Volume 79, Issue 14 Jan. 2, 2017 The Letter 1 2 3 4 Score PSU 0 21 28 0 49 The two hottest football teams in the country during the last two USC 13 14 8 17 52 months of the regular season treated fans to the most exciting performance in any bowl game this year, as a last­play 46­yard field goal gave Southern California a 52–49 win over Penn State The Letter in the highest­scoring game in the Rose Bowl’s 103­year history. Notes From The Cuff The No. 5 Nittany Lions charged into the contest with a Big Ten Other Sports title and a nine­game winning streak that was broken and left Game Photos them with an 11–3 record for the 2016 season. Statistics The No. 9 Trojans rode into the game with an eight­game victory skein that they extended to nine to finish the 2016 campaign at 10–3. USC, playing on a field just 20 miles from their campus where they beat UCLA, 36–14, just two games ago, had been installed as a seven­point favorite. Penn State beat the spread but lost the game on the final play. Matching two of the nation’s most explosive offenses, the contest featured 60 action­packed minutes of Update Your Info back­and­forth, lead­changing play that kept 95,128 fans tethered to their seats in the venerable 95­year­ old stadium located in picturesque Arroyo Seco canyon in Pasadena. Join/Renew The Trojans dominated the first quarter 13–0 on the scoreboard, 145 yards to 38 in total offense and 10:43 to 4:17 in time of possession. They converted 4 of 7 third downs, while holding the Lions to 0 of 2. FAN ZONE In the second quarter, Penn State converted all four of its third downs, switched possession time to 14:38 Radio/TV Listings —14:36 in its favor, outgained USC, 212 yards to 183 and cut the point lead to 27–21. Football Schedule Team Roster True to its reputation as a second­half team, the Nittany Lions exploded after the two schools’ bands had dazzled attendees with their marching and musicality. Penn State set a Rose Bowl record by scoring 28 GoPSUSports.com points in the third quarter. The Lions outgained the Trojans, 211–87, to take a 451–415 lead in total Big Ten Football TV offense and post a 49–35 advantage on the scoreboard. Schedule Big Ten Standings But then the unthinkable happened. Big Ten Schedule and The team, which had mounted monumental comebacks in six of its last nine games and whose 166 fourth Results quarter points led the nation, was held scoreless for the final 15 minutes, while USC breached the patent Penn Staters in the Pros by gradually adding 17 markers for its dramatic comeback victory—with the tying and winning points coming in the final minute and 20 seconds. For advertising info, contact: It was an outcome that suddenly shifted the cacophonous cheering and joyous jubilation from the Blue and Angelo Scialfa White section of the stadium to the Cardinal and Gold. 609­259­1910 [email protected] The offensive outputs by both teams were unprecedented in Rose Bowl history, as was Penn State’s 49 points in a losing effort. The 101 combined points broke the Rose Bowl record established by Oregon’s 45­38 win over Wisconsin in 2012. Super sophomore Saquon Barkley displayed the skills that should put him on the Heisman Trophy Watch List next fall: rushing for 194 yards on 25 carries, adding 57 on two kickoff returns and 55 on five pass receptions for an all­purpose yardage total of 306—third highest in Penn State history. His 18 points on two rushing TDs and one receiving score tied him for second on State’s bowl list with Ki­Jana Carter’s 1995 Rose Bowl performance. Junior wide receiver Chris Godwin caught nine passes for 187 yards (breaking David Daniels’ mark of 154 in the 1990 Blockbuster Bowl) and two touchdowns. His nine receptions broke Andrew Quarless’ PS record of eight in the 2010 Capitol One Bowl. And his 72­yard touchdown catch tied for third longest in Rose Bowl history and longest in PS bowl annals. Trace McSorley’s five touchdowns responsible for— one on the ground and four through the air—broke the Nittany Lions’ bowl record and tied for the most in the Rose Bowl books. His four TD passes tied for second in Rose Bowl history, and first in Penn State’s with Tony Sacca (1992 Fiesta), Wally Richardson (1996 Outback) and Christian Hackenberg (2014 Pinstripe). He also joined Todd Blackledge (1982) as the only PS QB to throw at least four TD passes in three consecutive games. And he broke by one Kerry Collins’ record of throwing a touchdown in 14 consecutive games. The 6–0 205­pound McSorley