Rose Bowl Game Preview

This years Rose Bowl Game is going to be one for the ages. The match up, like always is the Pac10 vs. the Big10. The game features the #8 ranked Penn State Nittany Lions against the #5 ranked University of Southern California (USC) Trojans. The Rose Bowl’s motto is, “The granddaddy of them all” and it will certainly live up to its slogan this year. Both teams come into the game with 11-1 records. The Nittany Lions one loss came against Iowa, which was a very winnable Big10 game. The Trojans loss was against Oregon State; this was a huge upset in the college football world. These two outstanding teams could have easily been playing for the BCS National Championship if not for getting upset earlier in the season. I feel as though this game will come to down to coaching as it features arguably the two best coaches in the nation, the legend Joe Paterno and the excellent recruiter Pete Carroll. Joe Paterno has a bowl record of 23 wins and 12 losses. Pete Carroll comes into the game with a bowl record of 5 wins and 2 losses. Both coaches are proven winners and this season has been no exception. Each team has a great offense and defense. USC has only let up 7.8 points per game this year and Penn State has only let up 12.4 points. I feel as though the USC offense lead by junior quarterback Mark Sanchez will be too much for the Penn State defense to handle. Don’t get me wrong though, it will be a close game throughout but my feeling is that USC will be victorious for their third consecutive bowl game win. One key advantage that USC has playing in the Rose Bowl Game is that it is basically a home game for them; as per the stadium is a few minutes away from where they play their home games. Home field advantage is always important in college football so it is good for them that they will have all of their fans in attendance. With that said I expect the Rose Bowl to be a great game with plenty of excitement. It showcases two great teams that want to prove that they are in the top class of the college football world. The game will be shown 5pm Eastern Time on ABC and I hope that everyone will watch this excellent game.

Daniel Weberman
NYchalktalk.com