USC beats Penn State in Rose Bowl
52-49 victory sets record for storied game
Matt Boermeester kicked a 46-yard field goal as time expired, and No. 9 Southern California rallied from a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter for a spectacular 52-49 victory over No. 5 Penn State on Monday night in the highest-scoring Rose Bowl ever played.
Freshman Sam Darnold passed for 453 yards and five touchdowns while leading a jaw-dropping comeback for the Trojans (10-3), who won their ninth consecutive game and won their first Rose Bowl since 2009.
“It was a whole team effort,” Darnold said. “That’s the way it’s been all year. We never gave up.”
The Trojans were almost finished when they trailed 49-35 with nine minutes to play, but Darnold and the Trojans had something extra in one of the most entertaining chapters in the 103-game history of the Granddaddy of Them All.
Deontay Burnett, who had three TD catches, caught a tying 27-yard scoring pass from Darnold with 1:20 left to cap an 80-yard drive in 38 seconds with no timeouts available.
Leon McQuay III then intercepted a long pass by Trace McSorley and returned it 32 yards to the Penn State 33 with 27 seconds left to set up Boermeester, who missed two earlier field goals.
The junior confidently drilled the Rose Bowl winner, and he sprinted away to celebrate amid pandemonium in the packed stadium.
“It’s beautiful,” McQuay said. “This is a special group of guys. Oh man, this is the time to step up. This is the time to make plays.”
McSorley passed for 254 yards and threw two of his four touchdown passes to Chris Godwin for the Nittany Lions (11-3), who saw their nine-game winning streak collapse.
Saquon Barkley rushed for 194 yards and two TDs for the Nittany Lions (12-2), who followed up their 21-point comeback in the Big Ten title game with another ferocious rally.
With one jaw-dropping play after another from two talent-laden offences, the teams obliterated the combined Rose Bowl scoring record in the third quarter, surpassing Oregon’s 45-38 victory over Wisconsin in the 2012 game.
After trailing 27-21 at the break, Penn State scored three touchdowns on its first three snaps of the second half.
THE TAKEAWAY
Penn State: The Nittany Lions’ magical season culminated in an extraordinary heartbreaker, but this collapse won’t hurt their prospects for 2017 and beyond. Penn State is firmly back on the national stage, and a wealth of talent will return to defend the Big Ten title. USC: The defence had been remarkable since USC’s 1-3 start to the season, but it couldn’t stop Penn State’s big-play stars. Darnold made sure it didn’t matter, and he’ll be back next year as an immediate Heisman Trophy candidate looking to add more achievements while raising his profile in the pantheon of Trojans quarterbacks.