Security at the Rose Bowl stood firm Saturday afternoon as UCLA fans were barred from storming the field following the Bruins’ stunning 42-37 upset over No. 7 Penn State.
The victory marked a major breakthrough for interim head coach Tim Skipper and a UCLA team that began the season 0-4, but it didn’t lead to the kind of postgame chaos. Despite the excitement and the rare opportunity to celebrate such a monumental upset, security officials at the storied stadium kept fans in the stands.
UCLA became the first 0-4 team to knock off a ranked opponent in 40 years. No. 7 BYU was shocked by UTEP 23-16 on Oct. 26, 1985.
It would have been a historic moment had fans rushed the field and something that has almost never happened at the Rose Bowl. In fact, the crowd has only taken to the field twice in the venue’s long history.
The first recorded incident dates back to the very first Rose Bowl Game in 1902, when Michigan defeated Stanford 49-0. That contest ended with an 8,500-person crowd stampeding in frustration over the lopsided score, though no serious injuries were reported. The blowout led organizers to cancel future football games at the Rose Bowl for more than a decade, replacing them with other events, including chariot races, until football returned in 1916.
The last time fans successfully stormed the field came nearly a century later. In 1998, Michigan clinched the national championship with a controversial win over Washington State with fans joining in the celebration. Since then, Rose Bowl security has prevented similar scenes, even during some of college football’s most memorable moments.
For UCLA, Saturday’s win was a long-awaited reason to celebrate. Maybe one day everyone will get to enjoy it.
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