USC/Rose Bowl update, Dec. 29

Just a quick rundown of issues we're looking at right now, regarding the Rose Bowl and USC Trojans:

• For kicks, here's a photo of the "Team Visit" to DisneyLand...


On with the update.

• At the Press Enterprise (CA), Gregg Patton is hoping for a little more thrill out of the 2008 Rose Bowl.

"Theoretically, Penn State is an atypical Big Ten team. It has speed and can match up with mercurial Pacific-10 teams. Evidence is its September crushing, 45-14, of Oregon State, the only team to conquer USC."

He wrote that while he can't root for Penn State, he really wishes the Lions put up a good fight. I hope it's much more than just a good fight.

• I thought this was a good read, as Scott Reid of the Orange County Register gives his readers a little Penn State background. Remember, this is a slow news cycle for the non-diehards out there. Reid writes about what it was like for Penn State recruits five years ago, during the "dark times."

"On A.Q. Shipley's recruiting trip to the University of Virginia in the fall of 2003, Cavaliers coaches hit the kid from Western Pennsylvania with an all-too-familiar sales pitch for leaving the state: Joe Paterno was done ... as out of style as his high water khakis … ancient history... Yet here are the Nittany Lions (11-1) back in another big New Year's Day game, ranked No. 6 and Big Ten champions taking on No. 5 USC (11-1) in the Rose Bowl, a last-second Iowa field goal away from playing for Paterno's third national title."

Yup, three national titles. That's one and a half more than Pete Carroll. Oh yeah, and Paterno's had four more perfect records, too.

• What's the one thing every Penn State fans is hoping for right now? Why, to know that USC is overlooking Penn State. Not likely, says Adam Maya of the OCR's USC blog.

"USC’s 35-3 victory against Ohio State this season gave him a 5-0 record against the conference. Carroll, however, shrugged off the notion there is a stylistic difference in play between the conferences working to his team’s advantage. “That’s Woody and Bo,” said Carroll, referencing former longtime Ohio State coach Woody Hayes and Michigan coach Bo Schembechler. “That’s’ the old days. It’s not like that anymore.”

Why would it even be an advantage to USC in the first place? Actually, if you look at it, USC is playing they exact style of "Big Ten" football that the national media now loathes: strong defense, and a good enough offense.

• The Pennsylvania media has left much to be desired lately. But then again, everyone is just reaching for stories to kill time. How many features on these teams can we take? Jeff McLane at the Philadelphia Inquirer offers another look at the differences (as if we all didn't know this by just watching one episode of Entourage) between LA and the Northeast.

"Many of the Trojans downplay their status. But there aren't many programs that can call Will Ferrell a team mascot. The funnyman has teamed with Carroll for a few pranks. Carroll, of course, is a star in his own right. With his movie star looks, he could have had Tom Cruise's career - or Jimmie Johnson's... Penn State has a star of its own in Joe Paterno. The difference is that Paterno never had a nose for the West Coast. The Nittany Lions have been portrayed as country bumpkins by some of the L.A. media. That's probably not fair, although Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor once called State College "too country."

He just had to bring up Terrelle Pryor. Is the "Greatest Recruit in the History of Football" even relevant until next September? Oh, and what the hell was with this line: "Carroll, of course, is a star in his own right. With his movie star looks, he could have had Tom Cruise's career - or Jimmie Johnson's." Movie star looks? Ooookay, Jeff.

• On the Buckeye front, I thought this message board post was interesting enough, since Ohio State was crushed by USC in September. The author writes about how Ohio State could end up ranked ahead of USC in the final polls.

"#6 Penn State vs. #5 USC (Rose Bowl). We need USC to beat Penn State. It would be much easier to justify us jumping Penn State than us jumping USC (can you imagine the media [censored]storm if we beat Texas, Penn State beats USC, and we end up ahead of USC despite our identical records and USC's 35-3 win over us?). It would be easy to negate Penn State's close win over us in The Shoe by pointing that they won the game mainly due to a mistake made by a true-freshman QB late in the game. Conversely, all the "We didn't have Beanie" and "we used two QBs" arguments for the USC debacle won't cut it for justifying us being ahead of USC should Penn State pull the upset. But, if our defense can shut down Penn State, I think USC's can, too."

Yet again, I'll remind everyone of why it's inexcusable to give USC more credit for its Ohio State win, than the credit Penn State gets for its Ohio State win. Boy, don't you Buckeyes feel special right now?

• Jumping into the World Wide Leader for a moment, Ivan Maisel had what ESPN considered back-page kind of story (they'll do anything to bury a story that tries to prove the Big Ten woes are completely fabricated) that's definitely worth the read. It's too bad his bosses don't believe in fair and balanced journalism anymore. Well, the lead said it all.

"If Penn State played in any other league, the question would never be asked."

Maisel could have just written that one sentence, and the argument is over. Too bad no one else understands that.

• Just because I couldn't let this one slide, I'm throwing in a blog post from neo-con Bob McCarty.

"Due to the fact that there are seven — count ‘em, seven — Big 12 Conference teams involved in college football bowl games between Dec. 29 and Jan. 8, I decided to include all of their games as well as all of the BCS bowl games in my predictions this year."

Ok, now bear with me on this one. Here are his predicted scoring totals for all the Big XII teams in the bowls: 37, 29, 41, 17, 60, 56, 42. That's an average of 40 points per game for the defense-optional conference. Even if we take out the high/low (Nebraska's 17 and Texas Tech's 60(!) against Ole Miss) it actually goes up to 41 points per game! He also thinks USC will beat Penn State.... wait for it... 39-6. Maybe he should just stick to saving America. Although, if he's as good at conservative blogging as he is writing about college football, maybe he should stop that, too.

Quick Outs:
• USC tailback Stafon Johnson returned to practice after sitting out the last workout before the break because of a kneecap injury. Johnson had no problems running straight ahead and said that by the end of the practice week... receiver Damian Williams, who suffered a shoulder injury against UCLA on Dec. 6, practiced but doctors have not cleared him for contact. Williams, the Trojans' leading receiver, does not expect to be cleared until game time... safety Kevin Ellison did not practice because of a knee injury he aggravated against UCLA. Carroll said the Trojans would prepare with Will Harris as the starter... Fullback Stanley Havili* did not attend practice because of a flight delay, Carroll said. He's been suffering from an ankle injury, and is uncertain for the Rose Bowl.

*Just a note on Havili. During Saturday night's post-game (following the Emerald Bowl), Mary May opened his yap. I really was hoping he would say something intelligent about the Rose Bowl... nope. After Lou Holtz went on his customary pro-Penn State/JoePa rant, May countered with the "playmakers" USC will throw at the Lions. One of those guys who will lead USC to victory, according to May... Stanley Havili. That's right, he's going to magically heal his ankle, gain full strength and tear up Penn State's defense.

I guess those injury reports are tough to read.