| Year Game Played: | 1978 |
| Game Name: | Rose Bowl |
| Subheader: | 64th Rose Bowl Game |
| Football Season: | 1977 |
| Visitor Name Short: | Washington |
| Visitor Nickname: | Huskies |
| Visitor School: | University of Washington |
| Home Name Short: | Michigan |
| Home Nickname: | Wolverines |
| Home School: | University of Michigan |
| Visitor Record: | 7 - 4 |
| Visitor Conference: | Pac-8 |
| Home Record: | 10 - 1 |
| Home Conference: | Big Ten |
| Visitor Coach: | Don James |
| Home Coach: | Bo Schembechler |
| Visitor Rank Ap: | 13 |
| Visitor Rank Coaches: | 14 |
| Home Rank Ap: | 4 |
| Home Rank Coaches: | 4 |
| Visitor 1Q: | 7 |
| Visitor 2Q: | 10 |
| Visitor 3Q: | 10 |
| Visitor 4Q: | 0 |
| Home 1Q: | 0 |
| Home 2Q: | 0 |
| Home 3Q: | 7 |
| Home 4Q: | 13 |
| Date Game Played: | January 2 |
| Stadium: | Rose Bowl |
| City: | Pasadena, California |
| Mvp Label: | Player of the Game |
| Mvp: | Warren Moon (Washington QB) |
| Odds: | Michigan by 14 [1] |
| Referee: | Otho Kortz (Big Ten); (split crew: Big Ten, Pac-10) |
| Attendance: | 105,312 |
| Us Network: | NBC |
| Us Announcers Link: | List of announcers of major college bowl games |
| Us Announcers: | Curt Gowdy (play-by-play) John Brodie (color) Charlie Jones (sideline) |
The 1978 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game, played on Monday, January 2, and was the 64th Rose Bowl Game. The Washington Huskies, champions of the Pacific-8 Conference, defeated the favored Michigan Wolverines, champions of the Big Ten Conference, Washington quarterback Warren Moon was named the Rose Bowl Player of the Game.[2]
The Huskies led at the half and extended it to early in the third quarter, then held off a Wolverine comeback with two interceptions deep in their own territory in the last two minutes to win by seven.[3] [4] [5] It was the second of three consecutive losses in the Rose Bowl for Michigan, a two-touchdown favorite entering this game.[6]
The face value of game tickets was $17.50 each.[6]
Led by junior quarterback Rick Leach, Michigan began the season ranked second, and were first after four of the first six weeks. However, a stunning loss on October 22 at Minnesota dropped them to sixth. A win over fourth-ranked rival Ohio State gave the Wolverines the Big Ten title and they came into the Rose Bowl ranked fourth.[7]
In their third season under head coach Don James and quarterback Warren Moon, Washington stumbled out of the gate, losing three of their first four games, all out of conference. They then won six of seven, losing at UCLA on October 29 (later vacated by the Bruins, due to ineligible players). The Huskies won the Pac-8 title and earned the Rose Bowl berth when UCLA lost its final game on a last second field goal to USC, Washington entered the game ranked thirteenth in the AP poll, and tied for fourteenth in the UPI coaches poll.[7]
| Statistics | Washington | Michigan | |
|---|---|---|---|
| First downs | 17 | 22 | |
| Rushes–yards | 48–164 | 48–149 | |
| Passing yards | 234 | 239 | |
| Passes | 13–24–2 | 14–27–2 | |
| Total yards | 398 | 388 | |
| Punts–average | 5–39 | 4–43 | |
| Fumbles–lost | 0–0 | 2–1 | |
| Turnovers by | 2 | 3 | |
| Penalties–yards | 6–47 | 3–11 |
With Notre Dame beating top-ranked and undefeated Texas in the Cotton Bowl, Michigan had hopes that a dominant win over Washington would boost the Wolverines to the national title. The Huskies' dramatic upset ended those hopes, and Notre Dame was voted first in the polls among five one-loss teams; Alabama, Arkansas, Texas, and Penn State were the others. Michigan dropped to ninth in the final AP poll and Washington climbed to tenth; both were a spot higher in the UPI coaches poll.[8]