Last Second FG Wins Rose Bowl for USC
The mighty #5 Penn State Nittany Lions bowed to the #9 USC Trojans after putting up one helluva fight in a classic Rose Bowl that will be long remembered. The final score of 52-49 only begins to tell the tale of what was a compelling and highly entertaining sixty minutes of college football in a time-honored venue.
As I wrote last night in my postgame “what could have been” state, the loss by the Nittany Lions does not detract from their magical season and their future promise. They still have some glaring weaknesses, but I’m now a believer. The positive attitude, the JoMo scheme, and the team’s youth portend well. Who thought that they could have come so far so soon?
Slow Startitis
Back to the game, we had the usual, frustratingly slow, nerve-wracking Penn State start. Having won the toss and opted to receive, the very first Penn State play involved Miles Sanders misjudging the kickoff, muffing the ball, pinning the Lions inside the 5 yard-line. On the first play from scrimmage, Trace McSorley threw an interception leading to a short USC drive terminated by a failed field goal attempt. On the next drive, after three decent first down runs by Saquon Barkley, McSorley threw his second interception, this one to the vaunted Adoree’ Jackson.
On the other side of the ball, the Trojans were moving the ball well against the Penn State defense that was missing starting linebacker Manny Bowen, and would wind up scoring a touchdown and two field goals in the first quarter.
Penn State was able to manage a nine-play touchdown drive to start the second quarter, and became re-energized after that. Down a wide receiver due to the suspension of Saeed Blacknall, McSorley wanted to concentrate his throws toward Chris Godwin, a penchant that would ultimately result in the Lions’ demise after the third and final interception of the day, but I digress. Having decided to be a “second quarter team” as well as a “second half team” enabled Penn State to avoid an embarrassing blowout.
Third Quarter Fireworks
The fun peaked in the third quarter, as the Nittany Lions put 28 points on the board while USC scored only 8, allowing PSU take a 49-35 lead as the fourth quarter opened. Penn State was once again cementing its reputation as a second-half team. We all began to feel comfortable and confident that the Lions were going to ring the victory bell for one final time to put a wonderful lid on a magical season.
However, USC had something else to say about that. All game long, they had been able to move the ball against Penn State’s defense, largely due to the latter’s inability to put pressure on freshman quarterback Sam Darnold. He had all day to throw, and when he ran, he eluded tackles. Penn State recorded just one team sack all day, while Darnold would go on to tie or break several Rose Bowl records.
Now, senior PSU linebacker Brandon Bell had suffered an injury and State was down yet another linebacker. But another curious thing happened at that point.
Sphincter Mode Redux
In the fourth quarter, leading 49-35, it appeared to me as if the Penn State offensive coaching brain trust wanted to revive St. Joe Paterno “sphincter mode”, protecting a two touchdown lead by running out the clock. This, along with the defense’s inability to stop the Trojans, led to the defeat. I was thinking, “You live by the sword, you die by the sword. Go home with the guy who brought you to the dance. Etc., etc.” All those damn clichés. Hell, we all know about the third-down conversion crappiness of this team — so, how the hell can our geniuses assume that they can produce a long, clock-chewing drive?
Yeah, I know that it is the usual procedure to try to run the clock out with a two-score lead. But I’m thinking that the strategy failed because of invalid assumptions about this team’s ability to play ball-control football.
Hindsight, as they say, is always 20-20. I write about this crap; I never coached a game. I have to assume that these coaches know a helluva lot more about the game of football in their big toenails than I’ll ever know in the entirety of my being. However, I saw what I saw, and I think there might have been a better way.
The first three fourth quarter drives ended in punts: two three-and-outs, and a five play drive that went for only 10 yards. Meanwhile, USC was advancing at will against the Penn State defense, knotting the score at 49.
The Bitter End
On what would be the last Penn State drive, JoMo and Company strangely reversed the strategy. While everyone thought the Nittany Lions would be content to grind it out on the ground against a USC defense that was missing Adoree’ Jackson at that point and play for overtime, suddenly the sphincter let loose — and the whole load hit the fan when McSorley’s 30-some yard pass attempt, once again targeting Godwin, was intercepted by Leon McQuay III and returned 32 yards into field goal range with 27 seconds on the clock.
Ploo.
The end was swift. The ball sailed through the uprights with :00 left on the clock.
Why our Brain Trust decided to play conservative, sit-on-the-lead football against a team that was moving the ball so well will be asked by many, and will receive the usual justifications. In the end, we’ll be convinced that the game could have gone either way regardless. I guess I want to believe that, too.
Some Big Numbers
Trace McSorley was 18-29 for 254 yards, with four touchdowns and three interceptions. Saquon Barkley had a huge-ass day, with 194 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries on the ground, coupled with five receptions for 55 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Chris Godwin had nine receptions for 187 yards and two touchdowns. Mike Gesicki also had one spectacular catch for 11 yards and a touchdown.
