PASADENA (CNS) - Former USC quarterback Matt Leinart will be among four inductees into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame today.
Leinart was the MVP of the 2004 Rose Bowl Game, throwing three touchdown passes and running for a fourth score in the Trojans 28-14 victory over Michigan that gave them a share of the national championship.
Leinart completed 29 of 40 passes for 365 yards and a touchdown in USC's 41-38 loss to Texas in the 2006 Rose Bowl Game that served as the Bowl Championship Series championship game.
The other inductees are Harvard halfback and defensive back Eddie Casey, former Ohio State quarterback Cornelius Greene and former Washington running back Jacque Robinson.
Casey was a 155-pound World War I veteran who accounted for 108 of the Crimson's 205 yards -- catching passes for 59 yards and running for 49 -- in its 7-6 victory over Oregon in the 1920 Rose Bowl Game, the first of two victories by Ivy League teams. Casey was retroactively selected as the Rose Bowl Player of the Game when the award was created in 1953.
Greene played in the 1973-76 Rose Bowl games, starting the final three. He was the MVP of the 1974 game, throwing for 129 yards and running for 45 yards and a touchdown in the Buckeyes 42-21 victory over USC.
Robinson was the first freshman to be selected as Rose Bowl MVP, running for 142 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries in Washington's 28-0 victory over Iowa in the 1982 game.
The Rose Bowl Hall of Fame was established in 1989 to honor individuals connected with college football's oldest bowl game. This year's class increases its membership to 133.
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