MSU vs. UCLA 1966 Rose Bowl Ranked Third Among Best Games Between New Conference Opponents

ESPN recently ranked the 1966 Rose Bowl between Michigan State and UCLA as the No. 3 game all-time between today's new conference opponents.

Oct 1966; East Lansing, MI, USA; FILE PHOTO; Michigan State Spartans running back Bob Apisa (45) in action at Spartan Stadium during the 1966 season. Mandatory Credit: Malcolm Emmons-USA TODAY Sports / Malcolm Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

With UCLA, Washington, USC and Oregon joining the Big Ten this upcoming football season, there are bound to be new -- and re-born -- rivalries between some storied programs in the new-look conference.

One of those resurrected rivalries could be Michigan State and UCLA. While the two teams won't meet in the 2024 regular season, their history goes way back, the bulk of their rivalry having been during the 1960s and 1950s.

In a recent article from ESPN's Bill Connelly, Connelly ranked the Top 50 "classic matchups and wild bowls between college football's new conference rivals."

Michigan State's Rose Bowl game against UCLA in 1966 was ranked No. 3.

Here's what Connelly had to say of the contest:

"One of those perfect games, with perfect weather and huge stakes, that the Rose Bowl has provided so many times through the years. UCLA had lost only once since a season-opening 13-3 defeat at Michigan State, and the Bruins came prepared for revenge against the top-ranked Spartans. After a short Gary Beban touchdown, UCLA got the ball back with a surprise onside kick, and Beban scored again.

"Those 14 were just enough. MSU's big running back, Bob Apisa, scored on a 30-yard run with 6:13 left, but a 2-point pass attempt -- a very progressive strategy for the mid-1960s! -- failed. Hall of Famer Bubba Smith partially blocked a UCLA punt, and with 31 seconds left, quarterback Steve Juday scored to make it 14-12. State had to go for two points and the tie, and thanks to No. 2 Arkansas and No. 3 Nebraska both losing their bowl games, a tie might still be enough to win the national title. Alas. Apisa took an option pitch, but Jim Colletto got him by the shoulders and tiny Bob Stiles briefly knocked himself unconscious, stopping Apisa short of the goal line. As with USC's win over Ohio State in 1980, a Rose Bowl upset gave Alabama the national title."

The Spartans and Bruins had previously met twice in the Rose Bowl in 1954 and 1956. Michigan State was the victor in both matchups.

The only two games ahead of the 1966 Rose Bowl on Connelly's list were Texas vs. Arkansas in 1969 at No. 2 and Georgia and Oklahoma in the 2018 Rose Bowl at No. 1.

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