Page "Rose Bowl Game" Paragraph 21

The 2002 game served as the BCS championship game between the BCS # 1 ranked Miami, then a member of the Big East Conference, and the BCS # 2 ranked Nebraska of the Big 12 Conference.

The Nebraska selection as the BCS # 2 team was controversial because Oregon was ranked # 2 in both the AP and Coaches Polls, while Nebraska was ranked # 4 in both polls and did not play in its conference championship game (# 3 Colorado, who played Oregon in that year's Fiesta Bowl, did and won the Big 12's automatic bid to the BCS ).

This prevented a West Coast team playing in the Rose Bowl for the first time, and it also marked the first match up since 1946 to not feature the traditional pairing of Pac-10 vs. Big Ten teams.