Dec. 7, 2008
Tournament of Roses Official Website
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - The teams that played in the first Rose Bowl game in the present Rose Bowl Stadium are set to collide in the 95th renewal of the "Granddaddy of Them All."
Big Ten Champion Penn State (11-1) and Pac-10 Champion Southern California (11-1) today were selected for a clash of Top 10 powers in the Rose Bowl Game presented by Citi. The contest will be played January 1, 2009 at the Rose Bowl Stadium (88,500) in Pasadena, Calif. The game will kick at 2:10 p.m. PT/5:10 p.m. ET and air on ABC, ESPN Radio and the Penn State Sports Network.
Penn State is ranked No. 6 in the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches polls. Southern California is No. 4 in the Coaches poll and No. 5 in the AP poll.
"We are thrilled to be returning to the Rose Bowl," said Tim Curley, Director of Athletics. "Everyone from Penn State had a tremendous experience during our last trip to Pasadena and we're excited about again playing in the "Granddaddy of them All" and one more chance for our great fans to support this team. The hospitality extended to our squad and fans by the Tournament of Roses staff was outstanding in our last visit and we're looking forward to taking part in the many Rose Bowl events and attractions in the Los Angeles area."
"Playing in the Rose Bowl will be a wonderful experience for our team," stated Joe Paterno, who is in his 43rd season as head coach and is the all-time leader in victories among major college coaches with a 383-126-3 (74.8) record. "They have worked hard all season and have been a great group. It will be a terrific challenge to play Southern Cal, who I think is one of the three best teams in the nation."
The BCS No. 8 Nittany Lions and No. 5 Trojans will be meeting for the ninth time, with the series tied, 4-4. The teams have met six times since 1990, with both teams winning two games on their home field and both winning once in the Kickoff Classic. The last meeting resulted in a 29-5 USC win in the 2000 Kickoff Classic in Giants Stadium.
Deon Butler |
Penn State and USC will be playing in a post-season game for the third time, the second in the Rose Bowl. The Trojans defeated the Lions, 14-3, in the 1923 Rose Bowl, the first played in the present facility. The game was the first of Penn State's 40 bowl games. The other post-season clash came when the No. 7 Nittany Lions defeated the No. 8 Trojans, 26-10, in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 1, 1982.
The Nittany Lions won their second Big Ten title in the past four years and came within two points of delivering their eighth unbeaten regular season under Paterno, losing at Iowa, 24-23, on Nov. 8 on a last second field goal. Penn State has won 42 of its last 52 games, dating to a win over Indiana in November 2004. The Nittany Lions' 2008 senior class has posted a 40-10 record, tied for No. 7 in the nation since the start of the 2005 season.
Penn State and USC have had two common opponents this season in Ohio State and Oregon State. The Nittany Lions defeated the Buckeyes, 13-6, in Columbus on Oct. 25 and beat the Beavers, 45-14, on Sept. 6 in State College. The Trojans beat the Buckeyes, 35-3, on Sept. 13 in The Coliseum and lost at Oregon State, 27-21 on Sept. 25. Since the loss in Corvallis, USC has won nine straight, out-scoring the opposition, 342-56, culminating with a 28-7 win over UCLA in the Rose Bowl stadium on Saturday.
The Nittany Lions will be making their 35th post-season trip under Paterno, who is the all-time leader in bowl wins (23-10-1) and appearances. Paterno, one of just three active coaches to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, will be taking a team to a 23rd New Year's Bowl game, having compiled a 16-6 mark.
Penn State will be playing in its third Rose Bowl. In addition to the 1923 contest with USC, the Nittany Lions defeated Oregon, 38-20, in the 1995 Rose Bowl to become the first Big Ten Conference team to post a 12-0 record. USC will be playing in its 33rd Rose Bowl and fourth consecutive.
Penn State and USC rank among the nation's best in all-time victories, bowl visits and success. The Nittany Lions became the sixth school to capture 800 victories with their 49-18 win over Michigan State on Nov. 22. Penn State has an all-time record of 800-348-42 in its 122nd season. The Trojans are No. 10 in all-time wins with a 765-303-54 record in their 116th season.
Anthony Scirrotto |
The Nittany Lions are No. 3 in the nation with 26 post-season victories, No. 8 with 40 bowl appearances and second nationally in bowl winning percentage (67.5, 26-12-2) among schools with at least 10 bowl victories. USC is No. 2 in bowl wins (30), fourth in bowl appearances (46) and third in post-season winning percentage (65.2, 30-16-0) among schools with at least 10 bowl wins.
