Penn State Football’s History In The Rose Bowl: Opening the Rose Bowl Stadium to USC Struggles
Bowl season is officially here as Penn State continues its preparation for the Rose Bowl against Utah.
This will be the 109th edition of the historic Rose Bowl game better known as the “Granddaddy of them all.”
For Penn State, this will be its fifth all-time trip for this bowl game with a history that’s been mixed from the very beginning.
It’s a history that dates back all the way to the 1923 Rose Bowl as the Nittany Lions made their first appearance against a school we’ll hear from again in the USC Trojans.
This game was the very first Rose Bowl game to be played at the now famous Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, California.
That Penn State team started out the season 5-0 before dropping four of its final six games which included a 14-3 loss against the Trojans in that season's Rose Bowl.
Penn State had to wait over 70 years until its next appearance but would bring arguably its best team in program history into the 1995 Rose Bowl game.
This wouldn’t be without some controversy however as the Nittany Lions were ranked No. 2 in the country headed into bowl season but would not play in the national championship against Nebraska as the Rose Bowl was not included in the Coalition.
Therefore, Miami got the national championship bid and Penn State faced No. 12 Oregon in the Rose Bowl and got the win 38-20.
Penn State running back Ki-Jana Carter won the game’s MVP after breaking out an 83-yard touchdown run early in the first quarter as he would end up being one of three top ten NFL draft picks from the Nittany Lion offense that year.
The Nittany Lions even managed that margin of victory despite Oregon quarterback Danny O’Neil setting the all-time Rose Bowl game record with 456 passing yards, as he broke 13 Rose Bowl records in the loss.
That brings us to the 2009 Rose Bowl as yet again, it would be a battle between Penn State and USC who were both one-loss teams that season.
Penn State’s lone loss that season was a one-point defeat against the Iowa Hawkeyes on the road.
It would also be the final Rose Bowl game for two legendary coaches with Joe Paterno of Penn State and Pete Carroll of USC.
USC came in as a nine-point favorite and backed that up as it led 31-7 after the third quarter and won 38-24.
The story of the game was Trojans quarterback Mark Sanchez who became the third quarterback in Rose Bowl history with over 400 yards, finishing with 413.
While Sanchez couldn’t beat the record of O’Neil, he became then-second all-time after passing Wisconsin’s Ron Vander Kelen.
Let’s now take a bigger jump to the present for the most recent Rose Bowl appearance the Nittany Lions made in 2017, once again playing USC.
This is arguably the most well-known Rose Bowl appearance for the Nittany Lions as the James Franklin-led team with a shining star at running back in Saquon Barkley finished the regular season at No. 5 in the polls - one spot short of a College Football Playoff appearance.
Penn State was on a nine-game winning streak after early-season losses to Pitt and Michigan, but ran into another great quarterback talent in USC’s Sam Darnold.
In the highest scoring Rose Bowl of all-time, USC kicker Matt Boermeester nailed a 46-yard field goal as time expired to give the Trojans a 52-49 victory over Penn State.
That came despite Penn State quarterback Trace McSorley’s five total touchdowns as well as Barkley’s 194 rushing yards and three total touchdowns.
USC erased a 14-point deficit entering the fourth quarter led by Darnold’s 453 passing yards and five touchdowns.
That was the last time Penn State has played in the “Granddaddy of them all” - until now.
Penn State seeks to improve on its 1-3 all-time record in the Rose Bowl as it faces Utah for the first time not only in this bowl game but in its history.
Utah has played in the Rose Bowl as recently as last year going toe-to-toe with Ohio State, ending in a 48-45 Buckeyes victory.
The Utes were led by quarterback Cameron Rising who took a big leap this season posting 2,939 passing yards and 25 touchdowns.
As Penn State looks to rewrite its shaky Rose Bowl history, it must contain Rising and prevent him from putting up numbers like O’Neil, Sanchez and Darnold before him.
Logan Bourandas is a senior majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email lxb5412@psu.edu.
