The 2011 Rose Bowl is likely the best matchup of the bowl season, outside of the BCS National Championship Game, with the No. 3 TCU Horned Frogs facing the No. 5 Wisconsin Badgers. TCU defeated New Mexico St, 66-17 in its final game, while Wisconsin dispatched Northwestern, 70-23 in its last outing. The last Rose Bowl that featured one team coming off a 70-point game facing a team coming off a 66-point game was 2006, which just happened to be one of the greatest games in college football history, Texas vs. USC.
That 2006 Rose Bowl also happened to be the last Rose Bowl featuring an undefeated team. Both the Trojans and Longhorns were undefeated, playing in what that year was the BCS title game. TCU is 12-0 this season, the ninth undefeated team in the Rose Bowl in the last 30 years. Here is a look back to previous Rose Bowls featuring undefeated teams in the last 30 years:
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2006: Texas (12-0) 41, USC (12-0) 38
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2002: Miami (11-0) 37, Nebraska 14
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1998: Michigan (11-0) 21, Washington St 16
- 1997: Ohio St 20, Arizona St (11-0) 17
- 1995: Penn St (11-0) 38, Oregon 20
- 1993: Michigan (8-0-3) 38, Washington 31
- 1992: Washington (11-0) 34, Washington 14
Undefeated teams are 6-2 in the last 30 Rose Bowls, and one of those undefeated teams to lose (USC, in 2006) lost to another undefeated team. This is TCU's first trip to the Rose Bowl in school history. The Badgers are making their seventh appearance, having split their first six Rose Bowls, though they have won their last three.