USC Football: 5 Takeaways From the 2017 Rose Bowl

Jan 2, 2017; Pasadena, CA, USA; USC Trojans quarterback Sam Darnold (14) celebrates on the podium after defeating the Penn State Nittany Lions in the 2017 Rose Bowl game at Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

USC football finished the 2016 season on a high, besting Penn State in the 2017 Rose Bowl game. Here’s five big takeaways from the instant classic.

It’s rare that bowl games actually live up to their hype, and the 2017 Rose Bowl had plenty of that going in.

Featuring two of the hottest teams in college football, the Rose Bowl was a chance for both USC and Penn State to prove their worth.

Both teams lived up to their end of the bargain, supplying the best game of the college football season.

Here’s five things we learned during the 2017 Rose Bowl:

Sam Darnold’s Heisman Campaign Has Already Begun

Sam Darnold’s exceptional Rose Bowl performance propelled him to becoming the first ever freshman to win the Archie Griffin Award as college football’s MVP.

It also launched his 2017 Heisman campaign.

USC fans saw the same Darnold they’ve seen all season — the redshirt freshman with the calm of an NFL veteran coolly avoiding pressure and slinging bullets. But there was something more as well.

This was the first time Darnold got to show his stuff on one of the biggest stages in college football. And he aced the test.

Vince Young will go into the College Football Hall of Fame for his Rose Bowl performance in 2006 — a performance surpassed by Darnold. As a freshman.

Darnold tossed five touchdowns and amassed 473 total yards to surpass the Longhorn quarterback from a statistical perspective. He also pulled his team out of the gutter, willing them to the most improbable of victories.

It was a performance for the ages, and it rightfully has Darnold at the top of just about every preseason Heisman list. More of that, and the trophy will be his.

Jan 2, 2017; Pasadena, CA, USA; USC Trojans wide receiver Darreus Rogers (1) makes a catch over Penn State Nittany Lions cornerback Grant Haley (15) during the first quarter of the 2017 Rose Bowl game at Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Trojan Seniors Will Be Missed…A Lot

Looking across the way at USC’s star players, it’s perfectly reasonable to call the Trojans a “young team.” Still, the successful run through the 2016 season and in the Rose Bowl specifically also featured huge contributions from seniors.

On the offensive line, Zach Banner and Chad Wheeler led a front which allowed just one sack and limited Penn State to only two tackles for loss, by far their lowest total of the year.

At receiver, Darreus Rogers had five catches, resulting in four first downs and a touchdown. He also drew two pass interference penalties, including one on the final USC touchdown drive.

At running back, Justin Davis was USC’s most effective runner, setting up a touchdown with a 24-yard scamper and converting a third-and-long on a screen. His third-and-short conversion and subsequent nine-yard run also set up JuJu Smith-Schuster’s touchdown.

Tight end Taylor McNamara grabbed a two-point conversion. Defensive tackle Stevie Tu’ikolovatu won defensive MVP honors by leading the team with eight tackles and controlling the interior of Penn State’s offensive line. Linebacker Michael Hutchings had two tackles for loss and a pass break up.

And safety Leon McQuay III made plays from start to finish, stuffing Saquon Barkley late, batting down two passes and giving USC the chance to kick the game-winning field goal with his interception in the final minute.

None of those players will be back for USC in 2017. Those are now big shoes to fill.

Jan 2, 2017; Pasadena, CA, USA; USC Trojans wide receiver Deontay Burnett (80) catches a pass for a touchdown against Penn State Nittany Lions safety Marcus Allen (2) during the fourth quarter of the 2017 Rose Bowl game at Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Deontay Burnett’s Time To Shine

USC may lose junior wide out JuJu Smith-Schuster to the 2017 NFL Draft, so it was perfect timing for sophomore Deontay Burnett to announce himself on the national stage as the next great Trojan receiver.

Burnett took over for Steven Mitchell as USC’s starting slot receiver halfway through the season, but even before then he had emerged as a reliable option for the Trojans.

On Monday, it became clear that Burnett could become even more than that, as Sam Darnold’s favorite receiver on the day.

The under-the-radar Serra-product led all receivers with 13 catches and three touchdowns. His 164 yards receiving was second only to Penn State’s Chris Godwin.

The brightest sign for Burnett’s future was on display on the game-tying 27-yard touchdown. The play actually called for Burnett to run up the seam, but he improvised when he saw a gap in the defense and ran a post instead.

Darnold recognized what his receiver had planned and hit him with an perfect pass.

That kind of telepathic connection is the key to all great quarterback-receiver combinations. Darnold and Burnett have it, which should make Trojan fans very happy going forward.

January 2, 2017; Pasadena, CA, USA; Southern California Trojans defensive back Leon McQuay III (22) runs the ball after an interception as linebacker Quinton Powell (18) provides a block against Penn State Nittany Lions offensive lineman Connor McGovern (66) during the second half of the 2017 Rose Bowl game at the Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Overcoming Bad Luck

In the lead up to the Rose Bowl, at Reign of Troy we wrote that one of USC’s keys to victory was to “start fast and finish strong.”

The Trojan defense took that advice literally.

They started fast, intercepting Trace McSorley’s first two passes and limiting the Nittany Lions to just 36 yards on their first four drives of the game.

Of course, then USC gave up seven consecutive touchdown drives to Penn State. But they certainly finished strong, limiting their opponent to 14 yards in the fourth quarter, forcing three straight punts before Leon McQuay III’s interception helped clinch the game.

On the surface, a 52-49 scoreline would indicate a shootout with MIA defenses, but the Trojan defense was more often the victim of bad luck than straight up poor play.

In fact, three Penn State touchdowns in the third quarter came on three individual plays. First, USC’s defenders slipped and slid around bad sod trying to bring down Saquon Barkley on his 79-yard TD run. Then Iman Marshall tipped a long pass intended for Chris Godwin, but the receiver somehow managed to snag the pass anyways and jogged the rest of the way to the endzone. Finally, a Sam Darnold interception set Penn State up at the three-yard line for an easy McSorley scoring run.

USC’s bad luck didn’t end their either, as Godwin’s first touchdown could have been ruled out of bounds or Mike Gesicki’s diving 11-yard score could have been flagged for a push off or Barkley’s touchdown catch could have been flagged for an illegal man downfield.

That’s not to excuse the Trojan defense giving up 49 points or to suggest that the players weren’t ultimately responsible for the points going on the board. However, it makes their response in the final period all the more impressive, knowing that they could have lost their cool or given up after so many things going against them.

Instead, they pulled together and came up with the big plays when they mattered most. That’s a valuable mindset to carry.

Jan 2, 2017; Pasadena, CA, USA; USC Trojans head coach Clay Helton celebrates after defeating the Penn State Nittany Lions in the 2017 Rose Bowl game at Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Clay Helton Proves Pat Haden Right, For Now

When Pat Haden made the decision to hire Clay Helton on as USC’s permanent head coach, he caught plenty of flack.

Helton got the Trojans to the Pac-12 Championship Game, but he was essentially a rehash of the Lane Kiffin and Steve Sarkisian hires. He was an inside man without a proven track record of winning at a top-level program. He was a boring hire.

The head coach didn’t help that perception over the course of his first six games in charge. He lost to Stanford in the conference title game, lost to Wisconsin in the Holiday Bowl, lost to Alabama, lost to Stanford again and lost to Utah. Going 1-5 didn’t inspire much confidence in his hiring.

Helton insisted to his team and to the outside world that the Trojans just needed to trust the process. They’d turn the corner eventually.