Blue White Illustrated

D E C E M B E R   3 0 ,   2 0 1 6 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 3 State's full attention as game day approaches. "USC is a very, very talented team, and once the quarterback started clicking for them, then distributing the ball, the whole team just kind of developed around him," Franklin said. "I've heard a lot of people say… that they may be the most dangerous team in the country right now, and I know there are a lot of people who were hoping that they wouldn't make the playoffs because they're very, very tal- ented and they're playing with a lot of confi- dence right now." The 6-foot-4, 225-pound Darnold comes from a family of athletes. His father played guard at the University of Redlands, his mother was a volleyball player at Long Beach City College and his older sister also played volleyball while attending Rhode Island. In addition, his grandfather Dick Hammer played on USC's 1954 Final Four basketball team and also on the American volleyball team that competed in the 1964 Olympics. Darnold's athleticism is evident whenever he sets up in the pocket. The Capistrano Beach, Calif., native can scramble away from trouble (as evidenced by his 230 rushing yards), and like Penn State counterpart Trace McSorley, he's good at slinging accurate passes downfield even when he's on the run. USC receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster said that one of Darnold's most formidable assets is an NFL-caliber arm. "If you've ever seen Aaron Rodgers throw the ball, it's a fastball," Smith- Schuster said. "That's what Darnold's passes are like." One of his other assets is an excellent sup- porting cast that is headlined by Smith- Schuster (63 catches for 781 yards and nine touchdowns), fellow wideout Darreus Rogers (51 catches, 654 yards, three TDs) and run- ning back Ronald Jones II (157 carries for 1,027 yards and 11 TDs). In addition, the Tro- jans' offensive line has allowed only 11 sacks, the fewest in the Pac-12. USC also fields one of the conference's bet- ter defensive teams. The Trojans rank fourth in the Pac-12 in scor- ing defense (22.2 points per game) and third in total defense (359.0 yards per game). Against Wash- ington, the eventual league cham- pion and a College Football Playoff semifinalist, the Trojans sacked Jake Browning three times, intercepted him twice and held the Huskies' ground game to 17 yards in a 26-13 victory. That win in Seattle was a defining moment for the Trojans, much like Penn State's vic- tory over Ohio State, and it catapulted them back into the national spotlight. They fol- lowed it with wins over UCLA and Notre Dame, and that was enough to convince the Rose Bowl that they deserved a spot in Pasadena over Pac-12 North champion Col- orado. USC had also been a late entrant in the CFP sweepstakes, but with three losses, their hopes of parlaying their win over Washington into a berth in the final four went unfulfilled. Penn State had a more realistic shot, but it, too, was denied. To Franklin, that's an indi- cation that his reconstruction project is far from complete. "We've had a nice season," he said, "but you look at the programs that have been top-five, top-10 programs, and we've still got a lot of work to do. We still have a long journey to get where we want to go. There's still a lot of heavy lifting that needs to be done. … This is a nice start, and I think this bowl game is going to be important for us, as well [in terms of] finishing the season the right way, playing the way we're capable of playing, having fun, enjoying it, and taking another step in the right direction. But we still have a lot of work to do in a lot of different areas." By passing up the Lions and Trojans, playoff organizers set the stage for what could be one of the most entertaining games of the post- season. The matchup has been hailed as one of the year's best, featuring two teams with big-play offenses that between them haven't lost a game since Sept. 24. "I think you're dealing with two of the hot- ter teams in the country right now if you look at Penn State on a nine-game win streak and us on an eight-game win streak," Helton said. "I think it makes for fabulous TV, that's for sure. It makes for a great bowl experience, and that's what this game is all about. "I'm happy for the Rose Bowl and happy for both teams, because this is what the Rose Bowl should be – two excellent teams coming together to compete against one another." In his six seasons as a head coach – three at Vanderbilt and three at Penn State – Franklin's teams have reached the postseason every year. He's one of only 12 coaches in the Football Bowl Subdivision to have never missed out on a bowl game. Photo by Steve Manuel

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