Creature vs. Creature: A Nittany Lion on Penn State Vs. USC

Game Preview

Penn State and USC in the Grandaddy of them all.  What could be better?  Well, both teams could tell you.  Penn State would say: "One play, one kick."  USC would say: "One game."

Both USC and Penn State had their National Title hopes diminished when they faced good teams on the road.  If it weren't for Iowa and Oregon State, Penn State and USC would be playing for the National Title...but then again, to many people, this is the National Title and the BCS has it all wrong.

Penn State cruised through all their season blowing out teams with their new "Spread HD" offense, while their defense put up great numbers and performances to make sure that none of those teams came back.

Unfortunately, a very pesky Iowa team came along and kicked a game-winning field goal in a hard-fought game with one second left to knock off then undefeated Penn State.  Iowa lost four games this season by a total of 12 points, and three of those losses being to ranked teams.  So although this was a major upset, Iowa is still a good team.

After the Iowa loss, Penn State stumbled over Iowa with a 27-point victory, and then went to blowout Michigan State.  Unfortunately, according to the BCS, a road loss is worse than a home loss and a loss on a neutral field, and since Penn State didn't score 60 or more points in their final five games to cover it up, they were left out of the National Championship.

So here they are now, facing USC, to determine what should be the National Championship, and it would have been, except the ugly step-child known as the BCS came along and completely messed up college football.

USC, on the other hand, went through the first part of the season using both great offense and defense to completely slaughter every team in their path.  USC has dominated and continues to dominate the college football elite as they moved up to an early No. 1 ranking...where they have been at some part of the season for the fifth straight year.

Then came that Oregon State team who everyone thought was a joke after they lost to Stanford and then got slaughtered by Penn State.  What most didn't know...well, at least until the announcers said it during the game, was that Oregon State had beaten USC in Corvallis the past couple of times.  Oregon State dominated USC in the first half, jumping out to a 21-7 lead.  However, USC would fight back, but Oregon State held on to the lead to secure what people thought at the time would be the greatest upset of the season.

After the Oregon State loss, USC completely shut out teams with their defense, but their offense became strangely inconsistent, at least in the passing game.  However, USC still put up a lot of points with both offensive and defensive scores, and became the best defense in the Nation for the final eight games.

USC thought that since everyone knows that "defense wins championships," they would get into the National Championship game.  However, the BCS doesn't know that defense wins championships, they think that offense and style points and blowing out teams wins Championships.  So because the BCS has championship-caliber teams mixed up with fancy teams, (high offense, defense doesn't matter), USC was left out of the National Championship.

The BCS encourages teams to be arrogant.  They want teams to run up the score and hurt the other team and insult them.  The BCS wants these college kids to learn these philosophies and use them later in life.  Since USC and Penn State are not arrogant teams and they don't leave their starters in with five minutes left in the fourth quarter when they are already up by 30, they don't get into the National Championship game.  So much for good values and sportsmanlike football.

In the old days, before the BCS, the pollsters would vote on who should be the National Champion after the games were played.  If that were still the case, the pollsters would deem this game the National Championship and the winner would be the National Champion.

Unfortunately, the system everyone hates, known as the BCS, came around and messed up college football.  So instead of this being the National Championship, it is just the Rose Bowl.  It is unfortunate, yet true, but hopefully the winner of this game will at least get a split of the National Championship.

Penn State will win if...

The offense doesn't run their conservative offense that always fails.

USC is a great defense.  In order to beat them, you have to be balanced and you have to keep them honest.  Unfortunately for Penn State, the coaches usually call a conservative game when they face a good defense and a good team.

For example, against Ohio State, Penn State rarely threw the ball downfield.  They ran most of the time on first and second down, and then they would throw screens or short slant and out routes.  This is easy for defenses to shut down, and USC would love for Penn State to do this.

Penn State has been running the "Spread HD" offense this year.  They have been more aggressive, more balanced, and they have created more explosive plays that really have hurt defenses.  Penn State has many weapons that make their offense work.

First, there's Daryll Clark, a dual-threat quarterback who hurts defense with both his arm and his legs.  Next, we have Evan Royster, a perfectly talented and balanced back who will break through defenders' grasps, but will also juke them out and will beat them in a foot-race.

Then, we have our receiving core, especially our group of three talented seniors who specialize in different categories.  Derrick Williams is the all-around player who will hurt you by running, receiving, or passing.  Deon Butler is the deep-ball receiver who has good hands and burns people downfield.  Jordan Norwood is the small, agile receiver with good hands who is very elusive and a good possession receiver, and he will also occasionally break a big gain.

Finally, we have our experienced and talented offensive line.  They are led by senior center A.Q. Shipley.  This offensive line is talented because they can run block and pass block very well.  They are also very quick, and can block downfield for a receiver or running back screen.

Oregon State was able to run up the middle well with Jaquizz Rodgers, so hopefully Penn State will run up the middle sometimes with Evan Royster.  Still, they must be able to keep USC honest.

They cannot come out and play old-fashioned Penn State football, the run, run, pass version.  They have to use screens and draws to keep the pressure off Clark, they need to throw some deep routes to keep the safeties out of the box, and they also have to run the ball up the gut and around the defense to keep USC honest.  If they do this, they have a great chance at beating USC.

As many of us know, Joe Pa comes out on top in bowl games, and almost always wins when he has a month to prepare.  It is a matter of whether Joe Pa will continue his preparation ways and have his team ready with a good game-plan, or if they just jump into a conservative shell and play not to lose.  This could, and probably will, determine whether Penn State will win or lose.

They shove the ball down USC's throat and are successful.