Defensively, Jason Cabinda had 11 tackles, and Marcus Allen had 9. The solitary TFL was recorded by Malik Golden. Brandon Bell had an interception.
On the Trojan side, freshman Sam Darnold burned up the record books with a 33-53, 453 yard performance, with five touchdowns and one interception. His leading receiver was Deontay Burnett with 13 catches for 164 yards and three touchdowns. JuJu Smith-Schuster added 7 receptions for 144 yards and a touchdown. Darreus Rogers had an additional five catches for 42 yards and a touchdown.
It’s a Record Breaker!!
The 103rd Rose Bowl was a barn-burner, as old 88 year-old Keith Jackson, who was attending his first Rose Bowl since calling the 2006 epic, would say. This memorable game tied or exceeded eight different records.
- Deontay Burnett of USC tied the record for touchdown receptions, with three.
- Matt Boermeester tied the record number of field goals made, with three.
- Penn State scored the most points ever for a losing team.
- USC registered the biggest fourth-quarter comeback.
- Trace McSorley and Sam Darnold each were responsible for five touchdowns, equaling the Rose Bowl record.
- Of the two quarterbacks, Darnold passed for all of his touchdowns, setting a new record for passing touchdowns.
- Darnold accounted for 32 total ponts, setting another new Rose Bowl record.
- Oh, and one more thing. Darnold wound up with 474 total yards, breaking Vince Young’s 2006 Rose Bowl record of 467 yards by a single player.
Putting the Season in Perspective
This was a great year for Penn State football. The Rose Bowl loss did not sting me so badly because we were facing another hot team with a wunderkind quarterback with a hot hand (although our defense’s inability to put pressure on him disappointed me). And I think to some extent, PSU’s performance in the Rose Bowl, even in a losing cause, redeemed the Big Ten’s bowl season. (Alas, the Big Ten sure will look shitty in its bowl performance this year.)
I think we have a lot of great things to look forward to as Penn State fans. Can you imagine how great these positive-minded lads will be if they can fix the offensive line and figure out how to convert third downs while beefing up a healthy front seven on defense to produce a formidable pass rush? I can’t wait to watch.
Eight months. Damn!
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Big Al says
I cut off my cable a year ago and have been following State by listening to the radio broadcast live and then watching a pirated copy on Youtube the next day. (nothing can stop those Russian hackers). But I decided this time to view it live with Watch ESPN’s sky cam version. The sky cam is usually a total waste of time since a chimpanzee apparently operates it and it misses half the plays with shots of the stands and goalposts on the other end of the field. But for the Rose Bowl, ESpin must have decided they could afford a human operator. And it gave you a great view from behind and above the quarterback (i.e.the position where Franklin’s angel has been perched for the last 10 games). You could see the line play clearly and basically see what the quarterback sees at game speed.
As you stated in your previous post, this game was State’s finest hour – for the players anyway. This game also featured the best group of skill position players of any bowl game and probably worst group of offensive lineman of any New Year’s six bowl. USC basically won because their quarterback was more accurate than State’s. State’s DL couldn’t apply much pressure because Darnold’s release was quick and he was surprisingly mobile.
And I beg to differ about your praise for Morehead’s scheme. As the old saying goes, it isn’t about the Xs and Os, it’s the Jimmies and Joes. Morehead’s play calling had nothing to do with State’s 1st three scores in the 3rd quarter. Barkley and Godwin turned two ordinary play calls into touchdowns with their athleticism (also the dback covering Godwin fell). In the last 25 minutes of the game, State scored a total of 7 points on a drive where USC was flagged for 3 major penalties.
His scheme is one dimensional passing game that is currently working because Barkley is an extremely talented running back and McSorely is extremely quick and shifty. If State had an average running back and our former statue of a quarterback, they would have to pass 80% of the time to move the ball, Even with Barkley and McSorley, State can’t convert on 3rd and one by running the ball and has no effective 4 minute offense. Lack of a reliable 4 minute offense is why State lost to USC and almost let Wisconsin score the tying touchdown,
This big play or bust offense is great for overwhelming the mostly marginal B1G offenses that don’t have big play capabilities. But it puts your defense at a real disadvantage against a team like USC that has also has real playmakers. There will be times when the quarterback has to take a direct snap from the center and/0r times when two backs are needed in the backfield to run the ball effectively. Maybe Morehead has those kid of plays in his playbook and isn’t using them because of his mediocre offensive line. But I’d the ranch that State won’t win any national championship with the current OL and running scheme.
Now, State could very well win the B1G championship again next year. But, as this year’s bowl season has shown, that’s the equivalent of owning the best house in a mediocre neighborhood.
The Nittany Turkey says
I am guilty of a little romanticizing when thinking back over the past few months. I credit JoMo with putting a highly entertaining product on the field, but I recognize also that the breaks have gone our way and that the quality of the opposition has been such that things look better than they really are. It’s just been great fun to watch, and even though my cynicism approaches yours, I am having fun. So, sometimes even the pessimistic turkey wants to be an optimist and hope it all can continue. I romanticize about the potential greatness that being able to convert third downs and sit on the ball for eight-minute drives will bring.
