Results tagged “Rose Bowl” from Nittany Nation

Gordon Smith of York: "Was that PSU ... or PU. Whew, that was pitiful. That Big Ten just gets worse and worse."

Jim Beveridge of York: "As I said before, the forward pass is easy. Another game of over 400 yards in the air. Of course, if you play pass coverage like Penn State did, you make it ridiculously easy."

Glenn Medice of York: "To the point: No halftime adjustments on defense, and no apparent urgency to get back into the game on offense. Memo to JoePa: No-Huddle."

To read more about local fans and the Rose Bowl experience, see this story.

 

One thing we didn't truly have a chance to examine justly in our print coverage of the Rose Bowl was the stunning passing performance by USC quarterback Mark Sanchez.

The numbers, by themselves, are impressive enough: 28-of-35 passing for 413 yards and four touchdowns.

But then realize that his yardage is second all-time in Rose Bowl history, behind only Oregon Danny O'Neil's 456  --  also against Penn State, though the Lions at least won that one.

 

It's difficult to beat the atmosphere of the Rose Bowl.

Towering palms and pines rising up beyond the top of the stadium walls. Stucco villas tucked away in the hills behind that. And the San Gabriel Mountains looming over all of it, bigger than just about anything else around here.

Except for that perfect blue sky to frame it all.

And did we mention temperatures hitting 70 degrees, no need for glass or tarps to enclose the press box on this day?

 

 

The buzz here is building quickly 30 minutes before kickoff in the Rose Bowl.

 

Enough Penn State fans have already filed in to create a mini-whiteout through one-quarter of the stadium.

And one of the tunnels leading into the grand old place?

 

An excerpt from a story by The Associated Press on Derrick Williams:

Even more telling, though, might be the attention Derrick Williams gets from opposing coaches when they game plan. USC coach Pete Carroll compared Penn State's use of Williams to how the Trojans used Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush all over the field earlier this decade.

"He's the problem for us," Carroll said of Williams. "One guy does the job of two, three guys, then it causes problems and you have to call defenses that can capture all of that and it restricts you some."

Less than an hour before kickoff, here are some "expert" picks on the big game, from Rivals.com scribes:

 Olin Buchanan: USC 20, Penn State 14
 Tom Dienhart: Penn State 17, USC 14 
 David Fox: USC 31, Penn State 21 
 Mike Huguenin: USC 20, Penn State 16
 Steve Megargee: USC 20, Penn State 17

The past 16 hours definitely have been rough on the Penn State media covering the Rose Bowl.

 

Somehow, more than 20 of the contingent became ill on New Year's Eve and through New Year's Day morning  --  and it doesn't seem to have anything to do with adult beverages.

 

Daryll Clark already received a special Christmas present  --  and now he hope it brings him some New Year's luck, too.

 

The Penn State quarterback has been reunited with his older brother, DeJuan, who lives about 50 minutes from Los Angeles, where Clark and his Nittany Lion teammates have spent the past 10 days preparing for the Rose Bowl.

 

Everyone finds a different way to spend a little down time on a work trip.

Covering the Rose Bowl in Los Angeles meant a little pickup basketball, where Harrisburg Patriot columnist Dave Jones and I ran out of gas (Dave's not so young anymore, you know) and got schooled by a couple of State College media types.

It also means finding something interesting to eat.

 

Penn State coach Joe Paterno said he will not coach the Rose Bowl from the sidelines because of concerns from his healing hip.

Paterno underwent hip replacement surgery after Thanksgiving, and though the operation was successful, he said his legs don't yet have the necessary endurance to permit standing and walking around for the length of a game.

He will coach Thursday's game against USC from the press box, as he has for most of the season.

Aaron Maybin (59, above), the most talked-about Nittany Lion during Rose Bowl week, finally met reporters on Tuesday morning.

They asked about his temporary demotion to second-team status.

They asked about his NFL plans.

What did the pass-rushing specialist have to say?

These USC Trojans are loaded with talent like no other team in the country, that's for sure.

So maybe it doesn't mean much even when two key performers have been scratched for Thursday's Rose Bowl.

But Penn State fans will take the good news, no matter how it comes.

 

 So the Nittany Lions didn't get to do some post-Christmas shopping in Miami, courtesy of the BCS national championship game.

 Just a field goal away in frozen Iowa City, right?

 An undefeated regular season would have, among other things, entitled them to a $300, NCAA-allowed shopping spree at a hotel suite stocked with Sony electronics.

 Not a bad perk. (Those lucky Oklahoma Sooners and Florida Gators also get a Tourneau watch, Crocs and an Ogio duffle bag).

 

It's Rose Bowl week in L.A. and you can only stay holed up in downtown hotel room, staring at a laptop, for so long.

(Of course, it's a little easier here with a view of the snow-capped San Gabriel mountain range in the distance.)

But we digress.

There is more to bowl week than talking to players and writing stories and searching around for what kind of free food and drink there is to be had.

 

 

It sounds like Jordan Norwood will be a receiving threat in Thursday's Rose Bowl despite a bad foot. The senior receiver who is the Nittany Lions best threat in the middle of a crowded field, said he's about "90 percent" healthy since injuring his left foot in the regular season finale against Michigan State.

It took only a few steps outside the airport doors to soak in the Los Angeles atmosphere:

Palm trees swaying in a warm, late-afternoon breeze.

A frenzied wave of taxi and shuttle van drivers swerving to somehow avoid certain collisions.

And tall men offering help finding your travel destination  --  only to plead for monetary donations for hungry families in return. (Hey, they did offer tax receipts!).

Welcome to the Rose Bowl ... 

  

Here are some facts and trivia about Rose Bowl combatants Southern Cal and Penn State, culled from the pre-Rose Bowl media releases put out by each school.

1. Penn State is No. 2 in the nation in bowl winning percentage among schools with at least 10 postseason victories, posting a 26-12-2 record for a .675 winning percentage.

2. KNSP-AM 710, the flagship station on the USC radio network, will have an eight-hour pregame show for the Rose Bowl and a three-hour postgame show.

3. Five Lions are listed as "out" for the Rose Bowl -- TB Brent Carter, DE Jerome Hayes, C Doug Klopacz, LB Sean Lee and SAF Nick Sukay.

4. USC's media notes state: "IT'S NOT SOUTHERN CAL -- Note to the media: In editorial references to athletic teams of the University of Southern California, the following are preferred: USC, Southern California, So. California, Troy, Trojans and (for women's teams) Women of Troy. PLEASE do not use Southern Cal."

 

 

 

Rose Bowl coaches Joe Paterno and Pete Carroll hammed it up on stage, with Paterno striking a boxer's pose and Carroll grinning and ducking away on Friday at Disneyland. To read the story, click here.