2009 Rose Bowl: USC vs Penn State

On January 1, 2009, the Rose Bowl Game of the 2008 football season, between the Penn State Nittany Lions and USC Trojans, came to a thrilling conclusion at the historic Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, CA.

Highly ranked teams from both Pac-10 and Big-10 conferences met to square off for a National Championship game, with Penn State trailing 3-2 against USC for overall Rose Bowl wins prior to that game. The 2009 Rose Bowl match-up saw an exciting fourth quarter comeback by the Nittany Lions, ultimately coming away victorious over their Southern California opponents, who had not lost a Rose Bowl since 1996.

After an intense battle, USC rose victorious with a final score of 38-24. Mark Sanchez lead the offense to victory and was named Offensive MVP while Kaluka Maiava was given Defensive MVP honors for the Trojans’ performance.

USC quarterback Mark Sanchez became the third quarterback to pass for more than 400 yards in a Rose Bowl Game, with 413 yards and set a Rose Bowl record with an 80% completion percentage.