The 1942 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game played on Thursday, January 1, 1942. It was the 28th edition of the Rose Bowl Game. Originally scheduled for the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, it was moved to Durham, North Carolina, due to fears about an attack by the Japanese on the West Coast of the United States following the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. The federal government prohibited large public gatherings on the West Coast for the duration of World War II; the first significant canceled event was the Rose Bowl Game scheduled for New Year's Day, 1942.

The Oregon State Beavers of the Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) defeated the host Duke Blue Devils of the Southern Conference 20–16 in Duke Stadium (now Wallace Wade Stadium) on the Duke University campus. Donald Durdan of Oregon State was named the Player of the Game when the award was created in 1953 and selections were made retroactively.

The 1942 game was the only Rose Bowl played outside of Pasadena until the 2021 Rose Bowl, which was moved to AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas due to restrictions in California during the COVID-19 pandemic that prohibited any spectators in the stands. Rose Bowl officials moved the game to Texas due to fewer restrictions there.

In 1941, the Beavers football team won the Pacific Coast Conference and a berth in their first Rose Bowl. In 1940, Oregon State had finished 5–3–1 and third in the PCC, the Beavers' third consecutive third-place finish. They opened in 1941 with a last minute 13–7 loss at USC. A 9–6 win over Washington set OSC on the path to the conference championship. The Beavers next played the defending national champion and #2 Stanford Indians in California. The Indians were nicknamed the Wow Boys, because they implemented the seldom-used T-formation, forerunner to the modern football offense. Oregon State shut out Stanford, 10–0, snapping the Indians 13-game winning streak, but were shut out against eventual runner-up Washington State 7–0.

The Beavers then shut out Idaho, UCLA, California, and Montana in consecutive weekends, outscoring the four a combined 85–0. The regular season finale was the Civil War at rival Oregon, which had the Rose Bowl on the line for the Beavers, and a possible five-way tie for first place if the Oregon Ducks won; all five teams would have three losses. Oregon State would have the most conference wins and also the best overall record. The argument was moot as Oregon State defeated Oregon and Stanford lost at Cal, leaving the Beavers with two conference losses. The rest of the PCC had four teams with three losses and five teams with four conference losses. Oregon State compiled the 7–2 record despite only scoring 20 points twice, against Idaho and Montana. The Beavers' defense only gave up 33 points all year, less than four points per game. Oregon State was led by Lon Stiner; at age 38, he became the youngest head coach in Rose Bowl history.

Pacific Coast champion Oregon State was responsible for selecting and inviting the opposing team. Top-ranked Minnesota was the first choice, but the Western Conference (today's Big Ten Conference) did not permit their teams to play in bowl games until the 1946 agreement between the Big Nine and PCC. Duke was a logical second choice, but Coach Wallace Wade had rubbed a lot of Californians the wrong way due to his antics following his 7–3 loss in the 1939 Rose Bowl. The southern California media championed Missouri or Fordham. Oregon State responded by inviting Fordham, who they had beaten in their 1933 Ironmen year. Unknown to Oregon State, both Fordham and Missouri had received take-it-or-leave-it offers from the Sugar Bowl before their invite to the Rose Bowl, and each had accepted the offer. Unable to invite their three first choices, the Beavers settled on second-ranked and undefeated Duke, much to the chagrin of Southern California, which was announced on December 1, 1941. Duke's defense had not allowed more than 14 points all year. The Blue Devils were averaging a 30-point victory every time they took the field. In each game, the Blue Devils won by at least 13 points. The Blue Devils were on an 11-game winning streak, having gone 24–4 (.857) since their 1939 Rose Bowl defeat.

With the United States' entry into World War II following the Pearl Harbor attack on December 7, 1941, there was concern about a Japanese attack on the West Coast of the United States. Much discussion focused on the possibility of an attack where any crowds might gather. The Rose Parade and its estimated one million spectators, as well as the Rose Bowl with 90,000 spectators, were presumed to be ideal targets for the Japanese. On December 14, Lieutenant General John L. DeWitt, commander of the Western Defense Command, recommended that the Rose Parade and Rose Bowl festivities be canceled. By December 15, the Tournament of Roses committee decided to cancel the parade and game. Soon afterward, the government banned all large gatherings on the West Coast. This ruled out Bell Field, Oregon State's on-campus venue, as an alternative site for the game.

On December 16, Duke University invited the game and Oregon State to Duke's home stadium in Durham, North Carolina.