Bryce AldertonThe last time Bob Jensen strapped...

Bryce Alderton

The last time Bob Jensen strapped on the shoulder pads and draped a

cardinal and gold jersey over them was the 1970 Rose Bowl game

pitting USC against Michigan.

The 55-year-old Newport Beach resident, who owns a dental practice

in the city, played linebacker for USC on New Year’s Day in 1970 and

will be on the sidelines again to watch the top-ranked Trojans battle

the Wolverines Jan. 1.

USC defeated Michigan, 10-3, to go undefeated (10-0-1) during the

1969 season, but didn’t claim the national championship. That honor

went to Texas, which beat Penn State in the Cotton Bowl. USC’s

defense entered the Michigan game rated No. 1 in the nation with

Jensen as one of the team’s captains.

“It was always a low-scoring game,” Jensen said about how USC

earned its victories that year. “Our offense didn’t have to score

because the defense was so good.”

Jensen, who hailed from Magnolia High in Anaheim, earned the

game’s Defensive Player of the Game award while tailback Bobby

Chandler garnered Offensive MVP laurels.

“Dan Dierdorf was [Michigan’s] offensive tackle and Jim Mandich

was their captain who went on to play for the Miami Dolphins in 1972

[the only undefeated season in NFL history],” Jensen said. “It was a

good battle and [Michigan] fought hard. I think there were 105,000

people there.”

USC lost just two games in Jensen’s three years on the varsity

squad (1967-69), which included a national championship in 1967.

He was drafted in the second round of the NFL draft by the Dallas

Cowboys, but found out a week before the 1970 Rose Bowl that he had

been accepted into dental school.

“It was hard at first because football was my ticket,” Jensen

said. “I came from a blue-collar family that could never afford

college. I lucked out and got a scholarship.”

Jensen led the nation in average tackles per game (19) in 1966,

his senior season at Magnolia, which included 32 in a game.

Don Lent, who would guide the Newport Harbor football program for

three years, coached Jensen -- also a fullback -- at Magnolia.

“We used to play Harbor in nonleague games and I think we beat

them, 7-0, one year and I scored the touchdown,” Jensen said.

Allegiance to USC stayed in the family.

Jensen’s son, Christian, a Corona del Mar grad, was a member of

USC’s 2002 men’s tennis team that won the national championship,

defeating four of the top five seeds in the NCAA championships to do

it. Christian Jensen and Trojan teammate Parker Collins both played

on CdM’s 1999 CIF Southern Section Division I championship squad that

finished 22-1 and earned a No. 2-ranking nationally by USA Today.

Bob Jensen lives in Newport with wife, Jackie. They also have a

21-year-old daughter, Sierra, who is attending the University of

Colorado at Boulder.

Bob Jensen likes to keep active. He plays tennis at Palisades

Tennis Club and has even entered a few senior events. He has climbed

the Grand Tetons in Wyoming three times.

“Anything to stay on top of the aging process,” he said.

Through the years Bob Jensen has kept a close watch on USC

football and particularly this season on linebacker [Melvin] ‘Champ’

Simmons, who wears No. 51, Jensen’s number at USC.

“[Simmons] is the co-captain, just like I was,” he said. “We have

a lot of things in common. It is a special thing for a guy to start

at USC. There is a lot of tradition and Coach [Pete] Carroll has

brought that back.”

Before USC’s 52-28 defeat of Oregon State to conclude the regular

season, Bob Jensen spoke to the team and showed him a Rose Bowl ring.

“We went to the Rose Bowl four times,” Bob Jensen said. “I passed

the ring around to the players to give them a goal. The effort on our

team was really good and I see the same thing in this year’s team.

Everyone is accountable to everyone else. They have hired in a bunch

of guys -- like we had -- who praise you at the right times and chew

you out at the wrong times.”

Judging by the season thus far, there has been far more of the

former than the latter for the Trojans.