PSU Rose Bowl Preview: USC

The Rose Bowl Game



vs.

Thursday, January 1, 2009. 5:00 p.m. est. Pasadena, CA.

For the first time since 1994, your Penn State Nittany Lions (11-1) will play in the grandaddy of the all...The Rose Bowl. Their opponent, the USC Trojans(11-1), earned the right to face PSU as winners of the Pac-10 conference, and will be there for the 7th straight time. This game pits two of the game's most notable, accomplished coaches and two of college football's most distinguished traditions and uniforms. It will be Joe Paterno's 34th bowl game in his head coaching career, and could prove one of his toughest battles. After all, USC is a very good team who outscored its opponents 342-56 over its last 9 games, and is essentially playing in its own backyard.

Ye old breakdown...

When PSU is on offense: This matchup, against the USC defense, will be very critical to the outcome of this game. USC is by-far the best defense we have faced this year, and they are ranked #1 nationally in all major defensive categories (scoring, run, and pass defense). The Trojans are absolutely loaded with talent at all positions on defense and are led by linebackers Rey Mauluga (winner of the Butkus and Bednarik awards) and New Jersey native Brian Cushing. Perhaps the best of them all, however, is enormous safety Taylor Mays who, at 6-3 220 lbs, is a one man wrecking crew. All three of these guys should be 1st round NFL draft picks, and all three are tough to contain. Yet, despite all of the publicity that the USC defense gets, one cannot help but look at the competetion that they faced this year. By all accounts, the Pac-10 was very sub-par from top to bottom and as a result USC's defense was never really challenged by any competant offense. The one offense they did face, Oregon State, beat them up and handed the Trojans their only loss of the year. Good news is that we run a similar offense to the one that Oregon State runs, and the one that gave USC fits that night. Nevertheless, the key to PSU's offensive success is keep USC guessing; PSU cannot afford to play too conservative and can't get too aggressive either. We should show SC a variety of looks and make them wonder what's about to come. It goes without saying that Daryll Clark needs to play very well, and so does our O line, but if we can keep the Trojan defense on its toes, then their amazing defense will become less so.

When PSU is on defense: Historically, USC has had juggernaut offenses that boast big-time NFL talent everywhere. That's not exactly the case this year. Granted, their offense is good, but not as good as the recent past. Their QB, Mark Sanchez, has had ups and downs and does not play well when he gets knocked around. Therefore, pressure is key against a competant, but beatable Trojan offensive line. USC generally plays 3 running backs and although none of them is head and shoulders above the other two, all three can play. Yet, each of them (CJ Gable, Staphon Johnson, and Joe McKnight) are better receivers out of the backfield than they are runners. Look for PSU to put more linebacker speed on the outside to negate these weapons. Perhaps the scariest part of the USC offense is their WRs. Led by 6 foot 5 inch Patrick Turner, the Trojan recievers are HUGE, and not one of them is smaller than 6-1. This could prove difficult for the smaller PSU cornerbacks, and puts more emphasis on getting to Sanchez before he can get set and throw. The PSU defense, as a result, plays as big a role in this game as they have in any previous one--if they are on the field all day it could be a long one. Interestingly enough, for all our defensive accomplishments this year, our D has not scored a defensive touchdown all season. Could this game change that? It could certainly help.

When you see a USC song girl: instant New Year's Day boner.

Bottom line: The Rose Bowl presents an enormous challenge and opportunity for Penn State. The challenge being USC. They are perhaps one of the toughest, most talented teams PSU has ever faced in a bowl game, and could be the most athletic star-studded team we have faced since Miami in the '86 National Championship Game. The opportunity is to show that we are as good as our record shows, and not the Big 10 representative from a weak conference that everyone thinks we are. We also have the opportunity to get people talking about our chances next year--a good showing on Thursday will do just that.

But all that aside, this is the type of game that has, in essence, made a legend out of Joe Paterno. When Paterno is given more than 2 weeks to prepare for an opponent, strange and magical things can happen. Heart and determination suddenly become more than overused cliches. Average players become good ones, good players become great, and great ones become legends just like the man who coaches them. It is also in these games when hardly-spoken, unknown names like Garrity (not Geraghty) and Giftopolous become etched in Penn State Football lore forever. The chance is there again, on Thursday at 5 p.m.

KNITS pick...

PSU: 20

USC: 17

A few notes...

1. The Whites

2. Happy New Year

3. LET'S GO STATE!