Tom Ramsey (born July 9, 1961) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback for six seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts. He began his pro career with the Los Angeles Express and the Oakland Invaders of the United States Football League (USFL). He played college football for the UCLA Bruins No. 12, 14

Ramsey graduated from Kennedy High School in Granada Hills, California, in 1979. When Ramsey was quarterback for Kennedy, the quarterback at rival high school Granada Hills was John Elway.

At the University of California, Los Angeles, he played an outstanding Rose Bowl game in 1983 and was awarded the game MVP along with Don Rogers. In 1998, Ramsey was inducted into the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame, and in 2007, Ramsey was inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame. He is also an analyst for college football on ESPN and for college and NFL football on ESPN Radio.

Ramsey was the last quarterback of the New England Patriots to wear jersey #12 prior to the legendary Tom Brady.

The 1983 UCLA Bruins football team was an American football team that represented the University of California, Los Angeles during the 1983 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their eighth year under head coach Terry Donahue, the Bruins compiled a 7–4–1 record (6–1–1 Pac-10), finished in first place in the Pacific-10 Conference, and were ranked #17 in the final AP Poll. The Bruins went on to defeat Illinois in the 1984 Rose Bowl. The Bruins began the season 0–3–1 before winning seven of their final eight games of the season.

UCLA's offensive leaders in 1983 were quarterback Rick Neuheisel with 2,245 passing yards, running back Kevin Nelson with 898 rushing yards, and wide receiver Mike Sherrard with 709 receiving yards. Neuheisel was selected as the 1984 Rose Bowl Most Valuable Player.

The 1983 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game, played on January 1, 1983. It was the 69th Rose Bowl Game. The UCLA Bruins defeated the Michigan Wolverines by a score of 24–14, in a bowl rematch of a regular season game, also won by UCLA. Tom Ramsey, UCLA quarterback and Don Rogers, UCLA defensive back, were named the Players Of The Game. This was the first season that the UCLA Bruins played in the Rose Bowl stadium as their home stadium, where they were undefeated. This was the second consecutive Rose Bowl win for the Pac-10, with eight wins in the last nine.

This game was the third meeting between the UCLA Bruins and the Michigan Wolverines in a 366-day span. They met on December 31, 1981, in the Bluebonnet Bowl. Michigan won that game 33–14, which was the first Big Ten/Pac-10 bowl meeting outside the Rose Bowl. As such, it was labeled the "mini Rose Bowl."

During the regular season on September 25, UCLA played the Wolverines at Michigan Stadium. Quarterback Steve Smith's six-yard run gave Michigan a 14–0 lead and after the Wolverines blocked a Bruin punt and took possession on the UCLA seven, Smith's five-yard pass to Anthony Carter made the score 21–0 with 12:57 remaining in the second quarter.

The Bruins scored two touchdowns and were behind 21–14 at the half in the game at Ann Arbor with one second left to play. The Bruin players headed for the locker room. They had to come back out because Michigan head coach Bo Schembechler had called a time-out with one second left. Ali Haji-Sheikh kicked a 47-yard field goal to increase Michigan's lead to 24–14. When UCLA coach Terry Donahue began to argue with the referees, Schembechler reportedly ran past and screamed, "That's three more points, Terry!" In the second half, the Bruins topped off their greatest point deficit comeback in their history. The Bruins put 17 more points in the second half, while allowing Michigan just one more field goal. An interception by Don Rogers on the second play of the second half gave the Bruins the ball on the Michigan 22-yard line for their first possession of the half. Quarterback Tom Ramsey connected on a six-yard touchdown pass to JoJo Townsell to make it 24–21. Another Michigan field goal pushed the UM advantage up to 27–21 with 4:32 remaining in the third quarter. Dokie Williams returned the ensuing kickoff 65 yards and the Bruins took it in from there on a two-yard run by Kevin Nelson. John Lee's extra point put the Bruins in the lead at 28–27 with 2:50 to play in the third quarter. UCLA won 31–27, overcoming a 21–0 deficit, in what stood as one of the greatest comebacks in Bruin football history until the 2005 Sun Bowl.

Michigan Wolverines

Michigan started the season 1–2, losing 23–17 at Notre Dame, and losing at home to UCLA 31–27. The Wolverines did not lose again until the final regular season game, falling at rival Ohio State 24–14 after having already clinched the Big Ten title and a Rose Bowl berth.

UCLA Bruins

The Rose Bowl in Pasadena became UCLA's home stadium this season, after decades at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Head coach Terry Donahue made a promise that UCLA would end their season in the Rose Bowl game. UCLA opened with 4 straight wins, was tied by Arizona 24–24, then won another three games before a seemingly crushing loss at Washington 10–7. That game gave the Huskies the Pac-10 lead and inside track to the Rose Bowl. UCLA recovered to sneak by John Elway and Stanford 38–35, and went into their game with rival USC needing to beat the Trojans, have fifth-ranked Washington lose at struggling Washington State, AND #8 Arizona State lose at Arizona.

On November 20, the improbable happened. The Bruins beat the Trojans 20–19, when after USC scored a touchdown on the final play of the game, Karl Morgan sacked Scott Tinsley on the two-point conversion attempt to preserve the win. That same day, Washington was upset 24–20 by Washington State in Pullman. The story of the day that overshadowed these circumstances however, was The Play, with Cal defeating Stanford in the Big Game. One week later, Arizona knocked off Arizona State 28–18 and the Bruins were in the Rose Bowl.

Game summary