Written By: Roberty Henry
The 103rd Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual was a slugfest between USC and Penn State, with USC winning 52 to 49. The last time these two teams met at the Rose Bowl was in 2008, and back then these young men were dreaming of playing at the Rose Bowl. Now USC has won, and Penn State will be heading home and looking towards the next year of football. Both Penn State and USC have had issues in the past that have kept them out of the college playoffs, but we got to see why these two teams are meant for bowl games. It was a cold night and even colder for Penn State, especially as they saw Matt Boermeester’s game-winning field goal.
In the first half of the game USC and Sam Darnold were dominating forces. Darnold by half time threw for 263 yards and racked up three touchdowns for the Trojans. Two of those touchdowns were thrown to Deontay Burnett, and he was able to pull in 81 yards on seven catches. Both teams were going back and forth with each other when it came to getting in the end zone. By half time it was USC 27 to Penn States 21. Penn State’s Trace McSorley threw for 151 yards for two touchdowns. Chris Godwin and Mike Gesicki were the recipients of McSorely’s two touchdown passes. Penn State started to show more resolve when dealing with the USC defense near the end of the first half, and that rolled over into the second half.
USC was just not able to get back into the rhythm they had in the first quarter, and Penn State was just starting to show the Trojans why they were ranked number 5 in the nation. The opening of the third quarter the score was 27 to 21 USC leading but that gap would soon be closed. The Nittany Lions outscored USC by 20 points in the third quarter due to the explosiveness of Saquon Barkley and his two touchdowns and a total of 194 yards rushing. The other touchdowns came from McSorley and Godwin, which helped steal the lead away from USC, and it seemed all the momentum was with Penn State at this point. During the third quarter, you could hear the momentum shift as the Penn State crowd started chanting “WE ARE PENN STATE” and the USC fans were silent with hopes that their defense would come up with a stop. USC, however, was not discouraged and kept true to their slogan “fight on.”
In the fourth quarter, the Trojan’s fans were granted their wish when USC’s Rasheem Green sacked McSorley and caused a big fumble. Although the call on the field was a fumble recovery by USC, it was then later overruled, and Penn State was given the ball back. Penn State might have gotten the ball back, but that was just the momentum shift that USC needed to help get them back on track to win. The Trojans were able to stop the Nittany Lions on third down and forced them to punt the ball away. The next USC drive would close the gap to just a seven-point difference. Darnold, Ronald Jones II, and Juju Smith-Shuster were in sync this drive and helped move the chains, which eventually gave USC the touchdown, making the score 49 to 42 Penn State leading by seven. With three minutes left on the clock, Penn State got the ball back and another chance to make this game a two possession game. The USC defense was not about to let Penn State score again and was able to force the Nittany Lions to punt the ball away yet again. With only a minute and 59 seconds left, Darnold and the USC receiving corps were able to hurry down the field and tie the game. Darnold, with a minute and 27 seconds left, propelled the ball to Burnett for 27 yards and a touchdown. The Trojans kicked the ball off to Penn State, and now the game would be in the hands of the USC defense. Just a little more than a minute left, McSorley tries to make something on their last drive of the night. McSorley throws on third and is intercepted by Leon McQuay, giving USC a chance to come back and win. Just 27 seconds left on the clock Darnold hands off the ball to Jones II for a five-yard run. Darnold and the USC offense were able to advance to field goal position with just a few seconds left on the clock. Boermeester who missed two field goals earlier in the night was given a chance to win the game. As time ran out, Boermeester kicks the ball cleanly through the uprights and USC leaves the Rose Bowl as the winner of “The Granddaddy of Them All” bowl game.
This year’s Rose Bowl game was not only an unforgettable game but also it unsurprisingly broke Rose Bowl records. Both Darnold and McSorley completed five touchdown passes, which is now the new Rose Bowl record. Darnold also broke the records for most yards in a Rose Bowl with 474 yards; he also broke the record for most points ever in a Rose Bowl with 32 points. Penn State broke the record for most points ever for a losing team with 49 points. Burnett also broke a record with three touchdown receptions. Matt Boermeester broke a record as well with his three made field goals. USC’s comeback in the fourth quarter is also a new record. Last but not least this was the highest scoring Rose Bowl game ever with 101 points combined. This 103rd Rose Bowl game has gone down in Rose Bowl history as one of the most exciting games ever. Congratulations to the USC Trojans for their win.
