USC leads Penn State, 38-14, in the fourth quarter of the Rose Bowl
GAME UPDATES
Trojans quarterback Mark Sanchez has passed for four touchdowns and run for another.
USC, which spent most of the first half looking as if it could score at will, paused a bit in the third quarter of today's Rose Bowl game.
The Trojans, who scored on their last five possessions of the first half, were held scoreless the two times they had the ball in the third quarter.
But then Penn State scored, cutting USC's lead to 17 points early in the fourth quarter.
Which seemed to snap the Trojans back to attention.
Three plays after the Nittany Lions scored on a two-yard pass from Daryll Clark to Derrick Williams, USC was back in the end zone courtesy of three Mark Sanchez passes -- the last covering 45 yards to Ronald Johnson to put the Trojans up, 38-14, with 12 minutes 2 seconds to play.
Sanchez has passed for four touchdowns and run for another.
So much for the defensive battle everyone expected in the 95th Rose Bowl game.
It started off that way . . . then quickly turned into a track meet the Trojans ran away with.
USC gained 341 yards in the first half against a Nittany Lions defense that came in ranked No. 5 in the nation.
Sanchez has accounted for all four touchdowns, throwing for three and running for another.
The junior from Mission Viejo threw two scoring strikes in less than a minute just before the half. He has completed 21 of 27 passes for 295 yards.
Sanchez connected with Johnson on a 19-yard touchdown pass with 1 minute 24 seconds left in the first half, then, after Penn State lost a fumble on its first play of the ensuing series, he hit C.J. Gable on a middle screen that went for a 20-yard touchdown with 36 seconds on the clock.
David Buehler kicked a 30-yard field goal to give USC a 17-7 lead the previous time the Trojans had the ball.
About the only downer for the USC offense was the loss of tailback Joe McKnight, who sustained what the team reported as a sprained toe when he was tackled after a nine-yard gain on a pass play in the second quarter. His return to the game is questionable.
Sanchez's other touchdowns came on a 27-yard pass to Damian Williams in the first quarter and a six-yard run with 12:27 left in the second quarter.
On the 80-yard drive he capped with his run, Sanchez completed four passes for 76 yards. The only running play besides Sanchez's scoring run was a rush for a two-yard loss.
The march came immediately after Penn State had overcome what looked like a costly penalty to tie the score, 7-7, at the end of the first quarter.
