The 1954 Rose Bowl game, played on January 1, 1954, was the 40th Rose Bowl game. The Michigan State Spartans defeated the UCLA Bruins, 28–20. Michigan State halfback Billy Wells was named the Rose Bowl Player Of The Game. This was the first year that Michigan State University was counted in the Big Ten Conference football standings, having been a member since 1950. The 1954 Rose Bowl had the first color television "colorcast", viewable on 200 sets across the United States.

The Michigan State Spartans had joined the Big Ten in 1950, but did not play a full schedule until the 1953 season. They only lost one game, 0-6 at Purdue. The Purdue loss broke a 28-game winning streak, which included two National Championships. The Spartans were co-champions with Illinois. The Illini and Spartans did not play each other. However, Illinois had last appeared in the 1952 Rose Bowl. Clarence "Biggie" Munn announced his retirement before the 1954 Rose Bowl game.

In the 1952 season, the Bruins lost only one game, to USC 12–14. USC took the 1953 Rose Bowl berth. Both teams had been undefeated. In the 1953 season, the Bruins again lost only one regular season game, 20–21 at Stanford on October 17. Stanford would later be defeated by USC on November 7. With the Rose Bowl on the line for both teams, UCLA defeated USC 13–0 to win the Pacific Coast Conference outright and gain the Rose Bowl berth.

This was the first meeting between the two schools. It was the first Rose Bowl appearance for the Spartans. They had previously only played in the 1938 Orange Bowl. It was the third bowl appearance for the Bruins. The weather was sunny. The Spartans wore their green home jerseys and the Bruins wore their white road jerseys.

The Spartans fumbled twice in the first half, which allowed the Bruins the first two scores. Michigan State had only one completed pass and 56 yards in the first half. The Spartans scored a touchdown with 4:45 remaining in the first half.

Victor Postula knocked down four Bruin passes. Coach Biggie Munn instituted a "split line offense" against the Bruins.

The Spartans assembled two long drives in the third quarter to pull ahead 21–-14. The Bruins recovered another Spartan fumble and scored to make the score 21-20. But the extra point kick failed. Billy Wells of Michigan State returned a punt 62 yards for a touchdown with 4:51 left in the game.

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