No. 5 U.S.C. 38, No. 6 Penn St. 24

by 158 | January 1, 2009 at 07:06 pm

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A good win for USC. It will not get

them to #1 but it is a good way to end

the season and should rank them in

the top 5.

The fifth-ranked Trojans burnished their reputation as big-game players by running roughshod over sixth-ranked Penn State, 38-24, before 93,293 fans in the 95th Rose Bowl.

U.S.C. rolled up the freeway with the nation’s top-ranked defense, but showed it had an offense that was just as good, rolling up 474 yards. Quarterback Mark Sanchez completed 28 of 35 passes for 413 yards, second best in Rose Bowl history behind the 456 by Oregon’s Danny O’Neil against Penn State in 1995.