Trojans, Lions finish strong
Traditional powers struggled at the start
PASADENA, Calif. — The matchup in the 103rd Rose Bowl would have seemed preposterous in late September.
That was right before No. 5 Penn State (11-2) won nine straight games and No. 9 Southern California (9-3) won eight in a row, propelling these traditional powers out of the depths of disappointing starts and all the way back to the Granddaddy of Them All.
While both teams missed out on the College Football Playoff, a storybook ending is still possible for two teams whose comeback stories didn’t start in October. Both schools have risen from years of struggles and the depths of NCAA sanctions to meet in Pasadena.
“Their program and our program may be two of the hotter teams in college football at the end of the season,” Penn State coach James Franklin said. “And both had similar stories. I don’t know if you could have written a better script for the Rose Bowl.”
Indeed, this season has been phenomenal for both teams since those rocky starts.
Penn State was a .500 team after a 39-point loss at Michigan to close September, but the Nittany Lions ended up as Big Ten champions amid record-setting statistical years for tailback Saquon Barkley and quarterback Trace McSorley, who starred in the conference title game.
“To be where they were at 2-2 and then run off nine straight just shows the resiliency of that team,” USC coach Clay Helton said of the Nittany Lions.
USC was 1-3 after September and had already changed starting quarterbacks amid complaints about Helton’s first full season in charge. The Trojans then ran the table, with freshman passer Sam Darnold turning into a star and coordinator Clancy Pendergast’s defense becoming the envy of the West.
After a persuasive road victory over playoff-bound Pac-12 champion Washington , the Trojans are sharper than they’ve been since coach Pete Carroll’s last trip to the Rose Bowl eight years ago — also to face Penn State. USC will also reap the usual benefits from being at home during bowl week before playing at the venerable stadium 14 miles from campus.
“(USC) is obviously one of the more storied and historic programs in college football,” Franklin said. “Very similar to a Penn State, just on a different coast.”
NEVER ON SUNDAY: The Rose Bowl is a New Year’s Day institution — except in years when New Year’s Day falls on a Sunday. The tradition-rich arena has refused to hold its game on Sundays since 1893, when the organizers decided they had to postpone the pregame Rose Parade because the floats and commotion would alarm the horses hitched outside nearby churches. Although markedly fewer horses are used as transportation to Pasadena’s houses of worship these days, the ban has never been lifted.
That’s why the Rose Bowl is on Jan. 2 for just the 14th time in its 103 editions.