A run for the Rose Bowl: Big Ten fans flocking to Pasadena after many years away
LA TimesIt’s a comeback story years, sometimes decades in the making. “We have a very thin group of guys who are still around,” said Harry Gonso, the Hoosiers’ quarterback that day 56 years ago, “if you understand what I mean.” Minnesota was once such a Rose Bowl regular — appearing in the New Year’s Day game as the Big Ten champion in 1961 and ’62 — that Dave Mona, then a freshman writing for the school’s student newspaper, decided not to splurge on the $49 round-trip train fare to Pasadena to attend the latter game. “I casually said, ‘No, I won’t go this time — they go every year,’ ” Mona said, “having no idea that it would be more than 50 years later before they would be back.” Iowa has played in the Rose Bowl only three times in the last half-century, making its return in early November a novelty on par with the team playing a game last season against Northwestern at Wrigley Field in Chicago. “That was a huge thing,” Ferentz said of going back to the Rose Bowl, where the Hawkeyes haven’t played since a 2016 loss to Stanford, “so I think there’s that attraction for a lot of our fans — they’re going to love it, so I’m all for that.” In a nod to the level of interest in the game, Delta Air Lines added a direct flight from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to Los Angeles to accommodate Hawkeyes fans heading to Pasadena. “I’ll get home in time to watch it on TV and keep my fingers crossed that the Gophers either win the Big Ten and get chosen to go to the Rose Bowl,” Mona said, “or more realistically, probably in two or four more years they’ll go back as a visiting team.” Fortunately, Mona can hear all about what it was like to be there from Jessen, a longtime friend who will add the Rose Bowl to the list of college football meccas he’s visited.
History of this topic
Rose Bowl traditions may change, but Oregon’s matchup with Ohio State has the makings of a classic
Associated PressOhio State to host Tennessee in first-round showdown to determine No. 1 Oregon’s Rose Bowl matchup
Associated Press
Can UCLA get its Big Ten breakthrough? Five things to watch against Rutgers
LA TimesNo. 11 USC will make its first visit to the Big House since 1958 for the Big Ten’s game of the week
Associated Press
Can UCLA make a run for it in Big Ten debut? Five things to watch against Indiana
LA Times
Let them hear it! UCLA is putting standing students behind visitors’ bench at the Rose Bowl
LA Times
Rose Bowl asks to be left out of College Football Playoff semifinal rotation
New York Times
Vannini: The Rose Bowl should host the national championship every year, so why won’t it?
New York TimesA tantalizing Rose Bowl matchup pits Saban’s Alabama against Harbaugh’s Michigan in the CFP
Associated PressTop-seeded Michigan returns to Rose Bowl to face Alabama in College Football Playoff semifinal
Associated Press
Rose Bowl: No. 8 Utah to face No. 11 Penn State for the first time in their history
LA Times
Rose Bowl or a season with thorns? The UCLA Bruins’ best- and worst-case scenarios
LA Times
Kamrani: The Rose Bowl was a loss for Utah, a classic, and the reason why college football is its own kind of magic
New York Times
Utah and Ohio State pass on some bowl perks to avoid COVID ahead of the Rose Bowl
LA Times
No. 14 Utah beats No. 10 Oregon 38-10 for 1st Rose Bowl bid
Associated Press
Big response to UCLA ticket offers could lead to huge crowd at Rose Bowl against LSU
LA Times
UCLA fans will be allowed back into the Rose Bowl someday ... but who will go?
LA Times
Column: Rose Bowl is a special venue and UCLA football is making it a depressing place
LA TimesDiscover Related
