1970 was a year full of many memorable events, including the Apollo 13 Mission and Paul McCartney announcing he would leave the Beatles. Most notably, USC won a defensive battle against Michigan in the 1970 Rose Bowl.
Matt Wadleigh with USA TODAY Sports analyzed each matchup between USC and Michigan in the Rose Bowl in 2023. Here are his writings on the Trojans‘ first win over Michigan in that sequence, preceded by a note about USC halfback Bob Chandler catching a pass from quarterback Jimmy Jones and beating Michigan’s Brian Healy and Ed Moore to score a touchdown.
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“USC got the win this time around, 10-3,” Wadleigh wrote. “This was Bo Schembechler’s first Rose Bowl with Michigan, but before the game began, he suffered a heart attack.”
It’s a true story. Bo Schembechler’s historic run at Michigan began in the 1969 season, but one of the constant themes of his career is that when he reached the Rose Bowl, USC usually defeated him.
This was peak defensive football; the first half of this 1970 Rose Bowl ended with a score of 3-3. Bob Chandler’s touchdown was the sole touchdown of this game, earning him player of the game honors.
While both Michigan and USC hope to play solid defense in 2025, a 10-3 final score on Saturday would be considered one of the least possible outcomes for this Week 7 game. Lincoln Riley is an offensive guru, and this Trojan offense can score 10 points with its eyes closed at the end of the first quarter. With the talent the Wolverines have, scoring 3 points would be levels above any dream scenerio for the Trojans. No one would expect USC to hold Michigan to a field goal in this game.
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This matchup will be a high-scoring battle, and it will come down to which team can get the ball last and which defense can force game-deciding turnovers. Given how the sport has advanced and how explosive college offenses are nowadays, it is fascinating to contemplate how good USC was in the 1970s at winning games without scoring a lot.
This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: USC football defense locked down Michigan in 1970 Rose Bowl victory
