PASADENA, Calif. (AP) – The matchup in the 103rd Rose Bowl would have seemed preposterous in late September.
That was right before No. 5 Penn State (11-2) won nine straight games and No. 9 Southern California (9-3) won eight in a row, propelling these traditional powers out of the depths of disappointing starts and all the way back to the Granddaddy of Them All.
While both teams missed out on the College Football Playoff, a storybook ending is still possible for two teams whose comeback stories didn’t start in October. Both schools have risen from years of struggles and the depths of NCAA sanctions to meet in Pasadena.
“Their program and our program may be two of the hotter teams in college football at the end of the season,” Penn State coach James Franklin said. “And both had similar stories. I don’t know if you could have written a better script for the Rose Bowl.”
Indeed, this season has been phenomenal for both teams since those rocky starts.