We’ll see how close we can get to that. They’ve been able to recruit some decent talent but once the stigma of the sanctions and Sandusky wear off, and if they can somehow remain in the top ten for a couple of seasons, they might be able to build a consistent winner that will do well in post-season play.
As you say, perhaps JoMo is merely working with the tools he has in order to squeeze as much offense as he can with a few great players and the lack of an effective offensive line. In that case, he’s still smart. But he ain’t too bright thinking that he could play ball control for most of the fourth quarter and succeed.
Gaia was being driven into the backfield all afternoon by that 360-pounder. We can hand wave about that by rationalizing that there aren’t many 360 pound nose tackles in college football, but PSU better be ready for them.
I had been scoffing at “the best conference” label being attached to the B1G during the year. Where did that come from? Just because at one point there were three Big Ten teams in the top 10 doesn’t mean anything at all to me. Aside from a couple of high-profile non-conference wins here and there, they mostly just played each other. We didn’t get to find out how good or bad they were until the bowl season. This year, they demonstrated that the Big Ten still suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuucks!
Now, I change my focus to the Steelers. If they only had a defense, I would have a reasonable expectation of a Super Bowl run. But their pass rush is hampered by the loss of Heyward and Tuitt, and no way in hell will they get past New England. They have a decent chance of beating Miami (minus Tannehill, last I heard) and Oakland, who are down to Connor Cook with Carr and McGloin both hurt at this point.
Back to the Lions, I don’t mind having the best house on a crappy block if I can feel good about it. I think that’s where I am with Penn State. Winning another B1G championship is a reasonable goal, and it will be entertaining getting there.
—TNT
K. John says
I would actually counter that Joe Moorhead’s scheme is brilliant because he realized after a few games what his “quarterback” can and more importantly, can’t do, and figured out how to make it work. The scheme is one dimensional because of the hand he was dealt, not because of the scheme. Wait until next year. I think we will see a lot of changes in personnel on offense. I would go so far as to say only Barkley, Godwin (if he returns), Bates and Blacknall’s jobs are safe. I think Mahon has a solid shot at locking up a job but see different players everywhere else.
The Nittany Turkey says
Count Godwin out of the next year equation. He declared for the NFL Draft.
Obviously, the offensive line rebuilding project will have to continue during next year.
Can we hope for maybe a Top-50 ranking in third down conversions instead of the bottom of the heap rankings of the past couple of years?
—TNT
startup says
The offense did become conservative in the fourth quarter but what team wouldn’t with a 14 point lead – even though we PSU fans knew it was a formula for disaster. With that said I don’t believe you can blame everything on Morehead, I think you have to give some credit to McSorley too. It seemed that he also became conservative, not seeming to look for his downfield option (which looked like he had open receivers on the replays) when they did pass…until the very end. What makes McSorley so great is his aggressiveness and his willingness to fight and scratch for whatever he can get no matter what the score is, which is why I believe there is so much fight in this team and the reason why they are so good in the second half. This offense is no different than last year, the difference is that Hackenberg always gave up when things weren’t going well, not McSorley. Unfortunately McSorley did become tentative and played out of character in the fourth quarter and he knew it which is why I believe he forced that throw at the end. With that said he will learn from this experience and will only be that much better next year. Let them (the media) sing the praises of Darnold but I’ll take McSorley any day thank you very much.
The Nittany Turkey says
McSorley admitted that on the interception, he made an error in judgment. He had decided that he was going to go to Godwin on a deep route regardless of how the defense lined up. Of course that was the time USC decided to drop back eight guys and double cover, but McSorley was resolute. This is the kind of costly error from which a youthful player learns. He won’t make that kind of impatient mistake again.
Otherwise, I agree that McSorley is miles ahead of Hack in terms of emotional maturity and football savvy. I can’t give him all the credit, though. His superstud receivers make pretty fat targets for him. They’re vacuum cleaners when a ball is in their vicinity.
—TNT
K. John says
Personally, I think we have seen the last of McSorley as the starting QB.
The Nittany Turkey says
Could you please amplify on that thought?
Is Stevens ready for the job? If not, then who? No one out there with much game experience.
—TNT
K. John says
Sorry but you are wrong here my friend. Other than a few players, the offense is nothing like last year’s. Totally different blocking scheme. A coherent approach to route design. You name it, it is different. I wish Hack had stayed, they would probably be prepping to play Alabama if he did.
brent glading says
Haha. I was referring to the players but your credibility suffers with your Hack comment.
The Nittany Turkey says
Brent,
You have to put K.John’s comments in context. During Hack’s aborted tenure at PSU, K.John was his biggest booster on this blog, to the extent that my turkette, Artificially Sweetened, opined that he was really Grandma Hackenberg!
—TNT