In the first half of the game USC and Sam Darnold were dominating forces. Darnold by half time threw for 263 yards and racked up three touchdowns for the Trojans. Two of those touchdowns were thrown to Deontay Burnett, and he was able to pull in 81 yards on seven catches. Both teams were going back and forth with each other when it came to getting in the end zone. By half time it was USC 27 to Penn States 21. Penn State’s Trace McSorley threw for 151 yards for two touchdowns. Chris Godwin and Mike Gesicki were the recipients of McSorely’s two touchdown passes. Penn State started to show more resolve when dealing with the USC defense near the end of the first half, and that rolled over into the second half.
USC was just not able to get back into the rhythm they had in the first quarter, and Penn State was just starting to show the Trojans why they were ranked number 5 in the nation. The opening of the third quarter the score was 27 to 21 USC leading but that gap would soon be closed. The Nittany Lions outscored USC by 20 points in the third quarter due to the explosiveness of Saquon Barkley and his two touchdowns and a total of 194 yards rushing. The other touchdowns came from McSorley and Godwin, which helped steal the lead away from USC, and it seemed all the momentum was with Penn State at this point. During the third quarter, you could hear the momentum shift as the Penn State crowd started chanting “WE ARE PENN STATE” and the USC fans were silent with hopes that their defense would come up with a stop. USC, however, was not discouraged and kept true to their slogan “fight on.”
In the fourth quarter, the Trojan’s fans were granted their wish when USC’s Rasheem Green sacked McSorley and caused a big fumble. Although the call on the field was a fumble recovery by USC, it was then later overruled, and Penn State was given the ball back. Penn State might have gotten the ball back, but that was just the momentum shift that USC needed to help get them back on track to win. The Trojans were able to stop the Nittany Lions on third down and forced them to punt the ball away. The next USC drive would close the gap to just a seven-point difference. Darnold, Ronald Jones II, and Juju Smith-Shuster were in sync this drive and helped move the chains, which eventually gave USC the touchdown, making the score 49 to 42 Penn State leading by seven. With three minutes left on the clock, Penn State got the ball back and another chance to make this game a two possession game. The USC defense was not about to let Penn State score again and was able to force the Nittany Lions to punt the ball away yet again. With only a minute and 59 seconds left, Darnold and the USC receiving corps were able to hurry down the field and tie the game. Darnold, with a minute and 27 seconds left, propelled the ball to Burnett for 27 yards and a touchdown. The Trojans kicked the ball off to Penn State, and now the game would be in the hands of the USC defense. Just a little more than a minute left, McSorley tries to make something on their last drive of the night. McSorley throws on third and is intercepted by Leon McQuay, giving USC a chance to come back and win. Just 27 seconds left on the clock Darnold hands off the ball to Jones II for a five-yard run. Darnold and the USC offense were able to advance to field goal position with just a few seconds left on the clock. Boermeester who missed two field goals earlier in the night was given a chance to win the game. As time ran out, Boermeester kicks the ball cleanly through the uprights and USC leaves the Rose Bowl as the winner of “The Granddaddy of Them All” bowl game.
This year’s Rose Bowl game was not only an unforgettable game but also it unsurprisingly broke Rose Bowl records. Both Darnold and McSorley completed five touchdown passes, which is now the new Rose Bowl record. Darnold also broke the records for most yards in a Rose Bowl with 474 yards; he also broke the record for most points ever in a Rose Bowl with 32 points. Penn State broke the record for most points ever for a losing team with 49 points. Burnett also broke a record with three touchdown receptions. Matt Boermeester broke a record as well with his three made field goals. USC’s comeback in the fourth quarter is also a new record. Last but not least this was the highest scoring Rose Bowl game ever with 101 points combined. This 103rd Rose Bowl game has gone down in Rose Bowl history as one of the most exciting games ever. Congratulations to the USC Trojans for their win.