USC Beats Penn State in Rose Bowl, 52-49 (VIDEO)

I just can't get this thing out of my head. Folks are going to be talking about this game for a long time.

Here's the totally apt headline at SB Nation, "USC beats Penn State in the game of the year, with the most points in any Rose Bowl ever":

Penn State and USC entered on a combined 17-game winning streak. The Lions and Trojans both hadn’t lost since the weekend of Sept. 23-24, when USC lost at Utah and Penn State lost at Michigan. Both had been a buzzsaw ever since, and they only missed the Playoff because they got started just a little too late this season.

The Trojans capped their brilliant run in style, finishing the year 10-3 after a 1-3 start. They’ll be a popular Playoff pick heading into next season, and the emergence of Clay Helton as a really smart-looking head coach hire now has another chapter...

And at USA Today:

#USC rallies to edge #PennState in wild #RoseBowl. #USCFootball #FightOn #BeatTheLions #NittanyLions https://t.co/zg7D6b5Fl1

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) January 3, 2017

I'll have more.

The Los Angeles Times sportswriters are still working on their coverage. It's going to be a full separate pullout section tomorrow, I'm sure, part of the overall Rose Parade/New Year's Day reporting. It's glorious. I swear USC winning the Rose Bowl is just one of those things. If you're a Southern Californian, it doesn't get any better.

After Penn State scored three touchdown on three plays to start the second half, I thought the momentum was over. USC was done.

I had hope though, and it was prescient:

.@LindseyThiry Still lots of time Darnold's the kind of QB to make things happen. Defense needs to settle down. #FightOn #RoseBowl #Trojans

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) January 3, 2017

And check the highlights:



More later.