Now I know I just said that we can't go into a conservative shell in this game, but I also said that Oregon State was successful running up the middle with a banged up offensive line and a small running back.  Penn State has a strong and experienced offensive line and a medium-sized, powerful, fast, quick, talented running back.

USC is a hard-hitting defense, and if you try and run to the outside they will track you down and smash you.  I noticed, however, that if you run up the middle and hit the hole quick, the running back can get to the second level of defenders against this very talented USC defense.  This will result in over 100 yards rushing by just pounding down USC's throat.

Eventually Royster will have to face nine men in the box and will only get two or three yards on runs up the middle, but it still wears down the defense.  The defense will be worn down, and we will be able to run all over them.  This will open up the pass, screens and draws, trick plays, and more run plays.  Once USC is worn down and our whole offense is opened up, we should be able to move the ball easily and score, which will hopefully result in a win for Penn State.

Penn State will lose if...

They don't stop USC's run.

USC has a good offense.  Not a great offense, a good offense.  The reason for this is because their quarterback, Mark Sanchez, in very inconsistent.  In some games, their passing games suffers because Sanchez throws bad passes, that result in interceptions a lot of the time.  USC does, however, have a very good rushing attack.

USC has three good running backs, who are all very talented.  Each of them can hurt you.  They are all powerful and have the ability to break tackles, but they are also very fast.  Once they break through that first level of defenders, they are rarely stopped.

Since USC has an inconsistent passing game and a great running game, Penn State has to stop the run and force Sanchez to beat them through the air.  If they do this, they will have a much easier time winning this game.

If not, USC is going to keep Penn State's defense honest, and USC will be able to run relatively well on Penn State, which will open up their passing game.  This would most likely result in multiple scores for USC's offense, and that would probably result in a victory for USC.

Their special teams fall apart.

As many of you may not know, Penn State does not have a special teams coach.  Over the past few years, it has become more and more evident that we need one.  As special teams has become more and more important in football, most teams have hired special teams coaches so that their special teams can make big plays.

Granted, Penn State has a pretty good special teams without a coach.  Derrick Williams is a great returner who has had many punt and kick return touchdowns during his career, and we have also had some speedsters like A.J. Wallace and Chaz Powell that would return a few kick-offs for touchdowns.

Penn State's kick and punt coverage is usually good, and they usually stuff the returner for minimal yardage.  Sometimes they even force turnovers or penalties that benefit them.  However, in many games, they give up big returns, sometimes for touchdowns, that really shift the momentum of the game or put us at a disadvantage.

Penn State's special teams has been good for the most part this season, but in a few games they have given up big returns and touchdowns, and have had penalties on special teams that have really hurt them.

If Penn State can play good special teams, they can keep USC from getting an unnecessary advantage and an easy lead or touchdown.  If not, USC will be able to make some game-changing plays that could shift the momentum over to their side.

The X-Factor

Daryll Clark's composure under pressure.

Daryll Clark is a great quarterback, a great athlete, and a great leader.  He is a key component to this "Spread HD" offense, and he has brought a lot of heart, compassion, and energy to this team throughout the season.  However, Clark hasn't always looked well in games, especially when he is under pressure.

At first everyone thought that he struggled on the road.  This was because during his first road game against Syracuse, he looked flustered.  It was soon found that it wasn't the road that flustered him, but the pressure.  Syracuse was the first team that actually blitzed him, and during the first few drives he didn't perform well.

On the road against Ohio State, he didn't look good.  He did run the ball well, however.  He also got hurt late in that game so we really didn't get to see how he performs in the clutch, but that's for a different time.

Other times, however, he looked good under pressure.  Against Purdue, although there weren't many scores in that game, he was very composed under pressure.  Against Iowa he was good under pressure for the most part, even though he was recovering from a concussion.

Daryll Clark plays well sometimes under pressure, and sometimes he plays awful under pressure.  Pat Devlin has always been composed under pressure, and he has proven it several times this season.  Unfortunately, Pat Devlin is transferring and will not be suiting up for the Rose Bowl.

So, first of all, we need to protect Clark because we have a backup.  Second of all, Clark needs to play well under pressure.  How Clark plays under pressure could very well decide this game.

If he plays well and composed, he will open up the whole offense and Penn State will be able to score at will.  If he gets flustered by USC's blitzes, he will get sacked and he will probably throw interceptions and maybe fumble the ball.  Also, if he is flustered his rhythm will be off and Penn State's offense won't be able to get going, and USC will be able to take advantage of this and will then probably win.

Prediction

Here we are, in the Grandaddy of them all.  Two great teams, and although the Penn State haters at ESPN like Mark May say that PSU has no chance, and even though most people count Penn State out due to previous Big 10 disappointments, this is a great match-up on both paper and the field.

I expect this game to be a hard-fought, well-played battle.  It will be very close throughout the whole game, and the winner will be the team who wants it more, who has more energy, who has that last bit of will, the inch more of will that will propel their team to victory.

Even though most people don't agree with this, the people who are realistic about this game agree that it will be close, USC and Penn State fans alike.  This is a match-up between two prestigious programs, two great teams, a legendary coach and a new, great recruiter who is also a great coach.

These two programs have been on the up-rise in recent years, and this will be the greatest game of the year, even better than the National Championship.  But then again, this could very well be the true National Championship.  Hopefully everyone will watch this game, as it will be the greatest game of the year, and maybe even of the century.

Prediction: Penn State 28, USC 20.

Congratulations Penn State!  You are the Rose Bowl Champions...and the true National Champions!!!

For a USC perspective on this Rose Bowl Game, check out Jonny Solovy's article.