Penn State Football Season Rewind: Nittany Lions Fall to USC in Unforgettable Rose Bowl

Penn State was edged by USC in the highest scoring Rose Bowl in history 52-49.

After being denied an entrance to the College Football Playoff the Penn State Nittany Lions were given the opportunity to face the USC Trojans in the 2017 Rose Bowl. Coming into the game many expected it would be a high-scoring affair. Nobody guessed how high-scoring it would turn out to be.

Right out of the gate it looked like Penn State wasn’t going to show up. Miles Sanders nearly muffed the opening kick, and the first two drives ended in interceptions due to miscommunications between Trace McSorley and DeAndre Thompkins.

Fortunately for Penn State, the Trojans were only able to convert a touchdown on the ensuing drive of the second interception. As Penn State’s offensive woes continued however, the Trojans put two field goals on the board. At the end of the first quarter the score was 13-0 in favor of USC.

The Nittany Lions finally got on the board thanks to a 24-yard run up the middle by Saquon Barkley to make the score 13-7 with just under 12 minutes to go in the first half.

It did not look like the game would end at nearly the score that it did, but both offenses were just warming up.

USC responded to Penn State’s effort with their second touchdown to put them back up by 13.

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It was at that point that Chris Godwin kick-started the passing game for Penn State. Godwin had multiple impressive contested catches in the game and finished Penn State’s second touchdown drive of the night with a nice, toe-tapping catch in the end-zone.

Again, USC was determined to keep its lead, as the Trojans responded to Godwin’s touchdown with another of their own.

With two minutes left in the half Penn State was determined to end on a positive note. The Nittany Lions drove down the field on more impressive Godwin catches and Barkley rushes until they were 12 yards away from goal.

Not wanting to be left out of the fun, tight end Mike Gesicki rose up in the corner of the end-zone to snag a miraculous touchdown with a minute left. The half ended on a missed UFC field goal, 27-21.

On Penn State’s first snap of the second half Saquon Barkley took off on arguably his biggest run of the year. Running to the outside and breaking a few tackles on the way, Barkley flew down the field for a 79-yard touchdown to take the lead.

The Nittany Lions’ next two offensive snaps also went for touchdowns.

First, Godwin somehow caught a 72 yard pass and then ran one in. Then, after an interception and return by Brandon Bell to the three yard line, McSorley ran to the left and dove in to make it a 42-27 Penn State lead.

The tables had completely flipped and it looked like Penn State was going to leave Pasadena with a dominant Rose Bowl win.

With Bell out for the rest of the game after sustaining an injury on his interception return, the Trojans offense had their chance. After plowing their way down the field, USC scored and converted the two point conversion to make it a 42-35 ball game.

Nearing the end of the third quarter, McSorley lobbed the ball to a wide open Saquon Barkley. At 49-35 Penn State’s offensive luck would run out.

Throughout the fourth quarter the blue and white couldn’t get much going on offense and had trouble stopping the surging Trojans on defense.

The difference came after The Trojans shrunk the Penn State lead to seven and were in possession with just about two minutes to go in the game. The Nittany Lion defense made a couple of poor plays resulting in free yardage and USC punched in the tying touchdown.

While trying to force a deep pass to Godwin on third down McSorley was picked off for the third time. The Trojans used the 27 seconds left in the game wisely to get into field goal range and put the game away. Matt Boermeester came in clutch on the buzzer-beater 46 yard kick to seal the 52-49 win.

McSorley ended the game completing 18-of-29 for 254 yards, four touchdowns and three interceptions. Barkley finished with 194 rushing yards with two rushing touchdowns and 55 receiving yards and a touchdown. Godwin made nine grabs for 187 yards and two touchdowns.

Even though the Nittany Lions fell in the fourth quarter to end the season on a sour note there are always upsides to look at. Penn State exceeded expectations in every catagory, winning the Big Ten Championship and even making it to the Rose Bowl at all.

Next: Penn State Football: Nittany Lions Have Best Backfield in the Nation

For Penn State fans, the future looks bright as we wait for the 2017-18 season.

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