The 103rd Rose Bowl

Tommy Philips historian, podcaster and author of multiple gridiron books including Penn State Bowl Games: A Complete History joins us to chat about this 103rd Rose Bowl between USC and Penn State that he attended.

The 103rd edition of the Rose Bowl Game matched the Penn State Nittany Lions against the USC Trojans. The contest was played on January 1, 2017, and was one of the most exciting point-filled Rose Bowl games. Coach James Franklin called the shots from the Nittany Lion sideline while the opposing head coach of USC was Clay Helton. USC was ranked 9th in the polls, while PSU was in 5th. Both teams' rosters leaned heavily on offensive talent, which showed in the game's scoring. Penn State sported offensive skill players Saquon Barkley, Chris Godwin, and Trace McSorely. The Trojans countered with some high-profile offensive personnel like Sam Darnold, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Ronald Jones, Darreus Rogers, and Deontay Burnett. Southern Cal led on the scoreboard at halftime 27-21. The fans thought they saw scoring in the first half. Well, the show was just about to get started.

Penn State exited the locker room on fire and took the lead on a Saquon Barkley 79-yard touchdown run. A few minutes later, that lead was extended further as Chris Godwin's 72-yard touchdown reception from Trace McSorley moved the Nittany Lions ahead by 8. Coach Franklin's troops made it a two-score game when McSorley kept the ball and traveled 3-yards for yet another PSU touchdown. The Trojans swung the game's momentum as their next drive resulted in JuJu Smith-Schuster hauling in a 13-yard touchdown reception from Sam Darnold, and with a 2-point pass good from Darnold to Taylor McNamara, USC trailed by 7. Penn State again went up by 14-pint as Saquon Barkley used his hands, catching a 7-yard touchdown reception from Trace McSorley. Southern Cal used the fourth quarter to mount their comeback. The USC defense stiffened and did not allow any further Penn State scoring. Offensively they produced a point with Trojan Ronald Jones plunged into the end zone from 3 yards out. That was followed by a Deontay Burnett 27-yard touchdown reception from Darnold to knot the game at 49. A 46-yard field goal by USC's Matt Boermeester with 27 seconds left proved to be the difference in the 52-49 Southern Cal victory.

A Very Special thanks to information obtained from the following brilliant internet sites: On This Day Sports, the Sports Reference's family of website databases & Stathead.com.

Banner photo is courtesy of Wikimedia Commons of the 2017 Rose Bowl Game, USC vs. Penn St. - Player Entrance, contributed by Spatms