A T T H E 2 0 1 7 N I T T A N Y L I O N S
NO HOLLYWOOD ENDING
USC outlasts Penn State in a thrill-a-minute Rose Bowl
D
uring pregame warmups, Penn State assistant
coach Ricky Rahne walked over to the sideline
and bent down to carve out a small square of the
Rose Bowl Stadium grass. Into his pocket it went, and
eventually into his collection. It was one small me-
mento, part of a tradition he observes at nearly every
stadium he visits.
Although his Nittany Lions later fell, 52-49, to
Southern California, that patch of turf will serve as a
reminder of one of the most dramatic bowl games of
the 2016 season, one that will bring back conflicting
memories for the Penn State tight ends coach.
"It's hard," Rahne said. "You're never going to real-
ize that you played in what a lot of people are going
to consider the greatest Rose Bowl – or maybe the
second-greatest, just behind the Texas-USC [na-
tional championship game in January 2006]. This is
one of the greatest games of all time. It's tough be-
cause we came out of it a play or two short."
Rahne's players were still sorting through their
|
A
LEG UP
Boermeester
gave South-
ern Califor-
nia a 52-49
victory when
he hit a 46-
yard field
goal with
time running
out. The Nit-
tany Lions
had led by 14
points earlier
in the fourth
quarter.
Photo by
Steve
Manuel
