Train wreck? That's one Rose Bowl halftime summary

The Allentown Morning Call's sports editor, Bill Kline, posted on the Nittany Lines blog about the first half of the Rose Bowl game. He calls it a train wreck.

It gets better, including this:

"You have to give Pete Carroll and USC coaches credit. They knew who to attack. I'm just disappointed that the Lion corners are so awful today."

And these two items:

"I can't stand how the Trojans hot-dog after every play. They even showboat on the sideline."

"I don't think I'll watch the halftime analysis. I sure don't want to hear USC alumnus Keyshawn Johnson gloat."

Keyshawn did sort of gloat -- but not as much as you might have expected. Of course, that's Keyshawn.

And could this picture of Jordan Campbell celebrating a fumble recovery be considered hot-dogging? Hmmm. Bill's postgame post, though, is still to come.

-- Debbie Goffa

Photo: USC's Jordan Campbell screams out after the defense recovered a fumble in the second quarter. Credit: Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times

Comments

[Lou M]

Say what you will but 'linebacker U' suffered major embarrassment in yesterday's Rose Bowl game. I agree with Bill Kline. Where was the PSU secondary through most of the game? Certainly not in Anaheim. Its sub par play was probably the biggest reason for Penn State's loss. Other pompous sportswriters described USC as 'walloping' the Nittany Lions, which is a gross misstatement. Yes, USC outscored them 31-7 in the first half with 24 of those points coming in an absolutely abysmal second quarter (remember USC vs Oregon State?). That score likely would have been much different but for several key uncharacteristic penalties which cost the Lions 10 to 14 points and dramatically shifted the momentum in the first half. Go ahead and say the Trojans got lazy after that but numbers don't lie. Penn State outscored USC 17-7 against the highly touted Trojan defense in the second half. Do you think PSU had that much more pride in scoring than the Trojans did in trying to prevent it? The Lions had more than twice as many rush yards on 6 fewer plays without Evan Royster the entire second half. Darryl Clark was a respectable 21 of 36 for 273 yards and 2 TD's (and yes, 2 interceptions). Give credit to USC for winning but were they that superior a team to Penn State? No. Mark Sanchez had a career day throwing with the help of an often anemic PSU secondary. Case closed.

[Will]

Whoever posted that other comment is a total homer. Who won the game? Who took their foot off the gas in the second half and let the opponent get back into a game they never should have been involved in? (Hint: The answer is the same for both questions.)