Rose Bowl, Pasadena Wildfire Evacuation One Week After Oregon Ducks, Ohio State Matchup

Just one week after the Oregon Ducks and Ohio State Buckeyes competed in the College Football Playoff Quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl, the iconic stadium is in danger as multiple massive wildfires rage in Los Angeles. Evacuation warnings have been issued for Pasadena, which is where the Rose Bowl is located.

The Ohio State Buckeyes take on the Oregon Ducks in the College Football Playoff quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. on Jan. 1, 2025. Ohio State won 41-21. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Just one week after the Oregon Ducks and Ohio State Buckeyes competed in the College Football Playoff Quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl, the iconic stadium is in danger as multiple massive wildfires rage in Los Angeles. Evacuation warnings have been issued for Pasadena, which is where the Rose Bowl is located.

The 'Eaton fire' has burned more than 400 acres according to the U.S. Forest Service.

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Over 70,000 residents woke up Wednesday to evacuation orders. Many of the evacuations were in the Pacific Palisades area, but others were in parts of Santa Monica and Altadena. There is a map here.

According to the AP, the Eaton Fire looks to become the largest wildfire to burn in California during the month of January in the past 41 years.

Oregon Ducks defensive back Dontae Manning (8) warms up during the College Football Playoff quarterfinal against the Ohio State Buckeyes at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. on Jan. 1, 2025. Ohio State won 41-21. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Rose Bowl is also known as the 'Granddaddy of them all.' The fire is about four miles northeast of the beloved stadium. Wind gusts of over 100 miles per hour have been recorded, according to the AP. The historic stadium will be monitored in this horrific situation.

Recently, college football analyst Joel Klatt questioned why the Rose Bowl isn't the permanent destination for college football’s national championship every season. The idea has received a lot of positive feedback. This season, it was the location for the quarterfinal game in the College Football Playoff.

On Jan. 1, the Ducks fell in the Rose Bowl to the Buckeyes, 41-21.

"It's an unbelievable team," Oregon coach Dan Lanning said after the game of Ohio State. "Coach Day and his staff have done an unbelievable job there. Don't wanna discredit what our players have been able to accomplish this year. Very great team. We just ran into a great team tonight and we didn't play our best. So credit to those guys."

The rematch in the Rose Bowl was one of the most anticipated games of the college football season and drew the most television eyeballs of any college football game this season with 21.1 viewers, ESPN announced. The alternate feed led by Pat McAfee on ESPN2, drew 2.4 million viewers, which was the most viewed “AltCast” ever. 

Oregon will ultimately not reach its ultimate goal of winning a National Championship, but the Ducks did win the Big Ten Championship in their first season in the Big Ten conference and completed an undefeated, 12-0 regular season for the second time in program history.

The loss was the final game for many Oregon Ducks, including: senior quarterback Dillon Gabriel, receiver Tez Johnson, tight end Terrance Ferguson, junior running back Jordan James and junior defensive lineman Derrick Harmon.

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