Countdown to Kickoff: 67 Days

As we continue on our daily countdown towards the 2007 season, we are now at 67. The date was November 18th, 1967, a day that will long live in college football lore, when USC took down their hated cross-town rivals in what many have called the "Game of the Century."

To say this game had championship drama would be an understatement. A Rose Bowl appearance, and thus a chance at a national title, was at stake for both teams, as top ranked UC-Los Angeles (7-0-1 overall) took on the Trojans (8-1 overall) who were ranked 2nd (Coaches) and 4th (AP), respectively. An interesting sub-plot, as seen by the SI cover above, was the race for the Heisman Trophy between bruins QB Gary Beban and USC tailback O.J. Simpson. Though he finished 2nd for the Heisman, Simpson used this game as a spring board to the 1968 Heisman Trophy which he won the following the season (see previous post). The Trojans triumphed over the bruins once again by a score of 21-20, with O.J. rushing 64 yards for the game-winning TD. Here's the link to view highlights from the entire game and below is a clip of Simpson's amazing run...

USC would go on to win the Rose Bowl and be crowned National Champions.

Fight On!