Culver City Observer -

If someone mentioned Rose Bowl around the USC football program back in September even the most loyal Trojan football fan would have said no way.

After starting the season with a 1-3 record the young men of Troy reeled off eight consecutive victories in October and November to not only end the regular season as one of the top teams in the nation, they earned a spot in the Rose Bowl.

Because New Year’ Day falls on a Sunday the game against Penn State and the parade will take place Monday, January 2, in Pasadena.

How the Trojans got to the Rose Bowl and ended the season with a 9-3 record is a remarkable story. A lot of people will say that once USC changed quarterbacks their season turned around. Sam Darnold taking over for Max Brown made a difference but there were several other key factors that attributed to the turn around.

The defense started making stops and dominated seven out of their last eight games. Defensive linemen stopped the run. Their linebackers stopped the run and the pass and they made open field tackles. The secondary, which was supposed to be one of the strongest units on the team, gave up big plays but they made stops when they had to.

On offense, it all starts with the linemen who not only did a great job protecting Darnold they started opening holes for their four outstanding tailbacks led by Ronald Jones II. If the Trojans continue to play at a high level they will beat Penn State in the Rose Bowl.