Penn State has an all-time record of 23-11 vs. current members of the Pac-10, having played Southern California (eight) the most of any Pac-10 team. The Nittany Lions are 18-9 in regular season games against Pac-10 opponents and 5-2 in bowl games. Since starting Big Ten play in 1993, Penn State owns a 6-1 mark vs. Pac-10 squads, having played USC (3-1), Oregon (1-0), Arizona (1-0) and Oregon State (1-0).
The Nittany Lions are 5-2 all-time vs. Pac-10 teams in bowl games: Arizona State (1-0), Oregon (2-0), USC (1-1), Stanford (0-1) and Washington (1-0). Paterno is 4-1 vs. the conference in the post-season.
Paterno has an impressive 69.1 winning percentage in bowl games, second-best all-time among coaches with at least 12 bowl appearances. Georgia Tech's Bobby Dodd is first at 69.2 (9-4). Paterno is the only coach to win the Rose, Fiesta, Orange, Sugar and Cotton Bowls. He has taken Penn State to 13 different post-season contests, winning in 11 locales, more than anyone in college football history.
Current Nittany Lion Club members can purchase Rose Bowl tickets online at www.GoPSUsports.com/tickets. In order to purchase tickets online, buyers will need to have their account number and password. Nittany Lion Club members also can purchase tickets by phone starting Monday, Dec. 8 at 10:00 a.m. by calling (814) 865-5555. The deadline for all online and phone orders is Wednesday, Dec. 10 at 6:00 p.m.
Penn State students can purchase Rose Bowl tickets on Saturday, December 13, at a yet-to-be-announced location on the University Park campus. The location of the sale, scheduled to run from 8:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. that day, will be disclosed on the home page of www.GoPSUsports.com at 6:30 a.m. on the morning of the sale, and students may begin lining up for the sale immediately at that time. Students may purchase one or two tickets with their valid Penn State student ID. The Tournament of Roses, Big Ten Conference and Pac-10 Conference entered into its bowl partnership agreement in 1946. Modified in 1960, it is the oldest college football agreement between two major conferences in the nation. Since its inception, the two conferences have met 61 times in the Rose Bowl Game.
The Nittany Lions lead the Big Ten in six of the eight primary offensive and defensive categories, including all four defensive categories. Penn State leads the conference in total (452.2 ypg, 15th in nation) and scoring offense (40.2 ppg, 11th) and is second in rushing offense (211.6 ypg, 15th). The Trojans are ranked in the Top 20 nationally in rushing (206.0 ypg, 17th), total (453.1 ypg, 14th) and scoring offense (37.5 ppg, 14th).
Two of the nation's premier defenses will be on the field in Pasadena. The Nittany Lion defense is ranked in the Top 10 nationally in rushing (8th, 95.9 ypg), scoring (4th, 12.4 ppg), pass efficiency (6th, 97.3 rating) and total defense (5th, 263.9 ypg). Penn State has held six opponents to points or less this season. USC leads the nation in total (206.1 ypg), scoring (7.8 ppg), and pass efficiency defense (81.4 rating) and is No. 5 in rushing defense (83.3 ypg).
A school record 10 Nittany Lions earned first team All-Big Ten honors this season, more than double the total of any other team: linebacker Navorro Bowman, tackle Gerald Cadogan, quarterback Daryll Clark, placekicker Kevin Kelly, defensive end Aaron Maybin, defensive tackle Jared Odrick, guard Rich Ohrnberger, safety Anthony Scirrotto, center A.Q. Shipley and wide receiver/kick returner Derrick Williams.
Penn State's loyal and enthusiastic fans came to Beaver Stadium to see the Nittany Lions in near record numbers this season. A total of 757,775 fans attended the seven games in Happy Valley for an average of 108,254, second-highest in school history. Penn State has drawn nine of its top 10 all-time home crowds over the past four seasons, led this season by 110,017 in the 46-17 win over Michigan.
Penn State vs. Southern California Series (4-4)
Jan. 1, 1923 USC 14, PSU 3 1923 Rose BowlJan. 1, 1982 PSU 26, USC 10 1982 Fiesta BowlSept. 15, 1990 at USC 19, PSU 14Sept. 14, 1991 at USC 21, PSU 10Sept. 11, 1993 at PSU 21, USC 20Sept. 10, 1994 at PSU 38, USC 14Aug. 25, 1996 PSU 24, USC 7 1996 Kickoff ClassicAug. 27, 2000 USC 29, PSU 5 2000 Kickoff Classic
Information on the Rose Bowl game and bowl events can be found on the bowl's website at www.tournamentofroses.com.