Rose Bowl Football Game

The feeling crept up on him slowly. One play at a time. One pass at a time. As soon as Mark Sanchez settled down from a slight case of nerves, he fell into a rhythm, started having fun, telling jokes in the huddle. "I started to feel it kind of rolling," he said. "I was pretty loose." Loose as in four touchdown passes and a touchdown run. Loose as in completing 80% of his throws for 413 yards.

Rey Maualuga has heard the talk, seen the highlights. More important, USC's All-American linebacker spent the season smack dab in the middle of it all. So when college football observers describe USC's defense as the best of the Pete Carroll era, and perhaps one of the top units in college football history, Maualuga just shrugs his broad shoulders. "The best is yet to come," he said matter-of-factly.

Good morning, Nittany Nation. On behalf of the humble metropolis of Los Angeles ("The City That Never Sweeps"), we'd like to welcome you to the 2009 Rose Bowl, a day you will remember, even if last night is still a total blur. Our goal? To make you feel at home here. If it helps, just think of L.A. as Scranton by the Sea. Or the Valley Forge of Chin-Tucks. By now, you've probably discovered our region's crown jewel, Pasadena. It is a great town, particularly for people who have trouble chewing.

With Penn State gathering in the locker room after its 38-24 Rose Bowl loss to USC, Coach Joe Paterno quickly broke the ice. " 'We were doing things that we hadn't been doing all season,' " Nittany Lions quarterback Daryll Clark recalled Paterno telling the team. All week, Paterno said he viewed No. 5 USC (12-1) as the nation's best team. But in no way did he expect the Trojans to win their third consecutive Rose Bowl the way they did it.

USC and Penn State would have preferred to play in the Bowl Championship Series title game next week in Florida. However, now that the game is finally here, neither seems to regard the 95th Rose Bowl game as a consolation prize.

The Rose Bowl introduced the Big Ten to the Pacific 10 at a cocktail party in 1947 and it was love at first sight. It has been a wonderful relationship, except now, after all these years, the marriage is strained. The shared experience is usually terrific right up until opening kickoff. The battle of the bands, for instance, has always been competitive. There's no way you can claim USC's tuba player is better than Penn State's.

Pete Carroll is leaving the practice field wearing a gray sweatshirt, khakis, athletic shoes. Joe Paterno is headed to the practice field wearing a gray sweatshirt, khakis, athletic shoes. One difference. The cuffs. True to his legend, even on a stroll through a hotel lobby when next to nobody is watching, Paterno's cuffs are rolled up above his shoes, the quintessential 1920s hipster. Says Carroll: "I love those cuffs, I really love them.

USC's Rose Bowl performance against Penn State looked a lot like the Trojans' season. Prolonged periods of defensive dominance. Flashes of offensive brilliance. And a victory in the end. But the fifth-ranked Trojans' 38-24 win over sixth-ranked Penn State on Thursday also included the requisite dose of what-might-have-been. What might have happened if the Trojans had showed up to play at Oregon State in September?

USC tailback Stafon Johnson said after Thursday's 38-24 Rose Bowl victory over Penn State that he would return to the Trojans next season. Johnson, a junior who rushed for a team-best 63 yards in 15 carries, applied for a draft projection from the NFL but said, "I got to come back here and win" a national title. Fellow tailback C.J. Gable is not quite as sure. The third-year sophomore said he "might do something else" -- even though he did not request a draft projection.

You saw it, you vote it. In the wake of a monumental Rose Bowl scrubbing Thursday, the challenge now lies with the rolled-up sleeves of the Associated Press poll. USC cannot win the Bowl Championship Series national title, but the fifth-ranked Trojans can still win an AP national championship. After a breathtaking Pasadena afternoon marked by streaks of cardinal flying over lumps of white, couldn't they?