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PSU snubbed of playoff, set to play in Rose Bowl

Lions will play USC in 103rd Rose Bowl

AP photo Penn State's Saquon Barkley (26) makes an 18-yard touchdown catch against Wisconsin's T.J. Watt (42) during the second half of the Big Ten Championship NCAA college football game Saturday.

Penn State missed out on the playoffs, but its consolation prize and opponent are as good as it gets in college football.

The Nittany Lions will play red-hot USC in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 2 in Pasadena. It will be the first Rose Bowl appearance for both teams since they squared off there in the 2008 season, a 38-24 USC victory.

While Penn State has won nine in a row, USC has won eight consecutive games to finish 9-3 after a 1-3 start.

“They’re hot,” PSU coach James Franklin said. “I think if you watch any coverage of college football, people are talking about USC and that they’re one of the scarier teams in the country.”

USC lost to Alabama to start the season, 52-6, beat Utah State, then fell to Stanford and Utah. Since then the Trojans have been superb, with their eight-game winning streak including victories over Colorado (21-17) and at Washington (26-13).

“They made a quarterback change, and since then it has really sparked them,” Franklin said. “They’re obviously very talented. They have been recruiting at USC at a high level for a very long time. They’re playing with a lot of confidence right now.

“It’s going to be a real challenge, and yes, two of the more storied programs in college football.”

Max Browne opened the season as USC’s starting quarterback before losing the job to Sam Darnold, who has turned in a strong year. He completes 68 percent of his passes and has thrown for 2,633 yards with 26 touchdowns and eight interceptions.

Browne announced last week that he is leaving the school as a graduate transfer. He will not be available for the bowl game.

The quarterback switch, as Franklin pointed out, changed USC’s season.

“When we started 0-2 (in the Pac-12), we have talked about, we kind of went into playoff football mode,” Trojans coach Clay Helton said. “We understood that being able to do something special throughout the season that we were going to have to go on a run and go on a run in conference. And to be able to win seven straight conference games — eight total for the season in a row — along with that Notre Dame game, put us in this position to play in a very, very special game.

“Credit to our players and credit to what they’ve accomplished. These are the things that you dream about as a little kid, and to be back in the Rose Bowl since 2009, these kids were 10 to 12 years old and grew up watching this game and wanted to be a part of it. And to do what they’ve accomplished this year and be a part of the Rose Bowl is what dreams are made of.”

This is a matchup of two top 10 teams as Penn State is No. 5 in the CFP poll, while USC is No. 9.

“You’re dealing with two of the hotter teams in the country right now,” Helton said before later adding, “It makes for fabulous TV, that’s for sure. It makes for a great bowl experience, and that’s what this time is all about.”

The Penn State players will now get a little time off, but not the coaches. Franklin said he’s heading out on the recruiting trail.

“We need to give them some time off to get them as healthy as we can to get them to as close to 100 percent as we can for the Rose Bowl game,” Franklin said. “(USC is) a talented team. We’re going to need everyone we have to be ready to go.”

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