January 02, 2017
Just like in the Big Ten championship game, Penn State started the Rose Bowl in a major hole, trailing USC 13-0. The Trojans wouldn’t punt in the first half, but the Nittany Lions hung around, entering the locker room trailing just 27-21.
And after a stop, they scored incredible touchdowns on back-to-back plays. First, Saquon Barkley did his best Barry Sanders impression, made about six USC defenders miss, and ran 79 yards to the house:
Then after a Penn State stop, Trace McSorley threw the ball deep down the left sideline and Chris Godwin made an absurd catch on the deflection, taking the ball 72 yards to the house:
I'm not sure you can have better back-to-back plays than that.
After another quick score, Penn State scored four touchdowns on four consecutive offensive plays. According to ESPN Stats and Info, the only other team to do that in the last 10 seasons was Southern Miss against Louisiana Tech last season.
At the point of the Godwin touchdown, the score was 35-27 Penn State. It is now 49-35 Nittany Lions after three quarters, and if you’re not watching, I would recommend running to a television. Sprinting, even.
Follow Rich on Twitter: @rich_hofmann
