USC 29 Washington 0
With wartime travel restrictions, West Coast teams provide the Rose Bowl matchup. USC (7-2) defeats Washington (4-0) by a 29-0 margin. Jeff Cravath's Trojans feature the passing of Jim Hardy (three touchdown tosses) and line play of guard Norm Verry. By switching from man-to-man coverage to a zone, Cravath's defensive strategy stops the Washington passing attack (only five completions in 19 attempts, three interceptions). George Callanan and Gordon Gray each catch two Trojan touchdown passes, with Hardy's sub Ainslee Bell tossing one of them.