USC looks to tame Penn State in 2009 Rose Bowl
December 9, 2008
The USC Trojans are going to try to slay the Penn State Nittany Lions in the same way roman gladiators did hundreds of years ago. While Rose Bowl stadium and the Roman Colliseum don’t share too many similarities, college football athletes on both sides are going to be playing as hard as if their life depended on it. The 2009 Rose Bowl is a rematch of 1923 Rose Bowl. The Trojans won that Rose Bowl 14-3. That was the ninth time Rose Bowl tickets were sold. This game will definitely be one of the best of the season, so be sure that you get your Rose Bowl tickets now.
The USC defense is one of the best in the game, and their 3.4 yards-per-play average is one of the best in college football history. The USC Trojans have been rewarded for a well-played and hard-fought season with yet another Rose Bowl berth. USC Football has been one of the best teams all season long, and a trip the to Granddaddy of them All is their reward. The historic match up of a USC Penn State Rose Bowl is not only a reward for USC Football fans, its a reward for college football in general. This team has been looking very sharp, but then again Penn State has looked good too. Both teams have just one loss, and both can claim one of the biggest and most storied franchises in all of college football. This makes it USC football’s fourth straight Rose Bowl appearance. The Trojans have been to the Rose Bowl an incredible 34 times.
These teams are close as can be in the BCS rankings. USC football is at #5 while Penn State is right behind them at #6. Both teams are 11-1, both being upset by opponents. USC football lost to Oregon State 27-21 and Penn State was beaten by Iowa 24-23 after a 31-yard field goal missed with 1 second on the clock. Penn State beat Oregon State 45-14. Both teams also beat Ohio State, USC football won 35-3 and Penn State beat 13-6. This year the Trojans played and beat Virginia, Ohio State and Notre Dame.
Joe Paterno will be 82 by the time of the Rose Bowl. “We’re delighted to have an opportunity to go out there to Pasadena and play against a team with the caliber and tradition of Southern Cal,” Paterno told Yahoo Sports. “All of our fans are excited. My team is excited. We realize we have a very formidable challenge in playing a team of the quality of Southern Cal, a team I think is one of the two or three best teams in the country. I hope we can go out there and be competitive with them. I’m a little bit nervous. This is a very, very impressive football team, Southern Cal. They do everything well.”
Paterno’s overall record is 383-126-3, and is 23-10-1 in Bowl Games. He is also the only coach to win all four major bowls. He first started coaching Penn State in 1966. His 383 wins, 34 bowls and 23 bowl wins are all college football records. Under Paterno, the Nittany Lions made their Rose Bowl record 1-1 when they beat Oregon in 1994.
Carroll also lavished heaps of praise on Paterno. “He’s stood for college football and for football in general as a true icon in every sense of the word,” Carroll said. “He’s brought a tremendous energy and spirit to football and to the game, love of the game that will last forever. I see how feisty he is, how tough he is. I just marvel at all of the years and the excellence.”
“I want to meet coach Paterno,” sai USC’s Taylor Mays. “I’m going to look for him to shake his hand. It’s cool to play Penn State and Joe Paterno. With all of the history of both schools, it’s a classic matchup.”
And the respect each coach has for the other is evident. “Pete has done a terrific job .Two or three coaches out there that really changed the whole game of football. Pete certainly has been right there at the top of it,” said Paterno. USC football under Pete Carroll enjoy the country’s best winning percentage
Carroll also has some big big time coaching numbers. Since he came aboard seven years ago, USC football has won or shared the Pac-10 championship, won at least 11 times and played in a BCS bowl in every season. he has a 81-9 record since 2002. The Trojans also have won five of the last six bowl games they played in. Their loss was a thrilling loss to Vince Young and Texas in a 41-38 BCS Championship loss three years. USC Football is 5-1 in all-time BCS bowl record.
The Trojans played for the National Championship in the 2006 Rose Bowl. “The goal of our program year in and year out since we’ve been here the last eight years has been to get to the Rose Bowl and win that thing,” said USC Coach Pete Carroll. “That’s all we’ve ever shot for. We never set our sights on the BCS process. Being that’s out of our control, we know that the Rose Bowl is within our control and that’s what we shoot for around here. We’re all pumped up about this.”
USC football and Penn State have battled a total of eight times, and this year’s Rose Bowl will give one team the edge, as their head-to-head record is 4-4. They last met at Giants Stadium in 2000. Penn State won that game, and Carroll joined USC the next year. Both teams will really on their oppressive defense as a key to a Rose Bowl victory.
USC was the best defensive team all year in both total defense and scoring defense. Penn State was fifth in total defense and fourth in scoring defense.
While defense is a key to victory, offense is what puts points on the broad. Fortunately for anyone with Rose Bowl tickets, both these teams can score as well. Penn State averaged 40.2 points per game while USC football has scored an average of 37.5 points per game. At the QB position both teams have capable leaders. Penn State’s Daryll Clark passed for 2,319 yards and threw 17 touchdowns. USC’s Mark Sanchez threw for 2,794 yards and 30 touchdowns. Its should be a really good end to what has been a fantastic season, and UNC Football tickets will be back for more next year with some new faces.
Will USC see play in the Rose Bowl?
December 3, 2008
We here at USC football tickets can’t wait to find out if we’re gonna make it to the Rose Bowl. All that stands in our way, besides the computers, is UCLA. That should be a good game, but if we end up loosing I will be really upset. I am pumped for USC UCLA, but what I really want to see is Penn State in the Rose Bowl. That should eb a huge game and I really can’t wait to get myself some USC Penn State Rose Bowl tickets.
I think our boys have a real good shot at taking down the Lions, especially with the home field advantage that we’d have in the Rose Bowl. I know that Penn State is going to get more than a few fans over there, but I have to think that there are going to be a tad more USC fans.