the Rose Bowl, it has all the ingredients to be a worthy addition to the greatest games in the history of the Rose Bowl. The only thing we have to wait for is the game itself. Doing a top 5 list of Rose Bowl games is a tall task in itself, but the encounters in the 21st century have provided many classics. Even picking five of the best was hard to do.

Here are my top 5 Rose Bowls of the 21st Century:

No. 5 Rose Bowl 2020: Wisconsin vs. Oregon

I will be honest with you, I was torn between two of Wisconsin’s Rose Bowl disappointments to make the No. 5 spot. The 2011 Rose Bowl where Wisconsin running back Montee Ball was stopped on a potential game-tying two-point conversion to cap TCU’s undefeated season was right there but I felt Oregon’s controversial, some would say, 2020 Rose Bowl was just a tad better game.

The game itself saw seven lead changes, the final lead change came midway through the fourth quarter on Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert’s 30-yard touchdown. On the previous play, Wisconsin’s Danny Davis III fumbled to set up the Herbert score.

The controversy came with three minutes to go in the game where Wisconsin had an apparent first down on tight end Jake Ferguson’s reception but was nullified by an offensive pass interference call that thwarted a potential Wisconsin comeback.

No. 4 Rose Bowl 2017: Penn State vs. USC

In a matchup that, on the surface, featured a surging USC team that won eight games in a row to clinch a berth in the Rose Bowl as the Pac-12 Conference Champion Washington wrestled the No. 4 spot from Big Ten Conference Champion Penn State, who felt robbed of a College Football Playoff appearance. 

The two teams would go on to break many Rose Bowl offensive records—most notably most points scored between two teams, most touchdowns scored for USC’s Sam Darnold and Penn State’s Trace McSorley at five a piece, and Penn State’s 28-point explosion in the third quarter.

The game was chock-full of explosive plays highlighted by Penn State’s Saquon Barkley’s 79-yard touchdown run (one of 3 Barkley touchdowns on the day).

USC erased a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit, the largest in Rose Bowl history, to tie the game at 49. Penn State went aggressive trying to win the game in regulation but a McSorley's pass was intercepted by Leon McQuay III who set up the USC deciding score.

No. 3 Rose Bowl 2024: Alabama vs. Michigan

This game may one day be a strong contender to being the No. 1 game in the history of the Rose Bowl as it marks so many different endings in college football.

This was Nick Saban’s final game as head coach, it was seemingly a potential changing of the guard between the Big Ten and Southeastern Conference and it was Jim Harbaugh’s ultimate answer to critics who thought Michigan emphasized too much on the Ohio State matchup and not on the national picture.

The game was the second overtime game in the history of the Rose Bowl and one that was a true nail-biter. In the first overtime, Michigan running back Blake Corum ran for the deciding touchdown as Michigan was able to thwart an Alabama answer.

No. 2 Rose Bowl 2018: Oklahoma vs. Georgia

The organizers after the 2017 edition thought how they would have a worthy sequel to that epic contest, had zero fears after this edition that saw both Oklahoma and Georgia break the total points record as well as the first overtime encounter in Rose Bowl history.

Early on, it looked like it was going to be an Oklahoma rout as the Sooners' Heisman Trophy winner Baker Mayfield connected with CeeDee Lamb on a trick play to put Oklahoma up 31-14 with six second left in the first half, it seemed new Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley was ascending as football new coaching wunderkind. Georgia maximized the final six seconds to kick, at the time, an unassuming 55-yard Rodrigo Blankenship field goal, but one that would propel Georgia back in it.

The Bulldogs would score 14 unanswered in the third quarter to tie it at 31.

After finishing regulation tied at 45, it would take two overtimes where Lorenzo Carter blocked an Austin Siebert field goal that allowed Georgia running back Sony Michel to take it 27 yards for the game-winning touchdown. The win would propel Georgia into the national championship and the loss was the first of many Oklahoma playoff disappointments under Riley.

No. 1 Rose Bowl 2006: USC vs. Texas

It's a seminal game in the history of college football, that is what keeps it nudged ahead of the 2018 Rose Bowl. I could make a case that the 2018 Rose Bowl was better than the 2006 edition, the issue becomes you have to justify some of college football’s biggest immortals and situations in the history of the game, and that about ends that argument.

USC was the preeminent power, winners of two national championships, a 34-game winning streak and the previous two Heisman Trophy winners in quarterback Matt Leinart (2004) and running back Reggie Bush (2005). USC was being compared nightly against the greatest teams of all time, with ESPN seemingly anointing USC as the greatest team ever.

That was plenty of motivation for Texas, which head coach Mack Brown had to say ESPN did a tremendous job of providing material because all he had to do was show his Longhorns they were an afterthought.

The game itself was an absolute masterpiece filled with controversy whether it was a replay glitch that missed Texas quarterback Vince Young having his knee down on the toss to Selvin Young on Texas’ opening touchdown, Reggie Bush's impromptu lateral, and Pete Carroll’s controversial fourth-and-2 call that did not involve Bush that allowed Texas to capitalize on the situation.

Overall, the game will be remembered for Young’s epic performance, one that Carroll referred to as the greatest individual performance he ever saw. Young finished with 267 yards on 30-of-40 passing along with 200 yards rushing and 3 rushing touchdowns, including the deciding score with 19 seconds to go.

© Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch/USA TODAY NETWORK

If this game needed any more to add to its significance, it was legendary broadcaster Keith Jackson’s final game for ABC Sports, appropriate of not just being the greatest Rose Bowl of the 21st Century but also of all time.