Rose Bowl Preview: USC Looks to Win Another in Pasadena

In this New Year's Day match-up, #5 USC meets #6 Penn State in the Rose Bowl. This marks USC's 5th Rose Bowl appearance in the last six years and Penn State's first since 1995. USC has been a dominant force in the NCAA once again this season, and many believe that this team was just as qualified to make the National Championship game as anyone else. Penn State jumped out to a 9-0 start this season, and Nittany Lion faithful felt confident about their national championship hopes. A loss to Oregon State in late September for the Trojans and one for Penn State when they went to Iowa caused both of these teams to fall short of a chance for the National Championship and leaves them in Pasadena to battle it out for the Rose Bowl.

Since that loss at Oregon State, USC has been on a tear. The Trojans have only allowed more than 10 points once in their last nine games, the one exception being a 45-23 victory against Stanford. The Trojans are also sporting three shutouts in this time span. Additionally, USC has won their last eight matchups versus the Big Ten by an average of 25 points.

Penn State is looking to change that trend. This season Joe Paterno's squad has averaged 40.2 points. The Nittany Lions are hopeful that they will be able to keep that scoring up against the stingy USC defense, which has only allowed 7.3 points per game.

It is interesting to note that both teams average almost exactly the same amount of yards per game, and the distribution between rushing and passing is also almost identical. USC runs for 206 yards per game (ypg) and throws for 247.1. Penn State rushes for 211.6 ypg and 240.6 by air.

One key matchup to watch will be Penn State's RB Evan Royster versus the USC linebackers. The sophomore has scampered for 1202 yards (averaging 6.5 yards per carry) and reached pay-dirt 12 times. When Royster needs a breather, it is the freshman Stephfon Green who carries it for the Nitanny Lions. He has run for 521 yards on 95 attempts and has 4 touchdowns on the season.

USC's linebacker corps features Rey Maualuga and Brian Cushing, both who are potential top 10 draft picks in the upcoming NFL Draft. The two linebackers lead the Trojans with 73 and 66 tackles respectively, and Cushing is tied for the team lead for tackles for a loss with 10. Cushing was also last year's Rose Bowl Defensive MVP; Coach Paterno better be gameplanning to slow down these two forces and allow Royster and Green to run the ball successfully.

Another important matchup is USC QB Mark Sanchez against the Penn State secondary. Penn State's defense has racked up 16 interceptions as a team, which is tied for 22nd best in the FBS with 11 other teams. They will have to step up against Sanchez, who has picked apart defenses all fall. Sanchez has thrown for 2794 yards and 30 TDs. His 30 touchdowns rank him #11 in the nation this season. If Penn State wants to have a chance in this game, they will need to be able to slow down Sanchez and the Trojan receivers.

In this game, all signs point toward USC winning another Rose Bowl. However, they better not take this game for granted because Penn State is definitely quite good this season. The Nittany Lions will be coming out hard for the upset, and hopefully Coach Paterno has a little New Year's Day magic to help his team in what could be his last game as head football coach.