In the 1980 Rose Bowl, a 53-yard pass from quarterback Paul McDonald to wide receiver Kevin Williams went for a touchdown against Ohio State.

McDonald said that the first time he brought up the play with Carroll, the Buckeye DB coach at the time, the coach got annoyed.

“He said, ‘Yeah, yeah, yeah. How’d you like to play now?’” McDonald said. “I said, ‘Coach, we’re on the same team!”

On the field before the 2004 Rose Bowl, the game in which USC beat Michigan and won the Associated Press national championship, McDonald approached Carroll to chat about the Wolverines.

McDonald said, “And Pete said, ‘So Kevin Williams was right about here, right? He caught it around the 10-yard line? … I never should have called the blitz. I never should have called the blitz.”

When the free safety blitzed, McDonald called an audible to send Williams deep and put his offensive line in maximum protection. Only thing was, Williams never heard the audible.

On the sideline, McDonald said, Williams told him, “I started jogging off the line of scrimmage because it was a running play. Then I said, ‘Wait a minute. I think it’s a pass to me,’ and I just took off.”

In the NFL, McDonald ran into Mike Guess, the Ohio State corner beaten by Williams.

“We’re talking about the play,” McDonald said, “and Mike said, ‘I would have had Kevin Williams. He faked me. He started jogging off the line of scrimmage.’”

McDonald has still yet to inform Carroll that he beat him on a broken play.

Rose To Remember [ESPN]