Sam Darnold shines as USC topples Penn State in Rose Bowl shootout

The USC Trojans won a wild one on Monday, taking down the Penn State Nittany Lions in a Rose Bowl game for the ages.

The Rose Bowl matchup between the USC Trojans and Penn State Nittany Lions was arguably the most highly-anticipated bowl game this year. The gave was everything fans hoped it would be and more, but it was USC redshirt freshman quarterback Sam Darnold who stole the spotlight in the thrilling 52-49 win.

In a game where the Trojans had their backs to the wall while losing their star player in Adoree Jackson to an ankle injury, Darnold stayed calm, cool and collected. Trailing 49-35 heading into the fourth quarter after another second-half surge from Penn State, the 19-year-old quarterback was able to lead three scoring drives in the fourth quarter.

Darnold was locked in from kickoff. Although he did throw an interception on a tipped pass, he finished the game with a Rose Bowl-record five touchdowns with 453 passing yards while 33-of-53 passes.

The Trojans needed every bit of that performance from Darnold, as the defense struggled to contain the likes of Trace McSorley and Saquon Barkley. The Nittany Lions running back picked up 149 total yards with three total touchdowns while McSorley added 254 yards and four touchdowns through the air.

While Darnold carried the offense, the USC defense was able to make some critical game-changing plays by forcing McSorley to throw three interceptions. One of those came late in the fourth quarter with the game tied. Instead of Penn State driving down the field to kick a field goal, that interception set up a 46-yard game-winning field goal as time expired.

It was a game that featured everything, including a record 101 points scored, the most ever in a Rose Bowl game. The win helped the Trojans finish the year on an incredibly high note, capping off their ninth straight win to finish the season.

USC’s future is as bright as ever with Darnold at quarterback. Despite not coming into the season as the Trojans’ starter, Darnold was still able to finish the year with 3,086 yards, 31 touchdowns and just six interceptions.

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Meanwhile, Penn State will also be looking to make noise in 2017 with so many key playmakers returning, including McSorley and Barkley. Given the late-season surges from both teams and the amount of talent coming back to both programs, no one would be surprised to see these two teams meet up again in the College Football Playoff next year.

As for Darnold, he’ll be playing next season with the possibility of being the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft looming over him.