It's the Grandaddy of them all and this year's Rose Bowl matchup is among the best of the entire bowl season.
The No. 9 USC Trojans are laced with NFL talent, including cornerback Adoree' Jackson and wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster. No. 5 Penn State took an unexpected step forward this season behind star running back Saquon Barkley and an opportunistic offense.
RELATED: Rose Bowl Preview, Prediction
MORE: College Football Playoff Preview, Prediction
It's the 102nd Rose Bowl game. Get hyped.
|
WEEK |
OPPONENT |
RESULT |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alabama | L 52-6 |
| 2 | Utah State | W 45-7 |
| 3 | @ Stanford | L 27-10 |
| 4 | @ Utah | L 31-27 |
| 5 | Arizona State | W 41-20 |
| 6 | Colorado | W 21-17 |
| 7 | @ Arizona | W 48-14 |
| 8 | California | W 45-24 |
| 9 | Oregon | W 45-20 |
| 10 | @ Washington | W 26-13 |
| 11 | @ UCLA | W 36-14 |
| 12 | Notre Dame | W 45-27 |
The Trojans started the season 1-3 then ran off eight straight wins, including at Washington Week 10. Sam Darnold was installed as the starting QB Week 4 versus Utah, right when USC started to play better footbal.
| WEEK | OPPONENT | RESULT |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kent | W 33-13 |
| 2 | @ Pittsburgh | L 42-39 |
| 3 | Temple | W 34-27 |
| 4 | @ Michigan | L 49-10 |
| 5 | Minnesota | W 29-26 |
| 6 | Maryland | W 38-14 |
| 7 | Ohio State | W 24-21 |
| 8 | @ Purdue | W 62-24 |
| 9 | Iowa | W 41-14 |
| 10 | @ Indiana | W 45-31 |
| 11 | @ Rutgers | W 39-0 |
| 12 | Michigan State | W 45-12 |
| 13 | Wisconsin | W 38-31 |
Penn State would be in the College Football Playoff if it weren't for their 42-39 loss to Pittsburgh early in the season, and the Nittany Lions are just as hot as the Trojans, having won nine in a row since the loss to Michigan.