completed 18 of 29 pass attempts for 254 yards with three interceptions, averaging 14.1 yards per completion. USC’s Sam Darnold, the Pacific­12 Freshman of the Year, set the Rose Bowl record by passing for five touchdowns. The 6–4 225­pounder completed 33 of 53 attempts for 453 yards with one interception, averaging 13.7 yards per completion. The temperature at kickoff was 57 degrees, making this the coldest Rose Bowl since 1960. And the game started ominously for Penn State. After winning the coin toss and making their usual aggressive choice of receiving, the Nittany Lions were unceremoniously pinned on their own 3­yard line, when Southern Cal’s kickoff floated aimlessly, landed awkwardly, bounced weirdly and eluded State’s kickoff returner, freshman Miles Sanders, until he could finally dive on it in the shadow of Penn State’s own end zone. Previous Issues Undeterred, aggressive quarterback Trace McSorley, the MVP of the Big Ten Championship game and holder of the nation’s highest average yards per pass completion, launched a long aerial down the left sideline on the first play of the game. Apparently his intended receiver, speedy sophomore DeAndre Thompkins, was not on the same page and cut off a much shorter route. The pass sailed uncontested into the arms of the only player in its path—USC cornerback Iman Marshall at the PS­35. It was the first interception of a McSorley pass in his last 101 throws and only the sixth of the season compared to 25 touchdown tosses among his 226 completions in 398 attempts. State’s defense held the Trojans to only two yards on their first three plays, and placekicker Matt Boermeester missed a 51­yard field goal attempt. Saquon Barkley gained 27 yards on his first three carries, before McSorley attempted his second pass of the game, another misconnect which went off the fingers of Thompkins into the hands of USC’s All­ American cornerback Adoree Jackson, who returned the interception 21 yards to midfield. This time Trojan quarterback Sam Darnold moved his team 51 yards on five plays—two of which were passes to All­American JuJu Smith­Schuster for 25 yards and to Deonta Burnett for 26 yards and the game’s first touchdown. The Lion defense stopped the next USC drive, after a pass interference penalty put the Trojans on the PS­6, but Boermeester booted a 22­yard field goal to raise the score to 10–0. On the last possession of the first quarter, Darnold completed a 13­yard toss to his tight end and a 28­ yarder on a flea­flicker that set up another Boermeester field goal of 44 yards to increase the lead to 13 points. McSorley got his team moving on the first possession of the second quarter by completing passes of 13 and 14 yards to wide receiver Chris Godwin and 16 yards to Barkley, who climaxed the drive with a 24­ yard burst up the middle for the Lions’ first score. Darnold responded with a 32­yard completion to Burnett to spark the Trojans’ second TD march that included USC’s first significant run of the game—a 24­yarder by senior Justin Davis. The touchdown came on a controversial play, when Darnold passed to Burnett in the left flat, and he danced three yards into the end zone. An official called offensive pass interference on a Trojan, but the call was reversed after a replay review. Penn State continued the back­and­forth scoring, when McSorley passed 29 yards to Godwin, Barkley rushed for 11 and Godwin made a sterling catch of McSorley’s 30­yard toss into the deep right corner of the end zone. Again Darnold responded, moving the Trojans 75 yards—all except two of which came on his passes to Darreus Rogers, Smith­Schuster and Jackson. Rogers got the TD on a three­yard flip. And again McSorley replied with a 75­yard drive that included three passes to Godwin for 27 yards, one to Thompkins for eight and the capstone—an 11­yard strike that tight end Mike Gesicki hauled down in the same spot where Godwin caught the previous touchdown. USC made a frantic attempt to add to its lead in the final 46 seconds of the half, as Darnold completed a 13­yard pass to Rogers and a 12­yarder to Burnett. But the drive ended in a missed 49­yard field goal attempt by Boermeester. The halftime score stood at USC 27, PSU 21. But Penn State set a slew of records in the third quarter, starting with 28 points—the most in any Rose Bowl third quarter; the fastest scoring drive in the bowl’s history (five seconds by McSorley on his 3­yard run), and the first team to have a 175­yard rusher and receiver in a game.