Rose Bowl: USC 38, Penn St. 24 (Final)

[buckeyesin07]

From Black Shoe Diaries:

"Congratulations to the USC Trojans. Mark Sanchez had a career day. We were uncharacteristically sloppy with turnovers and penalties. They were clearly the better team tonight. I wish we could go back and replay the second quarter. Take away all those penalties and turnovers and the 24 unanswered points and we win 24-14. But that's football. That's why you play four quarters."

It?Is What It Is - Black Shoe Diaries

You've gotta love the following:

1. The implication that USC only won because Sanchez played out of his mind.
2. The refusal to believe that last night's game was anything but an outlier, and the implication that if the two teams played again, the result would (or even could) be different.
3. The blind homer typical claim that if you throw out PSU's worst plays (or an entire quarter, in this case), PSU would have won.

Wow.

 

[cjmik_75]

When SC is focused, like a bowl game or a "big game" in the regular season, there are few teams who can run with them. Oregon State, I think, was under the radar and SC didn't take them seriously. That's not an excuse for SC, in fact I think losing to a bad team (Oregon State proved to be better than bad, I guess, but still isn't SC's level) is worse than losing the "big game" But... nonetheless - SC comes to beat your ass during bowl season.

They're a machine, in that respect. An unrelenting, unforgiving machine. I truly wish some of that mentality would rub off on Ohio State... I don't mean Big Game Bobby Stoops running it up with his 1s after the game is out of hand... but, USC very rarely misses the opportunity to get the kill when a team is down. The late 2nd Q TD yesterday... that's what I would like to see out of OSU. Yeah, we're up 24-7 with 3 or so before half.... guess what.... we're scoring again anyway.

OSU doesn't seem to kick em when they're down... put em away. That's what I'd like to see.

I'd like them to be in position to kick em when they're down, first.

As far as Oregon State being "under the radar" I don't buy it. USC lost at Oregon State the last two times they've been there. (33-31 in 2006)

Especially since USC was in their second bye week in four weeks to start the season, they lost plain and simple and at the end of the year everyone wants to overlook it. Regardless if Oregon St isn't USC level they beat em two out of the last three times they've faced. Not many CFB teams can say that about USC.

Great game for the Trojans but I did like that PSU was able to score multiple times on that 2nd half shutdown defense.


Edit: Just saw Dryden's post after I finished. good point.

 

[kinch]

Well played, sir.

Holy mother of god.

 

[Dryden]

From Black Shoe Diaries:

"Congratulations to the USC Trojans. Mark Sanchez had a career day. We were uncharacteristically sloppy with turnovers and penalties. They were clearly the better team tonight. I wish we could go back and replay the second quarter. Take away all those penalties and turnovers and the 24 unanswered points and we win 24-14. But that's football. That's why you play four quarters."

It?Is What It Is - Black Shoe Diaries

You've gotta love the following:

1. The implication that USC only won because Sanchez played out of his mind.
2. The refusal to believe that last night's game was anything but an outlier, and the implication that if the two teams played again, the result would (or even could) be different.
3. The blind homer typical claim that if you throw out PSU's worst plays (or an entire quarter, in this case), PSU would have won.

Wow.

Penn State, like Ohio State the prior two years in their big games, cannot claim the outcome would have been different without the uncharacteristic penalties/mistakes.

PSU's penalties against USC, like OSU's against LSU, were not momentary lapses of judgment. They were the result of frustrated players who were physically overmatched. Those false starts on offense and those off-sides on defense are players trying to go 1/10th of a second early because they know they can't beat their man straight up, and that's when the floodgates open and you get hit with the flurry of late hit, face mask, hands to the face, and holding type penalties.

 

[IronBuckI]

Penn State, like Ohio State the prior two years in their big games, cannot claim the outcome would have been different without the uncharacteristic penalties/mistakes.

PSU's penalties against USC, like OSU's against LSU, were not momentary lapses of judgment. They were the result of frustrated players who were physically overmatched. Those false starts on offense and those off-sides on defense are players trying to go 1/10th of a second early because they know they can't beat their man straight up, and that's when the floodgates open and you get hit with the flurry of late hit, face mask, hands to the face, and holding type penalties.

This is the exact point that I was trying to make to some "USC is still overrated" guys at work today. The "yeah, but, if" guys really sound desperate right now.

 

[MililaniBuckeye]

PSU's penalties against USC, like OSU's against LSU, were not momentary lapses of judgment. They were the result of frustrated players who were physically overmatched.

I disagree on our roughing the punter penalty...we supposedly barely tipped the ball, but it was unperceivable by the refs so they threw the flag. Another couple inches and we'd have been in business (insert obligitory comments about male anatomy here)...

 

[Buck Kid 66]

hey were the result of frustrated players who were physically overmatched. Those false starts on offense and those off-sides on defense are players trying to go 1/10th of a second early because they know they can't beat their man straight up

How do u know what they were thinking. If u have ever played football u would know that lining up off sides happens sometimes during a game. Stop drinking the kool-aid that all the sportswriter say about USC. They are good but not unstoppable. The problem was Penn ST. was not aggressive enough on defensive or offensive. A big portion of that in the first half.

 

[buckeyesin07]

The problem was Penn ST. was not aggressive enough on defensive or offensive.

No, the problem was that Penn St. was playing a team that is much, much better than they are. USC was better in every facet of the game yesterday, and if the two teams played ten times, I have a hard time believing the result would have been any different in any of the ten. PSU is not in USC's league, and it's not even close.

 

[Basebuck]

No, the problem was that Penn St. was playing a team that is much, much better than they are. USC was better in every facet of the game yesterday, and if the two teams played ten times, I have a hard time believing the result would have been any different in any of the ten. PSU is not in USC's league, and it's not even close.

Agreed. They go balls out against players that are probably as good as anyone they play in practice everyday. I don't think anyone could come within 10 of them during bowl season and I think it been that way for the past 7 or 8 years.

 

[IronBuckI]

Agreed. They go balls out against players that are probably as good as anyone they play in practice everyday. I don't think anyone could come within 10 of them during bowl season and I think it been that way for the past 7 or 8 years.

Unless of course one of their guys decides to get cute and lateral when they're on the cusp of stepping on the throat of their opponent in a National Championship game.

 

[Basebuck]

Unless of course one of their guys decides to get cute and lateral when they're on the cusp of stepping on the throat of their opponent in a National Championship game.

Add that together with a once in a generation player that dominated the college game and you have your anomaly

 

[FrancisSoyer]

I've gotta give credit to Penn St. - they never gave up. It was nice to see them scoring touchdowns and making plays even when the game was out of reach. They have some pretty fast guys on both sides of the ball.

 

[VegasBuckeye]

I posted something similar to this in the Iowa game thread before the Rose Bowl started but thank God Iowa beat PSU so we didnt have to see a Big Ten team in the NC game get routed for the third year a row. USC is a very good team but IMO they are no Texas, OU, Florida.

 

[methomps]

Still a bit bitter are we? :)

Has nothing to do with Texas. The outcome of the Fiesta Bowl will decide whether osu is a top-ranked team or not, which will factor into how USC is perceived next year

 

[OCBucksFan]

No, the problem was that Penn St. was playing a team that is much, much better than they are. USC was better in every facet of the game yesterday, and if the two teams played ten times, I have a hard time believing the result would have been any different in any of the ten. PSU is not in USC's league, and it's not even close.

I agree here, I saw it when we played USC, and I saw it yesterday. USC is just unreal. You can say they are dirty, you can question what's going on in that program, but you have to admit that they are a damn good team.

Get ready for a year of the country cock gobbling the Pac-10.