USC and Penn State played one of the great Rose Bowls, and maybe one of the great bowl games of all-time on January 2nd. Down 14 points in the 4th quarter, USC pulled out a remarkable comeback victory on a game-winning field goal as time expired, 52-49.
The game featured a number of highlight plays throughout, with Penn State building a 14 point 4th quarter lead thanks to a number of big plays. The Nittany Lions scored three touchdowns on their first three offensive plays of the second half, including two 70+ yard scoring plays.
It looked like being a signature bowl victory for James Franklin’s program, but midway through the fourth quarter the Trojans offense and defense came alive. After a Ronald Jones II TD run cut the Penn State lead in half from 49-35 to 49-42, the SC defense made a huge stop on defense to get the ball back. Trojan freshman sensation QB Sam Darnold (33/53, 453 yards, 5 TDs) then found Deontay Burnett over the middle for the game-tying touchdown.
With the way the two offenses were scoring points, this had all the makings of “last team with the ball wins.” And with Penn State getting the ball back with just over a minute to go, it still looked like they had a significant advantage.
But as Penn State had lived by the big play throughout their stretch run that led to a Big Ten championship, so they died by the big play as well.
Everything about PSU QB Trace McSorley and the way he plays screams “gunslinger.” McSorley is quick to leave the pocket and take risks down the field. He was intercepted on the first two passes he threw in the Rose Bowl, but then went on a tear throwing for 254 yards and 4 TDs.
But on the final drive, McSorley went deep twice throwing into coverage. On 2nd down he was almost intercepted as his long ball hung in the air too long. On 3rd down, he threw into double coverage and was picked off. To compound the error, Leon McQuay III’s return brought USC into field goal range.
After a short run and a spike, USC’s Matt Boermeester kicked the game-winning 46 yard field goal.
As far as great Rose Bowl games go, this one ranks right up there behind the 2006 National Championship Game between USC and Texas in the annals of the Grandaddy of Them All. USC and Penn State combined for 1040 yards of offense and 5 TD plays of 25 yards or more. It was everything in drama and excitement that the two College Football Playoff semifinal games weren’t.
And although both schools will have been disappointed they didn’t make it into this year’s playoff, with loaded rosters returning for 2017, this shootout staked the earliest of claims that both will be true national championship contenders next season.
Video highlights via ESPN
