December 2, 2006, is the day. UCLA at 6-5 was heading to a regular bowl game. But the opportunity to play USC always had the Bruins pumped up regardless of record. USC on the other hand was 10-1 and on their way to a national title game with a win. They were 10.5-point favorites and UCLA had a backup quarterback starting in unsung hero Patrick Cowan.
Cowan was starting the game after Ben Olson who was highly touted transfer from BYU was injured that year. The Rose Bowl was packed with over 90,000 fans at the game.