The 1966 Rose Bowl, played on January 1, 1966, was the 52nd Rose Bowl Game. The UCLA Bruins defeated the #1 ranked Michigan State Spartans by a score of 14–12. UCLA defensive back Bob Stiles was named the Rose Bowl Player Of The Game.

The game was a rematch of the season opener in East Lansing, Michigan, that Michigan State won, 13–3. Unknown quarterback Gary Beban had a long touchdown pass play nullified by a penalty in that game. As it turned out, UCLA gave MSU one of its toughest games of the season in its home opener, a fact that was forgotten when the 14-point odds came out favoring MSU for the Rose Bowl re-match. The two previous meetings also were won by Michigan State, the 1954 Rose Bowl and 1956 Rose Bowl.

Michigan State was undefeated and ranked #1 in the nation. Their key victory was a 32–7 win over Ohio State that ultimately decided the Big Ten Conference title as the Spartans finished one game ahead of the Buckeyes. The Spartans featured future College Football Hall of Fame members split end Gene Washington, defensive end Bubba Smith, roverback George Webster, and halfback Clint Jones. In the first round of the 1967 NFL/AFL Draft, the first overall pick was Bubba Smith by the Baltimore Colts, the second was Clint Jones by the Minnesota Vikings, the fifth was George Webster by the Houston Oilers, and the eighth pick was Gene Washington, also by the Minnesota Vikings. Smith was a defensive end and Webster was a safety on Sports Illustrated's NCAA football all-century team in 1999.

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